Maybe your GP has named it. Maybe you've worked it out yourself: your ring and little fingers go numb halfway through a phone call, or you wake with them tingling after a night with your arm tucked up. Either way, you want to know two things. What is this, and will the elbow brace you've seen online fix it?
The ulnar nerve is your "funny bone" nerve. It passes behind the bony bump on your inner elbow, through a narrow channel called the cubital tunnel, on its way to your little and ring fingers and the small muscles of your hand. You may also hear it called ulnar nerve entrapment. It's the same problem 6, and our ulnar nerve entrapment page covers daily habits and sleeping positions in more depth.
Bending your elbow strains the nerve and raises the pressure inside the tunnel 5. A moment of that is harmless. Hours of it, day after day, and the nerve starts to complain. The usual culprits:
Tingling in these fingers doesn't always start at the elbow. Other problems can feel similar and need a different plan 2:
That's why we check your neck and whole arm as well as the elbow.
Most of this gets worked out in the consulting room. A clinician asks how it started, where you feel it and what it's stopping you doing 2. Then they look for wasting in the small hand muscles, test the feeling in your little and ring fingers, and get you to grip a sheet of paper while they pull it away. That's Froment's sign, a check for thumb weakness 2. Moving your neck, shoulder and wrist shows whether other positions bring the symptoms on 6.
Nerve conduction studies measure how well the nerve is working and help pin down where it's being squeezed 6, but they aren't part of a first assessment 2. Most causes don't show on an X-ray, though one may be taken to look for bone spurs or arthritis 6.
First we confirm the problem really is at the elbow, with a careful history and simple clinical tests (see the FAQs). Then treatment usually involves:
These are what most people search for first, and the evidence is less convincing than the marketing. Adding splints and nerve exercises to advice on positions made no further improvement 1. In one trial, a night brace worn for three months made no significant difference at six months 4. A brace can still be a simple way to stop your elbow bending overnight. It's a tool, not the treatment.
Gentle movements meant to help the nerve slide rather than get tugged. They're commonly prescribed, but added nothing measurable in trials 1, and their effect on this condition remains uncertain 4.
Hands-on manual therapy through the elbow, forearm and neck can help you move more comfortably. It's on the list of non-surgical options, but high-quality studies of conservative care here are scarce 4, so we use it alongside position changes, not instead of them.
Physiotherapists don't prescribe, give or arrange injections, so this is only what the research reports: in one trial of 55 people, a steroid injection did no better than a placebo at three months 1.
Considered when conservative care hasn't worked, or if weakness or muscle wasting appears 5. The two main operations, releasing the nerve or moving it to the front of the elbow, work about equally well, though moving it led to more wound infections 1. Results are good for mild to moderate compression and less reliable when it's severe or long-standing 5. We can guide your rehab afterwards. Researchers still don't know exactly when to choose surgery over conservative care 1.
Cubital tunnel syndrome is a squeezed nerve, not a torn tissue, so The Well Motion Recovery Path™ is about calming the nerve and keeping it calm. You move up a phase when your hand copes with more, not when a date arrives.
How long it usually takes. In one randomised trial of 70 people with mild or moderate symptoms, 51 of the 57 followed up (89.5%) had improved at six months 9. That is one small trial with no untreated group. After surgery, your surgeon sets the timeline, and nerves recover slowly 6.
Nobody has run a prevention trial for cubital tunnel syndrome, so this list leans on the one tested piece of advice and the known risk factors:
Stop self-managing and get an assessment if:
In one trial of conservative approaches, 89.5% of people improved 5. Timing still matters, because long-standing compression tends to recover less well 5.
We start by listening: how it began, what makes it worse, and what it's stopping you from doing. Then we examine the area, explain what we find in plain English, and agree a plan with you. Your first visit is 40 minutes at Engadine and 30 minutes at our other clinics.
We see patients at Engadine, Mount Annan, Narellan and Appin, and at home through our mobile physiotherapy service. If you have private health cover, here's how health fund rebates work for physiotherapy.
The pattern is pins and needles or numbness in your little finger and the little-finger half of your ring finger, often brought on by a bent elbow 2. We confirm it with simple tests, such as holding your elbow fully bent for a minute, or tapping over the nerve 2. In one study, the elbow-bend test was positive in 75% of affected arms and rarely positive in people without the condition 3.
Not rigidly. The aim is to avoid keeping it bent for long periods 2. At night, a towel, tape or a splint can stop it folding right up 2. A night brace gave no extra benefit in one trial 4, so your habits matter more than any product.
It can be. If you sleep with your elbow tucked up, symptoms can build overnight and still be there when you wake 2.
Mild to moderate cases often improve over a few months: in one trial, about nine in ten had improved at six months 4. If yours hasn't settled within two to three months, or it's interfering with daily life, get it reviewed 2. Severe or long-standing cases take longer and recover less fully 5.
Pain and tenderness on the outside of the elbow, usually worst when you grip something, lift a full kettle, or turn a doorhandle. It builds through repeated load rather than all at once, and you don't have to play tennis to get it.
Read moreThe same pattern of overuse, on the inside of the elbow instead. Common in golfers, and just as common in tradies and anyone who grips hard all day.
Read moreTingling or numbness running into your ring and little finger, from the "funny bone" nerve being compressed as it passes the elbow. You may have heard it called cubital tunnel syndrome instead.
Read more
How would you like to reach us?
Message us on WhatsAppFor bookings and enquiries. Please don't send medical details. Call (02) 8111 5633Request a call-back
Request sent
Thank you. We'll call you back on the number you gave us.
This is a preview, so nothing was actually sent.