Cubital Tunnel syndrome and Treatment

Posted by Ainsley Aiken on January 12th, 2018

Cubital tunnel syndrome is characterized by pressure and stretching in the ulnar nerve which leads to numbness and tingling in the ring and small fingers. Patients usually complain of pain in the upper arm and/or weakness in the hand. If the condition is not diagnosed on time, the condition may deteriorate with the development of irreversible muscle atrophy and hand contractures.

Symptoms can alleviate with the decompression of ulnar nerve which can also prevent the progression of the condition.

Symptoms

• Pain on the posterior portion of the elbow where the ulnar nerve travels through the cubital tunnel.
• Pain in the elbow joint
• Pins and needles, tingling and numbness in the entire little finger and one half of the ring finger

Causes

Among the common causes of the condition includeincreased pressure from bone or connective tissue on a nerve of wrist, arm or elbow. Here are the causative factors:

Increased pressure

The concerned nerve has thin padding over it so any direct pressure exerted on it from leaning the arm on an arm rest can cause the arm and hand to “fall asleep.”

Over-stretching

When the elbow remains bent for a long time, usually during sleep, it can trigger the symptoms.

Anatomy

Ulnar nerve may get misplaced and moves back and forth over a bony bump with the movement of the elbow. This repeated snapping can cause irritation in the nerve. Occasionally, extra muscles get build up over the soft tissues and the nerve becomes thicker, thus not being able to work correctly.

Cubital tunnel treatment

In theinitial stages, the condition can be managed with conservative treatments, but as it advances, surgery may be required to reduce the pressure on the damaged nerve. Therefore, early diagnosis is recommended.

Many surgical treatment options exist for the advance stages of cubital tunnel syndrome. Suggested processes may include in situ decompression, medial epicondylectomy, subcutaneous andsubmuscularulnar nerve transposition. These methods are quite effective in the treatment of this disease. These treatment methods have short-term advantages over one another, but the overall result is somewhat similar. Surgical treatment options depends on several factors and a single surgical treatment cannot be applied to all patients. It is based on the condition of the patient. Appropriate surgical treatments could be suggested after a careful analysis of the sites of nerve compression. Patients can anticipate a good outcome only after this.

One of the many feasible Cubital Tunnel Treatment options is Cubital Tunnel Training System by Flextend.