Trapped Ulnar Nerve

[Hayley]

I went to see my GP today about my wrist/arm/hand pain as I can hardly type and it's keeping me awake at night. Anyway, it turns out I have a trapped ulnar nerve. I asked if I could have a Cortisone in jection in it and she said she was about to suggest that, but she couldn't do it because the area to inject is too small so I have to wait for a hospital appointment to have it done! Has anyone else had it done and how long did you wait?

Hayley

[sarahh]

Awww Hayley hun. I hope you don't have to wait too long for the appointment to come through.

Take Care

Sarah x

[Sue New]

Hi Hayley,

I have not had cortisone injections for a trapped ulnar nerve but I have had 3 cortisone injections into my wrist due to having carpal tunnel syndrome (which is a compressed Median nerve I think ).

I hope you are able to get an appointment at the hospital soon and that the injection helps to relieve your symptoms .

I had the injection done twice in my right wrist and once in my left, and each time it did give me a few months without so much numbness and pain, so they can help. The 1st 2 injections were not very painful at all, but when I had the 3rd one done, the surgeon unfortunately injected straight into the nerve sheath and that was a little uncomfortable - the pain didn't last long though and it still helped for a while.

Unfortunately, you can't keep having the injections and that is why I am now waiting to have the carpal tunnel decompression surgery on June 26th as my last nerve conduction studies should damage to both hands .

Good luck

Sue.

[kezzykat]

I have had cortisone injections in my dequervain's tenosynovitis ( base of thumb/wrist EPB/APL Tendons...). I had the injections 3 times, once with a local anaesthetic and twice without so that they could inject more cortisone into it. That is the similarity between the ulna and the DeQuervain's, they both have a teeny space to inject the steroids into.
In my case, it was before I was diagnosed that I had all of this and they wanted to do surgery to remove the chronic inflammation and tighten everything up ( why didn't alarm bells ring to me? ). I was scheduled and then i got pregnant and I didn't want to risk it as the surgeon wanted to do a pretty legthy procedure under general, open surgery etc and I had already had miscarriages.

Anyway, the cortisone is usually administered to reduce chronic inflammation and give the body a kick start in healing the area.

I had to wait to see an Ortho consultant ( about 4 week) I saw him and he administered the steroids that day. the other times, I went to my GP who rang the Ortho's secretary and I was added to a clinic and had to wait a few days until a clinic was free, those times an SHO/registrar administered the shot. I was then refered to an Ortho who specialised in upper arms and shoulders for the proposed surgery ( I didn't have). Although I did see her and we did set a date. i won't ever have the surgery now, I feel that the risks outweigh the benefits through my research- unfortunately.

Unfortunately I never did get any relief from the shots but I was not diagnosed and so didn;t know what I was up against.

Of course this was all 5+ years ago. Now, in my area anyway, you get a referal from your GP which is a print out with 3 choices of hospitals which you may choose which dr to see. You then ring the hospital, quotinhg the password on the printed letter and they give you and appointment choice. You can make your decision based on wait time, dr choice etc...Of course only within a certain area.

I hope this helps and that you get it sorted soon.

KK

[Hayley]

Thanks for the replies ladies. Sue, I do have Carpal Tunnel too but this pain is worse than that. I did have a cortisone injection in my hand a while back when they confirmed the arthritis but the relief didn't last very long! Good luck with your surgery.

Kezzy, thanks for the info about the referral etc, just hope I don't have to wait too long 'cos it flippin' hurts!

Hayley

[Piglet]

Hi Hayley,

A trapped Ulnar nerve can also be sorted by having deep tissue massage.

Might be a bit better for you that having injections??

xx

[Sandy L]

The ulnar nerve comes around the back of the ebow on the side next to your body. If you keep your elbow bent, it will stretch it. If you rest the inside of your elbow on an armrest, you can get a compression neuropathy. Try getting an athletic elbow guard and wearing it around the clock while you are waiting. That will distribute pressure away from the nerve if that is the source of your problem and you will tend not to bend it so far when wearing it, helping if that is your problem.

[Hayley]

Thanks Sandy. I did read that keeping it straight helps so I might try that. Typing doesn't help though does it????

Hayley

[kezzykat]

Thanks Sandy. I did read that keeping it straight helps so I might try that. Typing doesn't help though does it????

Hayley

Hi Hayley,

I find that writing is much worse than typing for my DeQuervain's..but my typing is much more haphazzrd nowadays as I just work around it. I did try Voice Recogniion Software, but I find that my mind is quicker than my mouth ( honest!) and it didn't work out too well! I wear a spica splint typing/writing etc..The software gets used but not so much..
I have been toying about whether to get another steroid shot, but I found it really didn't help much, so not sure its worth the hassle and the 'owwie' from the needle.
However, many folks find that the steroid shots are a God send, I hope that is the case for you,

KK

[Hayley]

Thanks Kezzy, yes writing IS a nightmare - I can't even do the Sudoku and Crossword in today's Daily Mail!!

It's absolutely agony today, I'm even tempted to go to A&E to see what they can do (if anything). The pain is from my elbow to my hand and my little finger and ring finger are numb at the moment. Greg has massaged it all for me today and although it felt lovely, it hasn't really helped the pain. I've taken my Tramadol and Voltarol already but they don't do anything. I really would love to have it cut open and released!

Hayley

[Sandy L]

Typing doesn't usually cause much problem with the ulnar nerve. The median nerve is more likely to be affected via carpal tunnel syndrome. The muscles that move your fingers are mostly located in your forearm, and connect to the fingers via tendons. The tendons run through a tube, called the tendon sheath. If you move your fingers while the wrist/hand is: bent down (flexed), bent backward (dorsiflexed), bent toward the side of the little finger (ulnar deviation), or bent toward the side of the thumb (radial deviation), the tendon will rub against the sheath and may create inflammation. Part of inflammation is swelling. There is a tough layer of connective tissue acros the wrist that holds the tendons down so that they don't jump straight from your forearm to the fingers when you bend you wrist and curl your fingers. The swelling cannot expand the space under that fascia (the carpal tunnel), and so puts pressure on the median nerve, affecting the palm side of the thumb, index, long, and half of the ring finger. The ulnar nerve supplies the palm side of the small finger and half of the ring finger.

[kezzykat]

Part of inflammation is swelling. There is a tough layer of connective tissue acros the wrist that hold the tendons down .

Fab way of explaining it Sandy. This is half my problem as my connective tissue there doesn't adequately do its job, on top of the DeQuervain's.

Take care,

KK

[Hayley]

While it's not the actual typing movement that hurts, the angle at which I hold my hand is what is causing the problem. It's definitely the ulnar nerve and is apparently being trapped by the swelling of the arthritis in my hand. It often feels like there is a chunk of glass buried in the joint as well as a severe burning pain. I do have some carpal tunnel problems but it isn't affecting my fingers yet, unlike this pain which has made my fingers quite numb.

The pain is worse than it was yesterday and I feel as though I just can't do anything with it - I'd chop it off if I could!!! Even just sitting still with my arm straight hurts. I get a searing pain from the tip of my fingers to my elbow on a level 9 out of 10.

Instead of taking my Voltarol this morning I decided to try Ibuprofen instead. Unfortunately, I didn't notice until after I'd taken them that the box said 'Double strength' so I accidentally took xxxmg instead of xxxmg, hope this doesn't do any harm!

Sorry for the long post - feeling a bit sorry for myself today

Hayley

[Sandy L]

Ordinarily, one would want the wrists in a position such that the thumb is nearly in line with the forearm and the back of the hand forms an angle of about 150 degrees from the forearm. There should be neither radial nor ulnar deviation. The forearms should be horizontal when the hands are at the keyuboard. A wrist rest will help avoid fatigue. the elbows should be at the sides to avoid fatigue. Getting the forearms horizontal often requires raising the chair high enough that the feet do not rest comfortably on the floor, so a foot rest is needed so that the thighs are horizontal. (If the knees are below the hips, there is often too much lordosis in the lumbosacral region of the back.)

If your work station meets these criteria, great! If it does not, try to modify it.

[Retro]

Hi Hayley,

There is a pdf document here from the Health and Safety Executive about VDU (computer) use. It gives you their requirements.

Take care,

Lindsey