Hawkes Physiotherapy Blog

Heard of Cubital Tunnel Syndrome? Probably not but you may have heard of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Well they are similar but Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is in the wrist and hand whereas Cubital Tunnel Syndrome is in the Elbow. What is Cubital Tunnel Syndrome? Basically it is a compression neuropathy, which means that a nerve is "trapped”. The nerve at fault in this case is the ulna nerve and where it gets “trapped” is in the cubital tunnel of the elbow: See the below picture: How common is it? It is the second most common compression neuropathy in the upper limb (Palmer & Hughes 2009). What causes it? A common cause is frequent bending of the elbow or constant repetitive pressure on the elbow itself. This then irritates the nerve and it is irritated too much then it becomes a “neuropathy”. What are the symptoms? The patient will complain of pain and numbness in the ring and little finger and weakness is common. If left untreated then this