CUBITAL TUNNEL SYNDROME

Cubital tunnel syndrome is a condition brought on by increased pressure on the ulnar nerve at the elbow. There is a bump of bone on the inner portion of the elbow under which the ulnar nerve passes. This site is commonly called the “funny bone”. The ulnar nerve lies directly next to the bone and is susceptible to pressure. When the pressure on the nerve becomes great enough to disturb the way the nerve works, then numbness, tingling, and pain may be felt in the elbow, forearm, hand, and/or fingers. Treatment goals are to relieve the pressure in this area. This can sometimes be done without surgery by avoiding certain elbow positioning, but may benefit from surgery by shifting the nerve to a location with less pressure.

Cubital tunnel syndrome is a condition brought on by increased pressure on the ulnar nerve at the elbow. This can cause numbness or tingling in the ring and pinky fingers, pain in the forearm and hand weakness.

The ulnar nerve stems from the neck all the way to the hand. There is a bump of bone on the inner portion of the elbow under which the ulnar nerve passes. This site is commonly called the “funny bone”. The ulnar nerve lies directly next to the bone and is susceptible to pressure. When the pressure on the nerve becomes great enough to disturb the way the nerve works, then numbness, tingling, and pain may be felt in the elbow, forearm, hand, and/or fingers.

Because the ulnar nerve passes through the elbow, it must stretch around the bony ridge when you bend your elbow. This stretching can irritate the nerve which can be very painful. At night, if you sleep with your elbows bent, you can wake up with your fingers asleep because the nerve was stretched for a long period of time. Another common cause is “hitting your funny bone”. A blow to the inside of the elbow can be painful, producing an electric shock feeling and causing numbness in your fingers.

While you can feel a dull pain in your elbow, most of the symptoms are felt in the hand. The little finger and ring finger can experience on and off numbness and tingling. These two fingers can also “fall asleep”, in which it is hard to move the fingers. In more severe cases, your hand grip might grow weaker and doing various tasks with the fingers (i.e. typing) may be more difficult. Lastly, which you want to avoid at all costs, is muscle wasting. This happens when the nerve is compressed for a long time.

Treatment goals are to relieve the pressure in this area. This can sometimes be done without surgery by avoiding certain elbow positioning but may benefit from surgery by shifting the nerve to a location with less pressure. Non-surgical treatment can involve anti-inflammatory medicines to reduce swelling around the nerve and bracing or splinting the arm to keep the elbow in a straight position. Surgical treatment may be necessary if conservative treatments were not effective, if your cubital tunnel syndrome has progressed to a severe state or it has caused muscle weakness and damage. A common operation is a cubital tunnel release, which increases the size of the tunnel the nerve passes through to decrease the pressure on the nerve. Ulnar nerve anterior transposition might be performed to move the nerve from its native spot to reduce nerve stretching when the elbow is bent. There are other procedures that your doctor may recommend based on your specific condition and needs.