Cubital tunnel sydrome or ulna nerve entrapment

Hi Not sure if this is in the right forum, but as anyone had any experience of this and was treatment /operation etc,,, successful.

Due to go to the doctors next week, developed symptoms a couple of weeks back ,gradual numbness of little finger and ring finger. I never thought i used those fingers on my left hand so much but find several tasks increasingly awkward to do ,alongside the occasional dropping stuff.

Can still bend fingers alright but the lack of sensitivity is causing me problems.

thanks

I had those symptoms and doc gave me a course of anti inflammatories,NBG but I finally twigged that symptoms were relieved when neck in certain positions so tried a few self designed neck stretches and now all is ok.

Mike

I'm glad you mentioned this here because I've been living with it for the past 6 months or so.

It was really prominent at first, very tingly on the ring and little finger and the base of my palm. so I went to the doctor, "Oh you must've banged it". No bruises though, say again after 4 months or so "You probably slept on your arm and it'll go away soon".

So, here I am 6 months later and still no sign of going anywhere, to be honest I've grown used to it now. I never drop anything but they do get colder than the rest of my fingers, probably because I don't use them as much.

I'm averse to deciding to operate, mainly because it means cutting open my arm and messing around with what's inside, they don't have an awful lot to go on to know if they've done it right, other than looking at the nerve, only I can feel what my arm feels like after all.

So it can lead to being even worse than it was originally or another nerve entrapment somewhere further along the system. Not to mention the risk of infection, although they deal with it a lot I suppose.

However, not one to judge, if you do decide to go down that route, I would definitely like to know how it goes, but I would also try to make sure (or rather make your wishes known) that you get a doctor that deals specifically with nervous system problems or has some experience with sorting out ulnar nerve/cubital tunnel syndrome. 

This syndrome is very strange, because the cause certainly isn't obvious. If you hit your arm/neck/hand that hard you would certainly know about it.

It was very much like an oft repeated experience of it not being there one day and waking up the next with it, appearing out of nowhere like a phantom ( but with the difference that it decides it's going to hang around for some time rather than disappearing). 

Michael W

Edited By Michael-w on 07/05/2017 21:22:11

I've had it for about 20 years. When I attended my hospital referral I had the electrical tests to determine the area before seeing the surgeon . After having the risks of A) severing the nerve- 20%, B) causing further non nerve problems like loss of elbow mobility - 20% , C) partial cure- 35%, I decided not to go ahead with the operation. My numbness changes depending on both useage and temperature, leaning on my elbow makes it worse and being hit on the "funny bone" is not funny ! I can still play guitar and form chords/select notes/pull off etc but with reduced strength , I'm right handed and my problem is my left ulna nerve. Keep it warm, try exercise and use NSAIDs such as Ibuprophen and try not to use the arm rest when driving. In the workshop I have very few problems with it. Nathan. PS. if you have or have had heart probs and you are taking long term medication, check with your GP before self medicating with NSAIDs.

I have have both carpal tunnels and cubital tunnnels done, the former with local and the latter with general anaesthetic. I advise you to have a private electrical test done to establish which operation is required. The NHS electrical tests are notoriously unreliable, you can have the operation done on the NHS later, that will probably be ok. Any more information, please ask.

Best regards

Bert

Years ago I had carpal tunnel syndrome, right hand going completely cold and numb. Went to specialist, the lot.

My wife bought me a mousemat with a lump of gel on it so my wrist doesn't rest on the corner of the desk, complete relief from symptoms, but it comes back rapidly if I don't use one.

The problem I have now is arthritis in the bases of both thumbs. It used to only flare up when I had a virus but seems to be almost permanent now

Neil

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 07/05/2017 22:02:44

Thanks to everyone whose replied.

A lot to think about , particularly as regards to the surgery not sounding as straight forward as some websites i`ve read suggest.. I was hoping for some magical easy fix but guess not . At the moment my little finger is feeling like theres a noose tied around the base of it.

As ive only had it around two weeks so far but it seems pretty constant, came on very suddenly.

I`ll try to steer clear of all the bad habits ,like leaning on elbow whilst at computer ,sleeping with elbow bent etc... and hope it calms down a bit .

What exactly are these electrical tests ?

mark

Mark

The electrical tests show which nerve has the problem, they are essential because in most cases it's not clear which one it is. The carpal tunnel operation involves making an insiscion at the base of the palm in order to clear out the tunnel to relieve the pressure on the nerve. The operation is usually performed under local anaesthetic and takes about 25 minutes.

The Cubital tunnel operation is always performed under general anaesthetic because the nerve is quite long and has to checked at several points where it may be constricted.

I wouldn't trivialise your problems but your symptoms sound fairly mild, and I would wait a while before going ahead. These procedures are painful during the recovery period and it's often some time before resuming normal activities.

Bert

My brother-in-law had both wrists operated on (not at the same time). Total success. He did not complain of any undue pain from the procedure.

Maurice

Bert , and were they successful in your case?

Mark

Yes, totally, I certainly don't regret it. If you do a lot of typing on the PC an ergonomic mouse and keyboard is a great help, both before and after the operation.

Bert