Cubital Tunnel Syndrome (aka numb pinky finger) from Squats?

[kurt1911]

My left pinky finger has started tingling and going numb for the past week or so. I'm 99% sure it's cubital tunnel syndrome, the location of the numbness and increase in severity when my elbow is bent match the symptoms perfectly. It seems to be exacerbated by squatting. Has anyone else experienced this and if so, were you able to rehab it effectively?

[bean counter]

I have the same symptom and I haven't been able to get rid of it for a year. My case is still under medical investigation, so I haven't had a definitive diagnosis, and the neurological problem may not even be in the elbow, but I do also have problems with elbow tendinitis, which definitely are squat-related.

When I was in the initial, most acute, phase the problem was clearly exaggerated by elbow flexion, so I had to make a conscious effort not to keep my elbow bent (particularly when sleeping). I've also switched to a thumbs around, bent wrist grip on the squat as that puts less strain on my elbows.

A downside of having had ulnar nerve problems for a while now is that my pink finger now naturally curls in towards the palm at rest. Thankfully I have no functional deficit, but living with it is an irritation.

[Philbert]

My left pinky finger has started tingling and going numb for the past week or so. I'm 99% sure it's cubital tunnel syndrome, the location of the numbness and increase in severity when my elbow is bent match the symptoms perfectly. It seems to be exacerbated by squatting. Has anyone else experienced this and if so, were you able to rehab it effectively?

Yes. Improved with lacrosse ball rolling of pecs and other shoulder girdle muscles. I cannot explain the physiology, and neither can the guy I got the idea from (not Bill Been, but sometimes talks like him).

[eddododo]

I managed to curb that, as well as some shoulder issues, by focusing on my technique a bit more. Make SURE your hands aren't bearing weight. Warm up your shoulders and arms a bit more before lifting- I personally like neutral face pulls, pushups, and assisted pullups, along with wrist/arm circles.

A BIG problem I had, but one that was subtle, was letting the bar shift when I was done with a set / racking the bar. On the press, for example, I kept the bar held up by good technique and MUSCLES, but when I went to rack it, I always let the bar slide a little lower onto my chest, which put a LOT of tension across my shoulder and elbows. I now be sure to rack the bar with my legs, NOT by my shoulder R.O.M. Same thing with the squat. Also, play with your grip width a little. Try this-- tighten your back HARD like you are squatting, but then, keeping your back tight, try to flop your hands, then wrists, then forearm. Your back can stay tight without just KILLING your arms. I also found that letting my hands go a bit HIGHER over the bar allowed the tight closed back tension, without killing my arms/joints

[teebob21]

My left pinky finger has started tingling and going numb for the past week or so. I'm 99% sure it's cubital tunnel syndrome, the location of the numbness and increase in severity when my elbow is bent match the symptoms perfectly. It seems to be exacerbated by squatting. Has anyone else experienced this and if so, were you able to rehab it effectively?

I have this. It's a chronic compression injury of the ulnar nerve. You gotta stay off your left elbow when you're on the computer. Squatting only seems to make it worse, because you already have it. If anything, I would think benching might exacerbate it too. Rehab for me was diagnosed as no pressure on the elbow joint for four to six months (as in elbow on desk; not pressure of exertion). I can't manage to stay off my elbow so if I want it to go away I am going to need a brace/pad.

[anniemichael]

I have had this for at least 3-4 years. I assume I caused it with shitty press/bench form back when I was first learning and messing around with weights. Main issue for me is if I leave my left arm at a sharper-than-90-degree angle for too long (a couple minutes), it'll go tingly and numb. So basically I wake up every morning with tingly forearm and pinky. Unfortunately I have no solutions to offer for this other than sleeping in a splint or wrapping a towel around your arm to prevent it from bending at night. I'm going to start trying the lacrosse ball/PVC pipe work on my pecs, we'll see how it goes.

[maturin]

My left pinky finger has started tingling and going numb for the past week or so. I'm 99% sure it's cubital tunnel syndrome, the location of the numbness and increase in severity when my elbow is bent match the symptoms perfectly. It seems to be exacerbated by squatting. Has anyone else experienced this and if so, were you able to rehab it effectively?

In addition to previous advice:

The nerves aren't especially elastic, and since they pass joints somewhat offset from the center of rotation they need to have a bit of glide: If they are tensioned distally they need to "slacken" more proximally and glide a bit in order to not get under to much tension. Gliding of the ulnar nerve is something that happens naturally when you're straightening the collar of your shirt, for example. If the gliding is restricted somehow the ulnar nerve'll get under more tension during elbow flexion since it passes on the outside of the elbow.
If, IF this is part of your problem a nerve glide exercise might help. The idea is to find a position that puts tension on the nerve proximally and slacken it distally, and one position that tensions it proximally and slackens it distally, and then change between those two positions.

A simple example, since I don't have any pictures to post: Stand with your arms hanging down and your neck side-bent to the right. Start by extending your fingers on your left hand, then your wrist, then flex your elbow and bring the palm of your hand up to your ear (fingers pointing down) while you side-bend your head to the left. Reverse and return to the starting position. Repeat x10, squat again and reassess your symtoms, or do these glides at home daily if you don't want to look like a fool in the gym. They should be painless and they should not aggravate your symtoms. Give it a week or so and see what happens.
Again, this is working under the assumption that it's actually cubital tunnel syndrome you've got. Can be worth trying before considering surgical release.
How's your wrist position during the squat? Neutral? For how long have you been squatting without problems before this? Has anything changed lately?

[kurt1911]

Thank you all for the information and suggestions, glad to know I'm not the only one. I've been doing some soft tissue work on my left shoulder but I'll give the lacrosse ball a shot. I've been sleeping with my arms straight and making it a point not to rest on my left elbow, that seems to have reduced the symptoms somewhat. It still doesn't feel right but it's not tingling anymore.

maturin, thankfully I don't think surgery will be necessary, the symptoms are mild and improving, I just don't want to make a small problem worse by ignoring it. I believe my wrist position is good, Brodie straightened out my grip when I had a session with him this summer and it looks good on video. I've been lifting for 2.5 years, with several breaks in there. This problem surfaced once early on and then went away when I took a break, it hasn't recurred for about 1.5 years. The biggest change is that the weight is getting heavier, I'm back up to PR territory. Form seems to be holding together well, much better after Brodie's coaching.