Cubital tunnel syndrome or treatment for compression

A patient may be able to change the way they use their elbow and avoid situations which could trigger pressure or pain. However, in more severe cases surgery may be recommended to relieve the pressure on the nerve

Your surgeon will make a cut over the back of the inner side of your elbow and will cut any tight tissue that is compressing the nerve. Your surgeon may need to remove a piece of bone or move the nerve so it is in front of the elbow. They will discuss this you. Your surgeon will close your skin with stitches or clips.

Cubital tunnel syndrome is caused by persistent or repeated pressure on the Ulnar nerve.

When pressure on the nerve becomes great enough to disturb the way the nerve works then numbness, tingling and pain may be felt in the elbow or, more commonly, in the forearm and the hand at the base of the little and ring fingers. The symptoms are usually felt when there is pressure on the nerve, such as sitting with an elbow on an arm rest, when the elbow is bent for a long period of time, such as being on the phone and sometimes after sleeping. Some sufferers may drop things.

A patient may be able to change the way they use their elbow and avoid situations which could trigger pressure or pain. However, in more severe cases surgery may be recommended to relieve the pressure on the nerve