I found your site today and have been reading with interest and comparing notes with my situation. I was told by my orthopedic surgeon (sports medicine) that I probably have Cubital Tunnel Syndrome. Please bear with me while I explain how we got to this point.
For lack of a better term, by occupation I am a glorified heavy equipment mechanic. I spend a lot of time on technical stuff but there is a lot of heavy work as well as computer time. About 6 months ago I was having soreness in my left elbow. I had been doing repetitive and heavy work for several weeks. I had also hit my elbow and hyper extended it. I was referred to my orthopedic who diagnosed it as “Golfer’s Elbow” from repetitive stress. At that time I had numbness from my index finger to my thumb. He suggested rest, ice, limited use, etc. I returned in a month and the soreness was still in the elbow but the numbness was gone. He gave a cortisone shot. It helped for about 2 weeks and began wearing off.

At that time I started having problems with doing fine work. Most times when I did fine work with my thumb and index finger and my wrist bent inward, I felt a pop in my wrist and the fire feeling in my middle, index finger and thumb. I was also feeling some tingling in my little finger and ring finger when I bent my elbow. I also would feel a pop in my elbow. The doctor took note of this. He did the test on my elbow where he bumped it with his finger. It made my thumb twitch and shot that funny bone feeling up my little and ring finger. He seemed surprised by this but still gave me another cortisone shot and told me to come back when the pain came back. The second shot didn’t help at all. In fact, my arm felt worse than ever.
I went back to the doctor yesterday. He referred me to a hand specialist and told me I had Cubital Tunnel Syndrome with possibly other issues with my wrist. He said surgery probably was the next step to remove any damage originally done to the back side of my Medial tendon and relieving pressure on the ulnar nerve. I have an appointment with the hand surgeon next week.

From reading the posts here, I wonder if my doctor is correct. As far as the Ulnar nerve, I have no doubt it is irritated, but it only tingles about 75% of the time. The pain is in my elbow, my forearm, the base of my thumb and the little finger side of my hand. It is worsened by bending my elbow. In fact, the worst thing I can do right now is hold a phone to my ear. My most pain filled days are when I am stuck in the office doing paperwork. The base of my thumb and my wrist hurt any time I do fine work with my wrist bent. And, of course, even the slightest bump of my elbow causes a lot of pain.

I guess what I would like to get your opinions on is: First, does this sound like any of your experiences with Cubital Tunnel. Second, does this seem like the thing I would require surgery for?

Thanks for any opinions and for your patience in reading such a long post.

Wayne

Howdy Wayne,

From what you have described, more of your medial nerve is affected then the Ulnar. There is almost no effect to the pinkie and your ring finger. Don't get me wrong though, because as the Ulnar gets irritated, the trigger finger and thumb ARE affected due to the control the Ulnar has over the muscles in your hand. I would guess that the doctor will move the nerves in your elbow and your "wrist/hand" (which is what I had done). I say this due to your description of having problems with "fine finger work" and such and no reference to numbness concerning your pinkie or ring fingers. I found when my pinkie and ring finger (1/2 of the ring) fine detail work was horrible - but too, opening jars, turning car ignition keys etc. very difficult. I also had a lot of problems with typing, and too the majority of my fingers were "fumble fingers" on many things.

You may have some Cubital starting, but your Medial seems to be more affected from the symptoms you have described from what *I* see.

Thanks for your input, BrendaB! From what you have said and from reading some of the other posts, I know what I have going on with my little finger is mild in comparison to most of the posters. The thumb worries me and the medial elbow pain (feels like a sprain most of the time) does too. Probably the forearm aching is a result of the elbow. I go to a hand specialist Wednesday. Hopefully I can get some decisive information then.

BtCat wrote:

QUOTE:
Thanks for your input, BrendaB! :) From what you have said and from reading some of the other posts, I know what I have going on with my little finger is mild in comparison to most of the posters. The thumb worries me and the medial elbow pain (feels like a sprain most of the time) does too. Probably the forearm aching is a result of the elbow. I go to a hand specialist Wednesday. Hopefully I can get some decisive information then.

Your Welcome BtCat!

Another nerve they may look at (as you did state you felt a "pop" in your wrist) is your radial. That one is on thumb side of your wrist - but I am not sure if the middle finger would be affected or not. For handcuffing, if we "smack" the cuffs on the inner side of the wrist and damage the Radial, we are held responsible and liable. That's how I know of that nerve. (G) Let us know how your doctor appointment goes. Fingers crossed for good results. Take care.

I went to the new doc today -- a hand specialist. Basically, I was pleased with the thorough exam and his willingness to answer my questions and hear my concerns. He believes I have a mild case of cupital tunnel syndrome caused by tendon damage and swelling. Basically what I suspected. The thumb question he didn't have an answer for other than wait a little while and see if it gets better. If so, probably tendonitis. If not, more tests. For the CuTS, he gave me the usual conservative guidelines -- rest, protection, and keep my arm straight when I sleep, etc. He indicated that if the tendon issues persist, the CuTS will persist. I go back in a month. In summary ... Good news = no surgery. Bad news = no quick solutions (I didn't expect any). I have an appointment with another doctor of a second opinion next week. Hopefully they will agree and all will be improving in a month. After 5 months, one month more shouldn't hurt. My gut and experience over the last several months tells me the tendon will continue to be an issue. We shall see. Again, thanks for the input!