Ulnar Nerve

[quatie]

I have a problem with my ulnar nerve at my elbow (commonly known asthe funny bone) that I would like to identify and see if there isinformation on therapies to help. The problem is this: When I flexmy arms when I am pushing against something, such as doing dips,bench press or OHP or lifting something over my head, my ulnar nerve pops outof the groove it runs through in my elbow joint. It then pops backinto the groove when my arms are near full extension. It happensanytime I exert a moderate amount of force trying to extend my arms(as in the activities mentioned above) when my arm is bent about 80degrees or more. In other words, the more my arms are bent, the more easily it happens, and it does not matter if my arms are moving awayfrom my body or towards my body, as long as I am exerting forceoutward. Sometimes it even happens when I am curling my arm (flexingmy biceps), though not often. This condition severely limits whatupper body exercises I can do. I cannot do any pushups or bench pressexercises unless I do very low weight, keep my hands spread wide sothat my arms are not bent very much, and do not do very many reps. This means it is nearly impossible to exercise my triceps,shoulders and chest. If I try to exercise and ignore the nerve going in and out of the groove, itquickly irritates the nerve, and I have been told that it could cause permanent damage if I were to do this regularly.

Would appreciate any help

[Mark Rippetoe]

You have been told by a physician that the nerve pops out of the medial epicondyle groove?

[Mark E. Hurling]

Does it hurt when that happens? Because both my elbows crack loudly now and again when I reach for something at full extension lockout. It hurts a little right when it cracks, but nothing incapacitating. It just sounds like it ought to be agonizing, but it's merely a momentary and minor discomfort. I've never experienced it under load from pressing of any kind or dips though. I always figured in was the tendons rabbiting around the bones of the elbow. Do you get the electric shock sensation down your arm like when you hit your funny bone? I ask because although I'm no doctor it sounds a lot like my own quirk. I'll add that I've been arm barred with a forearm press on the ulnar nerve and that really lights things up.

[skipbeat]

something weird goes on in my left elbow. some days its there some days it isnt. what happens is when I get near my working set weights, i feel what must be a nerve being pinched about 1/2 the rep up until lockout. It happens with both bench and press. i've found that rotating my elbow clockwise and counter clockwise, while massaging the area, will generally fix whatever weird shit is going on and then I can press normally.

i look like a retard, but so far i've had a 100% success rate with this trick. i'm not sure how relevant it is, but whatever is being pinched MUST be a nerve, because it hurts alot but in a way i've never felt before. it's only my left elbow, too, and half the time it doesnt happen at all. i hope this is relevant in some way!

[quatie]

I forgot to mention that it’s actually both elbows. Yes the heavier I go the louder the popping is and the more painful it is. It all started when one of the PT’s in my gym suggested taking a slightly narrower grip on bench, when I did that it started clicking and ever since then it has been clicking on any pressing movement.

It also pops when I am not in the gym, using my arms to get up off the chair etc

Sometimes when I do OHP I get a shooting pain (like an electric shock) in my neck and forearm, the side where the Ulnar nerve is.

The Dr said that they can operate but they won’t operate on me. He said because I have built the muscle up so much the nerve has nowhere to go. I am going to see my physio on Saturday and see what he says

Thanks for your help

[Mark Rippetoe]

Sounds really bad.

[xagent]

Could be ulnar nerve entrapment, but a more severe form. I have a problem where if I flex my elbows at around 90 degrees or more, my entire ulnar nerve becomes compressed. The entire outer portion of my hand innervated by this "funny bone" nerve, the pinky, and the outer half of the ring finger, all become numb. No pain, but just numb and tingling. Happens if I hold my phone to my ear for too long, while sleeping with bent arms, sitting down and resting my arm on the armrest...

Sometimes while extending my arm I can "feel" a clicking or tingling of the funny bone. But every person is different. A slight 1-2 mm difference in placement of the nerve could be the difference between numbness and pain. As far as I know there is no cure, short of surgery. It's basically a biomechanical/orthoppedic problem.

[poppunk]

I have a problem with my left ulnar nerve that I documented here. (http://startingstrength.com/resources/forum/showthread.php?t=23681&highlight=ulnar+nerve) A doctor of osteopathy put a needle into my nerve and shot saltwater into it which released it from where it was sticking and it's been awesome for months (can barely feel any issues now). He diagnosed it with an ultrasound and did the procedure (less than 30 minutes) with it as well. He measured the nerve after my return visit and it was half the size and isn't getting trapped on my elbow under load like it was before. Ultimately, I'm missing the bone structure in that arm that holds the ulnar nerve in place; getting it built by a surgeon is doable but the recovery time is fucking horrible.

I advise that you find a doctor of osteopathy and get your elbows checked with an ultrasound. Orthopedic surgeons are going to want to cut you open, and it may be manageable with something that isn't major surgery. If you want the name of the doctor I went to near Philly, PM me.

[Mark Rippetoe]

He didn't put the needle into your nerve, I assure you. But this therapy may be an alternative to your present situation.

[Heather]

That's no ulnar nerve problem. A lesion at the elbow would cause neither the forearm nor the neck to hurt, and I've never in my life heard of a nerve "popping". Something else is going on, and if I were you I'd go find a non-idiot doctor to get a reasonable diagnosis.

[poppunk]

That's no ulnar nerve problem. A lesion at the elbow would cause neither the forearm nor the neck to hurt, and I've never in my life heard of a nerve "popping". Something else is going on, and if I were you I'd go find a non-idiot doctor to get a reasonable diagnosis.

I had "popping" in elbow flexion which is also described as snapping (still have it under really weird conditions) and it is my ulnar nerve. Depending on the situation it could "pop" lightly, or I could feel a lot of pressure build up. The DO showed me on the ultrasound how my nerve moved out of position in flexion. If I had a heavy load when benching before I saw him, I would get a lot of pressure build up during the negative and if I pushed through it I would get this insane snap because the nerve would catch on the bone until it worked like a rubber band and cut loose (massive pop/snap). I only did that once, and I couldn't push anything (even doors) for a couple of weeks.

Here are two medical articles that describe snapping in ulnar nerve dislocation/snapping triceps syndrome:

Ulnar Nerve Dislocation and Snapping Triceps Syndrome: Diagnosis with Dynamic Sonography—Report of Three Cases (http://radiology.rsna.org/content/220/3/601.full)

Ulnar Nerve Dislocation at the Elbow: Review of the Literature and Report of Three Cases (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2684704/)

[TravisRussellDC]

Nerves don't pop or snap. What you're hearing is called a tendon snap. It occurs when the tendon of the associated muscle involved in the aggravating movement rubs over a bony protuberance, such as the epicondyle in the case of elbow extension.

Taken directly from the article you posted: "Snapping triceps syndrome represents medial dislocation of the medial head of the triceps muscle over the medial epicondyle during elbow flexion"

Original poster: what you have is not an ulnar nerve problem. Your symptomatology does not suggest a peripheral nerve issue such as "ulnar nerve dislocation."

Find another doc who can accurately diagnose & treat what is going on.

[poppunk]

Nerves don't pop or snap. What you're hearing is called a tendon snap. It occurs when the tendon of the associated muscle involved in the aggravating movement rubs over a bony protuberance, such as the epicondyle in the case of elbow extension.

Taken directly from the article you posted: "Snapping triceps syndrome represents medial dislocation of the medial head of the triceps muscle over the medial epicondyle during elbow flexion"

Original poster: what you have is not an ulnar nerve problem. Your symptomatology does not suggest a peripheral nerve issue such as "ulnar nerve dislocation."

Find another doc who can accurately diagnose & treat what is going on.

We all agree that the OP should find a non-retarded medical professional. I suggested seeing a doctor of osteopathy (DO) because I had similar symptoms (not knowing how similar the issues actually are) and he actually did something that worked. The general practice doctors, orthopedist, orthopedic surgeon, and physical therapist did nothing for me. The orthopedic surgeon is allegedly one of the most accomplished elbow doctors around. All of them told me some version of "stop doing that" (lifting) and/or lifting things above my head is bad for me.

Since I'm not medically trained beyond combat lifesaving, I admit to being a clinical moron. I don't know what was directly causing the popping/snapping noise/sensation. I do know that the DO I saw showed me my ulnar nerve moving out of where it belongs (if I remember correctly, it was called the cubital tunnel) on the ultrasound. Once he treated that issue, the popping/snapping essentially stopped. My interpretation of Heather's post is that these should in no way be related. Given that the only doctor who could fix me gave me an ulnar nerve displacement diagnosis and treated it causing the pressure/pain and popping/snapping to go away I have a hard time believing they're not connected.

The reason I posted those two articles was because it clearly mentions that sensation, even if it's not the ulnar nerve itself doing it. If that sensation was completely unrelated to an ulnar nerve disorder, I find it very curious that they would even mention it in the article.