Cubital Tunnel Syndrome
The ulnar nerve is one of the three main nerves in your arm and travels from your neck down to your hand. When there is nerve irritation or compression behind the inside part of the elbow (think “funny bone”), this is called Cubital Tunnel Syndrome. Cubital Tunnel Syndrome, also known as ulnar neuropathy, is a condition that involves increased pressure and irritation on the ulnar nerve and can cause numbness, tingling or weakness in the hands or arms.
Causes
While the exact cause is not always known in many cases of Cubital Tunnel Syndrome, these are a few of the most commonly known causes:
Pressure: The ulnar nerve has little padding over it. Direct pressure, like leaning on your elbow for long periods of time, can press the nerve, causing the arm and hand to “fall asleep.”
Stretching: Keeping the elbow bent repeatedly or for long periods of time can stretch the nerve behind the elbow. This can happen to many people while they are sleeping or leaning on their elbow while on the telephone, which can aggravate symptoms of ulnar nerve compression.
Anatomy: Cubital Tunnel Syndrome can sometimes be a result of abnormal bone growth. This is due to the ulnar nerve repeatedly sliding out back and forth from behind the medial epicondyle.
Physical activity: Baseball pitchers, tennis players and golfers experience Cubital Tunnel Syndrome from their intense physical activity that places heavy pressure on the ulnar nerve. The twisting motion repeatedly made can damage ligaments in the elbow.
Tennis Elbow (A.K.A golfer’s elbow of lateral epicondylitis): Cubital Tunnel Syndrome can occur when there is inflammation on the tendons attached to the elbow. This inflammation can cause direct irritation on the ulnar, causing damage to the nerve
Signs and Symptoms
Cubital Tunnel Syndrome can cause pain, loss of sensation, or weakness in the elbow and forearm. Tingling can also be felt in the ring and small fingers. More severe symptoms can include:
Weakening of hand grip
Difficulty of hand coordination, especially pinching the thumb and pinky finger together
Muscle wasting in the hand
Dropping objects in the hand
Treatment
For any mild cases, the first treatment for ulnar nerve compression is to avoid any actions that cause painful symptoms of the nerve. For more severe cases, be sure to schedule an appointment with your doctor.
Some at-home treatments for Cubital Tunnel Syndrome include:
Avoid leaning on your elbow or putting pressure on your ulnar nerve
Avoid activities that keep your elbow bent for long periods of time
Wear an elbow brace during your daily activities to cushion elbow
Wear an elbow brace at night to keep your elbow straight when you are sleeping
We invented The Lonnie Brace to help treat mild cases of Cubital Tunnel Syndrome. The Lonnie Brace can easily be worn day and night and is the only elbow brace to both cushion the elbow and decompress the ulnar nerve. It has a rigid hinge attachment for extra relief during sleep if needed. Our goal is to treat elbow pain quickly and effectively and protect from reinjury. This allows for a faster recovery and avoidance of potentially unnecessary surgery.