Yup, your Twin Falls Chiropractic is back again with yet another syndrome.
By the way you might be wondering what the heck the word syndrome means anyway.
I mean…down syndrome, fibromyalgia syndrome, carpal tunnel syndrome. You can’t throw a rock very far in the medical world before stumbling on the word syndrome.
So here we go:
Disease: A particular distinctive process in the body with a specific cause and characteristic symptoms. Disorder: Irregularity, disturbance, or interruption of normal functions. Syndrome: A number of symptoms occurring together and characterizing a specific disease.
https://www.mdedge.com/psychiatry/article/65290/diagnosis-20-are-mental-illnesses-diseases-disorders-or-syndromes?sso=true
A syndrome then is a group of symptoms occurring together to cause a disease. So for pronator teres syndrome you have a series of locations that can entrap the nerve. The entrapped nerve then creates a series of symptoms from decreased sensation, to decreased muscle strength.
Let’s get off of that tangent and start talking about Cubital Tunnel Syndrome (not to be confused with it’s more famous cousin, carpal tunnel syndrome).
The cubital tunnel is an impingement on the ulnar nerve. The ulnar nerve goes from the ring finger to the pinky finger on the front and the back of the hand.
If we are keeping track the median nerve is half the ring finger to the thumb on the palm side. The ulnar nerve is the other half of the ring finger to the pinky on the palm and back of the hand.
Now we know about the ulnar nerve lets talk about the cubital tunnel.
Just like pronator teres syndrome, cubital tunnel is also located in the elbow.
This picture is the back of the right elbow. And if you are keeping score at home you can see on the picture a landmark called the cubital tunnel retinaculum. This covers the cubital tunnel, and the ulnar nerve travels through that tunnel.
The nerve then has three main sites of entrapment through this part of the elbow.
- Between the two heads of the flexor carpi ulnaris
- Between Osborn’s ligament and the medial collateral ligament
- Within the arcade of struthers
There are also secondary sites that are much less common sits of entrapment for the nerve.
What can be done then?
Of course as a chiropractor I would recommend making sure the joints comprising the elbow are in alignment.
Then its a matter of working the flexor carpi ulnaris and the insertion of the medial head of the triceps to make sure there isn’t compression coming from those muscles.
We would want to get the inflammation under control even if that means using NSAID’s.
If all else fails then a referral to an orthopedist would be warranted.
So if you are getting numbness in half your ring finger to your pinky finger, then come see Twin Falls chiropractor, Dr. Jared Hymas