August 29 2008
Ulnar Neuropathy: Sane Treatment of a Crazy Bone
Tagged Under : alcoholism, anterior transposition, Diabetes, elbow, hand, nerve, nerve conduction, neuropathy, numb, pinched nerve, polyneuropathy, ulnar, weak
Do you remember what it felt like when you banged your elbow on a hard surface and it sent shocks through your forearm and into your little finger? Not too pleasant, to be sure. But on the plus side, the unpleasantness was merely temporary and, for the time being, you remembered not to do that again.
The part of the nervous system responsible for this annoying symptom is the ulnar nerve, a peripheral nerve-bundle whose individual nerve-fibers originate in the spinal cord where it passes through the neck. The nerve-fibers run most of the length of the arm, including through the “ulnar groove” which you may know as the “funny bone” or “crazy bone.”
Some people experience a more persisting impairment of the ulnar nerve called ulnar neuropathy. With “-pathy” as the medical suffix meaning illness or impairment, an “ulnar neuropathy” means an illness or impairment of the ulnar nerve. The ulnar nerve is vulnerable to injury or pinch in the ulnar groove for more than one reason. First, instead of being surrounded by soft, cushioning muscles and tendons, it is sandwiched between a layer of skin on its exterior surface and nothing but hard bone on its interior surface. Second, when the elbow bends, the ulnar nerve stretches because it has to take the long way around the elbow.