Lend a girl a hand, will ya?

July 19, 2009 9:31 PM

Ulnar Nerve Entrapment and Me: How to help the healing of my poor arm? A month ago, I was diagnosed with UNE, after a combination of using a bad table at home, a travel injury and bad crutch use over the months. So now, I want to do everything I can to heal my poor beleagured arm, because it's still acting up.

I saw this thread, and it gave me some good ideas: Tell Ergonomic Consultant Needed. However, I have a unique situation in which I sometimes use a cane or crutch with the affected arm, which in turn acts up the nerve. (I also have Spastic Paraparesis, and while it's calmed down a lot, I use a cane or a forearm crutch every day, depending on how I'm doing.)

Here's what I've done:
* Got my work desk set up with foam mouse and keyboard pads, and I'm sitting at the right level.
* I do most of my walking with my cane/crutch in the good hand, though this is not preferred. My doc also retaught me how to hold it properly with the bad hand, but using it still hurts.
* I have a wrist splint I wear daily, and at night I wear an elbow splint to prevent my arm from bending overnight.
* This is my dominant hand/arm, so I've also put off doing hand heavy tasks, like drawing and painting watercolors. However, I really REALLY miss drawing and painting. (I do these on my bad desk at home; I don't have enough space for a separate drafting table.)
* My desk at home is horrid, so I'm heading to IKEA this week or next to get a more ergonomically friendly setup. I needed to get something larger anyways, this provides a great excuse to do so! In the meantime, I'm sitting on a blanket to raise myself to the right level, and trying to limit my computer work.
*I'm allergic to NSAIDs, so I can't use those to reduce the swelling.
* I use a cell phone, but I websurf more than I talk on it.

Despite all of this, it's still acting up. Is there anything else I can do to help the healing process along, or is it just a matter of time? Thanks.

posted by spinifex23 to health & fitness (6 comments total)

Self massage for 10-15 minutes a day can do wonders, youtube tutorial.

Soft tissue work is your friend, active release, myofascial release, trigger point etc. Hand therapists who work with string instrument musicians can also be very helpful.

There are other ways to reduce inflammation without use of NSAIDs such as bromelain, omega-3 fatty acids, and curcumin.
posted by zentrification at 10:53 PM on July 19 [1 favorite]

Due to a combination of pre existing injury (dumped my motorcycle a few times) and a horrendous accident while on a business trip where I totally fractured my left (dominant) arm's elbow, I had to have extensive surgery including a Ulnar Nerve Transplant.

This was back in 1997, and even now I find that I will get symptoms of compression (tingling, etc) that become rather uncomfortable unless I stretch and make sure to keep pressure off that arm.

The desk is a great start as simply doing any type of manual work with the afflicted limb in a poor position will irritate the injury, but I'd counsel against trying to "baby" the arm (which I realise is a natural tendency that I've got as well), and instead stretch and use it normally as much as possible. I've got good days and bad days but there you go.

zentrification thanks for the info on self-massage. I was doing something like that myself, informally and very crudely but now I see how to do it better. Great links.
posted by Mutant at 2:57 AM on July 20

Soft-tissue work as mentioned above is great for symptoms, but it would help to know where your nerve is entrapped. Could be at the wrist, elbow, and/or at the root, which is in your neck (C8). I'm a massage therapist and I started developing symptoms a few months ago in my dominant (left) hand --- what has worked for me is chiropractic adjustments at all three spots combined with soft-tissue work and strengthening exercises.
posted by headnsouth at 3:56 AM on July 20

It might not be what you want to hear, but you may need surgery. I had cubital tunnel syndrome, where the nerve gets trapped in the elbow. It progressed from numbness in my hand, to loss of coordination to a noticeable wasting of muscle in my hand.

I had surgery to release the nerve, and the results were immediate. Literally the moment I woke up, I had coordination back in my fingers. It took nearly a full year to get feeling back in the tips of my fingers, but the strength in my hand came back quickly since I lift weights a lot.

The surgery itself isn't that bad, and it basically makes it impossible that the nerve will ever get trapped there again. It wasn't very painful, as far as surgeries go, and recovery was fairly fast. I was basically back to normal in a month, minus the numbness, and was lifting weights heavily after 6 weeks. The numbness persisted for about a year, but having coordination back in my hand made that bearable.
posted by sanka at 8:14 AM on July 20

crazy. i just started getting numbness in my pinky and ring finger 2 weeks ago. going to an orthopedist on Wednesday. No doubt this is what I have...
posted by joecacti at 11:44 AM on July 20

zent, I'll try the massage, thanks! I'm also going to get a proper massage this week to see if it helps it, if so, I can see if I can get a doctor to prescribe them for me (and insurance to cover them).

sanka, I hope I don't have to get the surgery, and by doing things now, I may be able to avoid it. So far, I don't have the coordination issues, just numbness and tingling.

And thanks for the suggestions; keep them coming!
posted by spinifex23 at 4:36 PM on July 20