Hey everyone,
Im a 22 year old female from Massachusetts.I was diagnosed the 1st week of April with CuTS in my left elbow following a work injury (blunt trauma). My pinky/ring fingers have been numb and tingling ever since. I have moderate elbow pain, and noticable weakness in my L hand. When I stick my hands straight out, my left pinky and ring finger dont stick out straight, it seems as though they have "dropped".
Im getting a custom elbow splint tomorrow that I will wear at night. I have a follow up appt with my ortho 5/7 and if my symptoms havent improved, he will look into an emg or nerve test.
I have been out of work since 3/31 when it happened. I cannot do normal things. I cannot sleep comfortably as the numbness wakes me up 2-5 times a night. It hurts to drive, to wash my hair, and normal everyday things. I have shooting pain down my forearm. I have also begun to drop things frequently.
Should I look into getting surgery? I dont have the time to wait around and try conservative treatment for months. My job as a CNA is very physically demanding. What would you recommend? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Katie

You may had decided what to do by know. But I just wanted to tell you do not wait too long, if you are having surgery, there is a good chance to improve, but do not expect 100%. Be positive, but patient. This is a long process and be nice to your self, ask for help and let others pamper you, trust me I learned the hard way. Hope everything comes Ok for you, since you're young.

Hi Katie,

I just read your post. I too live in Mass. I hope you are feeling better. I have a similar problem due to a very bad elbow break two years ago-(pain, muscle atrophy, numbness). Just yesterday I had a nerve conduction study and an EMG at New England Baptist with a strong recommendation for ulnar nerve transposition surgery. This will be my fourth surgery on this elbow, the prior three surgeries were to address the broken elbow and joint instability. The nerve compression occurred due to surgery #3 and excessive scar tissue.

My surgeon suggested I wait several months to see if the nerve condition would correct itself. It did not so I will be opting for surgery, I think. So, my advice is: 1. make sure you are seeing an Ortho who is a hand specialist, 2, have a nerve conduction study and EMG to identify the extent of the compression and whether the nerve is regenerating and 3. track whether your condition is getting worse and if so, consider surgery.

Is this helpful?