Hey everyone,
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

Hi Brenda!
Thanks so much for replying! The 'blunt trauma' happened when I was assisting a man in the bathroom (hes about 6'3, I am 5'6). He was very weak that day and fell back onto me, resulting in me slamming my left elbow off the wall. The swelling and everything has gone down, but I am still having problems with my elbow, which are seriously effecting my quality of life!
I just got fitted for a night splint 2 days ago. I have my follow up in a couple wks with my ortho. He will probably have me do the emg or something. I just dont have time to wait forever to see if conservative treatment will work, because I am not willing to damage my nerve worse than it is now. I will let you all know how it goes!

Peace,
Katie

Katie,

I will definitely agree with Brenda. You need to push the docs for action on your elbow. The EMG/NVC tests suck big time but they will find out the amount of damage or entrapment. You will have to learn to sleep with your elbows straight and that is what the splint is for, not a comfortable position but you will get use to it. In meantime, wrap your elbow with a hand towel or small bath towel and secure so that it will prevent you from bending your elbow at night, which will make it worse. This would be a temporary fix until you get your splint. Brenda is also right with the blunt trauma vs repetative injury. I would believe the doc would be apt to act faster to prevent further nerve issues. However, if this workman's comp claim, keep in mind it might take longer for action.....
It took about 1 year or so for my surgery. My hand doc was extremely conversative with treatment I actually had to convince him of surgery....I had decompression surgery 8 months ago and now scheduled for transposition surgery Jun 3rd. My nerve is not cooperating. My issue is repetative motion (typing for 20 years in same position)
For the time being I would alternate heat and ice to try and relieve your pain. You might wanna try motrin but I'm not so sure that will help with nerve pain but might help with the surrounding muscles to bring down internal swollening and relieve some pressure.

Good morning,
Thanks for the reply. As far as heat/ice and motrin, nothing is really working for me. I was prescribed 500mg Vicodin to take as needed, but to be honest, it doesnt help the pain, it just knocks me out and makes me feel like I got hit by a truck the next morning!
I got my splint a couple days ago, and while it is extremely awkward to sleep with, I am willing to try anything to help my problem.
I have only seen my ortho once so far, so I dont know him well enough yet to know how conservative he is, but I am hoping thats not the case. Workers comp is a big pain in the you know whatttt. I know that because of that, surgery will probably be considered last, depending on the degree of damage the emg shows. Ill be sure to keep you all posted. I am so glad I found this site! Such awesome support

Peace,
Katie