Exploring Ulnar Nerve Entrapment Symptoms

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santos271

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Hi all:I wasn't trying to look at anything bad on the internet, but something found me. I have figured that I have cubital tunnel syndrome b/c I have all the exact symptoms - inner elbow pain, tingling/numbness in my pinkie and ring finger. I was doing a search on why my tricep was hurting and found something on an ortho web site saying that one of the conditions that can mimic ulnar nerve entrapment (which is cubital tunnel syndrome) is ***. I can't believe it - I am so freaking out right now. I thought the tingling and numbness in those two fingers pointed away from a dx of ***. That, in addition to the persistant twitching in that elbow (in addition to the all over twitching) - I'm in a panic right now - just about in tears.Can anyone help?Joanne
 
Simmer down now. I am a lot like you... you know... except im a guy... but anyways. ALS is a disease of the motor neurons; not the sensory ones. In addition, widespread twitching as apposed to concentrated twitching points away from ALS. I too have ulnar nerve entrapment, and yes, I get the tingling, pain, etc. Try wrapping your elbow in a towel and taping it up so your arm is forced to stay straight at night. My orthopedist told me my CTS was due to sleeping w/ my arms bent underneath me. I too was in a panic like you, and truthfully am still somewhat apprehensive. That is why I am going to a neuro to get this settled once and for all, even though all my doctors say that anxiety is most likely the culprit, and nothing is indicative in my case of ALS at this time. Your case also sounds simliar to mine. Just relax. Take a breath. I had a breakdown 6 months after I started twitching; the anxiety was so bad and the twitches feed off anxiety as well as create more. It is like a viscous cycle. Nevertheless, go to a doctor. It will help put your mind at ease. Remember, ALS is rare and BFS is common. It is even rarer for ALS to present with twitching absent of weakness/atrophy if it does so at all. Most doctors say that twitching in the absence of objective weakness/atrophy is not indicative of ALS. It is also important to know that ulnar nerve entrapment (cubital tunnel syndrome) can infact cause atrophy and weakness in your hypothenar muscles as well as the muscle on the top of your hand between your thumb and index finger. Im sure your fine.
 
By the way, was the website the teleEMG.com website or something. That website has a lot of non-factual information. They make ALS seem like an everyday occurance and have posted things that other doctors have told me is false.
 
Thanks - I really appreciate your reply. It was actually the Duke University Ortho dept web site, so I think it was pretty reliable. I only looked at it for a few seconds b/c I started to get really scared. I'm hoping that they only said that b/c ulnar nerve entrapment can cause weakness and atrophy - I'm really hoping that they weren't referring to the sensory symptoms. That would go against everything I've read here. Still really scares me though. I hate this. My family wants me to see a neuro but I'm so scared. Even if all he says is "probably not" or "don't think so, come back in 6 months" I'll still freak for those 6 months!! My anxiety is almost out of control lately - I'm trying to work on it but then I stupidly find something else to worry about like that web site I found tonight. I should go see a neuro, I know, but I'm so afraid. In the meantime I"m driving myself and my family crazy. Thanks again for your reply. I appreciate it.Joanne
 
Hi Joanne,Don't go back and check, but I think you may have misread or only partially read what was on that website.I saw my neuro on December 5 for the same complaints you have (though I'll admit, I also pressed on the *** issue). He examined me, did the various tests and, before the EMG, declared that I did not have ***. Then I enjoyed the fine experience of nerve conduction and needle EMG on both arms--100% clean (and I had also been twitching in both arms, just not as much as in the legs.) He said specifically that *** is a disease of weakness and does not present with numbness or tingling. He said that at least twice that I recall. As you suspect, what ulnar entrapment can "mimic" as *** is, if it is severe enough and left untreated, weakness and atrophy, as GuitarGuy also noted. In fact, I served on a jury in October with a guy who had just had surgery for ulnar nerve entrapment after he became so weak in his hand that he couldn't grip a hand tool--and he had atrophy as well. My tests found mild carpal tunnel in both hands (!); the doc suspects my other symptoms could be from a pinched nerve in my neck. He recommended physical therapy and I'm on B6.Bottom line is that you do NOT have ***. Numbness, tingling and pain are not symptoms of ***. Numbness of the pinky and ring finger, elbow pain and tingling are symptoms of ulnar nerve entrapment. Stay off the other sites and don't hesitate to give us a yell here if you need help. But from my own experience and that of others, I can say you are A-OK (well, except for the numb pinky and sore elbow :confused: ).Hang in there.Mark
 
Thank you both so much - I needed that and I'm very grateful you took the time to talk me down. You've made me feel a lot better. My twitching is still driving me batty, but my panic is better. For now. :) Thank you again -Joanne
 
You should see a doctor however. Not a neurologist though, and orthopedist :p Treat it now before it gets worse. I'm 19 and I already have ulnar nerve entrapment, yeesh. Also, tap over the nerve. If it tingles and you get the "hit your funny bone sensation" then that is almost a surefire sign you have ulnar nerve entrapment. Also, bend your elbows for a while and see if the twitching increases. Should help put your mind at ease.
 
It does hurt if i tap it - sometimes more than others. But it does that on the other arm too, so I'm not sure if that's just the funny bone feeling. It doesn't seem to twitch more when I do any particular activity - it just twitches randomly, but consistently. It seems like a hotspot. I do have an appt with an ortho on Tuesday. My mom had the same thing though and she said they made her see a neuro first to get an EMG and nerve conduction test. She said b/c of the cubital tunnel her EMG was not normal. I guess that could happen to me but having all this twitching an abnormal EMG, I'm sure that would really worry me. Oh well - I guess I'll have to deal with that when/if it happens.Thanks again for your posts. They were really helpful.
 
Websites can't give you ALS. You were fine before you went to that site, and you are fine now.Quick story. I was teaching a class several years ago and started to get severe chest pains. I told the class to start working on a lab and sat at my desk with my eyes closed. The pain was getting almost debilitating. I knew I was having a heart attack. I dismissed class and went to my car. As I'm driving to my doctor's office, I'm on the phone with a nurse there. I informed her that my pinky and ring finger on my left hand were tingling and numb and that my forearm was feeling a bit strange. They were waiting for me when I got there and immediately started taking blood samples and hooking me to an EKG machine. Long story short, I had severe acid reflux. I thought I had just imagined it about my fingers. Then last summer when my panic was at its worst, the same thing happened to my fingers and forearm. Finally a doctor told me that these are very very common symptoms with anxiety.To summarize: Unless someone (a doctor) has diagnosed you with cubital tunnel syndrome, then I would completely disregard symptoms that involve those two fingers so long as you have anxiety, particularly the symptoms you describe.
 
Thanks. I am going to an ortho on Tuesday. I think I can blame anxiety on a lot of what is happening to me, but I think I do have some sort of nerve compression in my arm. I've had these symptoms for several years now but never really bothered with them. It's not the tingling/numbness or the pain that scare me, and it's not constant (certain activities aggravate it). Again, I've had it for years - it was the reading that *** "mimics" that condition that sent me into orbit last night. I do believe though that they must have meant the weakness and atrophy that cubital tunnel can cause is what is similar to *** - not the tingling and numbness.I know my inner elbow hurts at times, and I know that keeping my elbow bent for long periods of time make the fingers tingle and numb - it's been that way for a long time. I am a lawyer and work at a computer terminal all day, and put a good deal of pressure on my elbows (poor ergonomics I'm sure). I'll tell this all to the ortho on Tuesday. It's not the nerve compression that makes me nervous - it's still the fear of ***, which I am working on daily. I keep thinking that I could have cubital tunnel AND ***. My twitches were terrible yesterday, much better today. I've got one weird twitch in my left hand though - a new one. I hate new ones. What am I saying - I hate the "old" ones too. :) I feel bad for my family - they're so worried about me b/c I'm so anxious. I am working on it and trying not to use them as my reassurance every time I get freaked out. My poor dad went to his doctor today for a follow up and asked him about my condition. He said, of course, that it's "highly unlikely" that I would have ***. Then I'm sure he made a notation in my dad's chart that read something like, "Patient is worried about psycho daughter."
 
I saw a video of a man with ALS twitching. It put my mind to ease. It was nothing like mine - it was constant and localized. If you wish to see it go to YouTube, type fasciculations and find the one that says something about MND. Also note his hands; completely atrophied.
 
Oh yeah, I had the same symptom as you. This happened on Christmas day 2006. Way to ruin a day!! I stopped sleeping with my elbows bent. Stopped leaning on my desk at the elbow while I type or write (I am left handed). I also find that as I get older (37), my arms tend to fall asleep while I am sleeping. After being more aware of my positioning during the day and night, this symptom completely disappeared.
 

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