Hi all,

In February 2010 I had decompression surgery for Cubital Tunnel in my arm/hand. The surgery has helped and my hand cramps up less often though the general numbness remains. Over the last three weeks I have noticed that my hand is getting more painful. I work with a PC all day and find I have to stop more frequently and that my hand is very painful in the evening when I stop using the PC. In addition I have a new type of pain which I would describe as having a shard of glass being pushed in to the back of my hand - very painful.

After surgery I was advised to get back to work and use the hand as normal to help the recovery however I am not sure why I am getting this new bout of pain and what I should do in response. Plan to speak to my surgeon but any advice or similar symptoms would be helpful.

Thanks

Unfortunately I can relate. I had decompression surgery and was fine for 6 months before symptoms returned. In my case, the doctor believes that scar tissue formed above the incision site and is compressing my nerve. Scar tissue appears to be one of the leading causes of CuTS surgery failure.

Another problem is that CuTS can recur if you return to the same activities that caused you pain in the first place. Decompression surgery only snips the Osbourne ligament but does not move the nerve, so you can still experience pinching and stretching of the nerve through the cubital tunnel. Transposition surgery may be the next option, which is also the situation I'm facing.

But the pain in the back of your hand seems different and potentially unrelated to CuTS. Where exactly is the pain? It's possible this may be something else such as carpal or radial tunnel syndrome? It's good that you are going to see your surgeon, as he/she should be able to tell you more.

Hi,

Many thanks for the answer, much appreciated. I've found that reducing my amount of time on PC has helped though pain remains at a lower level. Interesting to hear that you are needing further surgery - sorry to hear that.

The pain in the back of my hand is exactly in the middle of the back of the hand with a vertical line of pain which feels about two inches long. Again, that has decreased over last few days and not using PC so much but still comes on at night. Speaking to surgeon next week which should help, its just difficult to know what to do when it gets very painful!

Thanks again

Be cautious about any pain that is very sharp on the back of your hand, especially when it sits below the index and middle finger. Can you bend your hand back upwards from the wrist OK, or lift you thumb from a table with your hand still flat on the table?

If you have trouble with all of these, request test on your radial nerve, which innervates these muscles. Unlike the uilnar nerve, the radial nerve in the hand mainly supplies function, and there is a common site for radial nerve palsy or radial tunnel at the back of the elbow/seat of the triceps, where the radial nerve spirals around the arm.