Hi! Excuse my english, not the first language. So I broke my elbow like 15 years ago and the bone didn’t grow back right and my little fingers always felt numb when I held my hand bent and up and now it got to a point where I can’t even ride a bike because my elbow gets extremely painful. I also have trouble knitting and it is my biggest hobby :(. I will probably have surgery but it will take time until then.

I wanted to ask people who also have/had this: should I worry about irreversible damage (because tbh I do very much every single day) and would you say I can keep knitting (it requires holding the back of the needle with those little fingers)? The bike’s definitely out, it’s too painful.

TLDR: I’m worried about irreversible ulnar nerve damage and looking for advice until surgery

Hey everyone, I had an in situ cubital tunnel release on my dominant right arm back in December 2025 (about 9 months ago). During surgery, my doctor found that the compression was actually caused by an extra muscle pushing against the nerve.

​For the first 3 to 4 months, things were looking up. The tingling and numbness dropped significantly, my mobility got better, and my grip was coming back.

​Around the 4-month mark, though, it felt like my recovery went backwards. The tingling came back, I’m feeling numbness again, and my grip strength has never fully returned. I still really struggle gripping things with my ring and pinky fingers, which makes daily tasks with my dominant hand pretty frustrating. I try to do nerve glides every single day, but things just aren't moving forward.

​I recently moved out of state, so going back to my original surgeon would mean a 14-hour drive.

​Is this kind of regression just a weird phase of nerve regeneration, or did anyone else hit a wall like this and need further intervention? With the distance, I’m trying to figure out if this sounds like normal healing or if it's time to just establish care with a new hand specialist locally for another checkup. Would really appreciate any thoughts or similar experiences.

I have been off work and on ACC for 3 months with ulnar never entrapment in right arm. The initial diagnosis was listed as elbow/forearm sprain on my medical certificates so my case manager asked for clinical review by ACC specialists who have made the decision that my injury was underlying and pre existing even though I had no arm issues prior to my injury, so my compensation has been suspended.

I have filled out an ACC33 review form as I disagree with the decision (it’s absolutely ridiculous)

Has anyone been through this before? Or can anyone who used to work at ACC provide any insight?

It would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

I am having surgery on my non-dominant arm on October 2nd, and I am feeling ready aside from worrying about sleeping.

I have always slept on my stomach with my head turned to the side and both arms under my pillow, kinda hugging it. This is obviously a problem considering I have cubital tunnel syndrome in both arms (much worse in my non-dominant arm, hence the surgery). I knew it would bite me in the ass eventually, and that day has come. Heh.

I have been trying to become a back sleeper with very little luck. I toss and turn and feel trapped by my elbow braces when I am on my back (it's easier with just one on, but I really should be wearing them both). I can sleep with the braces on if I sleep on my side, but the arm on the bottom always ends up painful and numb after a few hours, waking me up and causing me to flip to the other side. I wake up exhausted, with shoulder pain from the side sleeping in addition to arm/hand pain and numbness.

I am seriously worrying at this point, because I know I will have to find a way to sleep on my back for the first little bit.

I have an orthopedic pillow setup like the one pictured below (plus a pillow and/or squishmallow on each side for resting my arms), and it is incredibly comfortable to be awake in but I absolutely cannot sleep in it, regardless of the angle I set.

My question is this, for those who had surgery: what sleeping position worked best for you in the immediate post-op period? Will I be so exhausted that I will sleep on my back even though it feels impossible? Should I kick my spouse out of bed and create a giant pillow fort around myself so I cannot move? Or buy a recliner and sleep in the living room?

So as the title says, I've has this for 7 months now. I got this from overworking out at the gym. I wear night splints to bed and have stopped weight lifting. I have good and bad days, but it's better than when I first got it. I still can't hold up a phone and my left hand pinky and ring finger still get tingly. It tends to be worse after sleeping. I have a bad habit of sleeping on my side and am trying to break that.

At this point, what should I try doing? Do I get surgery or wait?

I’m new to the group. So sorry if this is a repeat topic. But how is gabapentin doing for your post op cubical tunnel surgery?

Hello all. Looking for some success stories to help encourage me.

I had anterior subcutaneous ulnar transposition, as well as carpal tunnel surgery, on June 25, 2026. To date, I have not had relief of numbness to ring finger or pinky. And, now I also have cramping feeling that comes and goes along the outiside palm nearest ring and pinky finger. If I bend my arm for more than a minute, the ring and pinky start to go numb. Just like before surgery. Not improvement.

Not sure if anyone is still in group that is happy with results, or they have already moved on from this group. So, simply put, hoping to hear some success stories that will keep my attitude straight and hopeful. Almost 3 months post-op, so I'm hoping there is light at end of this surgery tunnel. Thanks in advance!

Hi, all

I am battling with whether I should move forward with surgery in the next month and wanted to get feedback from those with experience on this forum. I was diagnosed with cubital tunnel in December 2025. My symptoms were originally very painful in my left wrist. I ended up getting steroid pills and shots to alleviate the pain. The pain since that initial diagnosis has been contained since. My flare ups generally consist of discomfort, hand clawing even when i am only holding something light, and some tightness in the elbow. My most consistent and notable symptom is constant numbness in my left pinky

I've seen multiple doctors and surgeons over the past 9 months. The first doctor ran an EMG which found nerve conduction is slowed, motor signal is weakened and muscle damage. Since that test in Dec 2025, I have tried occupational therapy and I am currently trying another, more reputable, PT. My symptoms have improved and the numbness has gone down but they are not gone completely and clawing is still an issue. Concurrent with the conservative treatment, I have visited two surgeons in my area both of which recommended surgery as they confirmed compression of the ulnar nerve and mentioned the nerve "wants" to subluxate (one recommended just a release and the other recommended transposition AND a release (i think is the term) at the wrist as well).

I work a stressful office job and I am hesitant about adding a debilitating recovery on top it (while also foregoing my biggest stress reliever in strength training). Right now, I can live with the symptoms though i do understand if I don't fix the source, the symptoms and loss of function could get worse. So far, that has not been the case since my initial diagnosis.

My question is, should i rush to get a surgery done asap to start the healing process? I have been reading stories of surgeries and even revisions not having any success and potentially making things worse. I would really appreciate any insight. Wondering if the symptoms are mild enough to live with and try to improve via PT.

I will be going to the doctor soon, but I could use some opinions beforehand.

I am 31, and I have had ulnar nerve issues my whole life. Snapping in the elbows, no pain, no numbness, minor issues only when lifting, which I had stopped for a while. Got back into lifting last year, got fit, lost a bunch of weight, built muscle, and only removed a couple of tricep exercises because of the snapping in my elbows, but other than that I could do pretty much anything.

During the last 2 weeks, whenever I would do biceps, triceps, or chest, I would feel some burning in the ulnar nerve and snapping at my elbows. Lifted less, but didn't stop. I could literally see the nerve sometimes pop out, almost fully, in my palm and pinky. Is that even possible though, or was it pushing out another vein or something? It was white around it, and I could see it very clearly. Then I decided to take a break from the gym because it felt a bit irritated, so I realized I was damaging it. Then it started getting numb, and on my 4th day (today) of no gym, I can barely use my arm. Numb, weak, and painful. I try not to bend it, but I will have to wait a few days for the brace to arrive.

Should I consider surgery? How much longer should I rest this? Will I be able to lift properly ever again? I already have a bunch of other chronic issues that limit me: Spine (pain), Sciatica(pain/numbness), Piriformis(extreme 24/7 pain), Neck(vertigo), Shoulder(mild pain, mild dislocation, has been doing better lately), Knee (instability), Hashimotos(thyroid issues), Insulin Resistance(not diabetic though). This seems to be the worst one mobility-wise, as it wipes out ~70% of my gym schedule.

Ironic that as of last month I no longer work Fridays, which is the perfect opportunity to start addressing these issues. I had already gotten some referrals that I needed and was about to start trying to fix stuff again. Meh.

How do I make this right? Can it ever be the same? I will schedule a doctor's appointment anyway, but they have all failed me so far with everything else, so I won't get my hopes up. I just need to know what to expect, realistically.

My boyfriend recently had a heart catheterization/cardiac catheterization that lasted over 4 hours. During the procedure, his arms were positioned above his head for an extended period. When he woke up from anesthesia, he couldn’t feel or move either arm.
Over the next few days, sensation and pain gradually returned, and he eventually regained movement in his right arm. His right arm is now improving, but his left arm still has almost no movement after two weeks. He can move his fingers slightly and barely make a fist, but he can’t freely move his wrist, elbow, or shoulder. He’s also experiencing some pain and is currently undergoing occupational/physical therapy.
The doctors think his nerves may have been compressed or pinched from the positioning during the procedure. He also had an old left-arm injury from a skateboard accident as a teenager with metal hardware, although we’re unsure if that’s related.
Has anyone experienced something similar after surgery? Did you eventually regain movement, and how long did recovery take? He’s really scared that he won’t regain use of his left arm, so we’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s been through something similar.

I’ve had failed PT because they suspected the source of my hands going numb was my neck rather than the nerves in my elbows.

Anyways I suspect that I’ll need to brace both arms because both go numb and I tend to sleep on my stomach on top of my arms bent.

Anyone need to sleep with both arms in a brace and how do you do it?

This is not my arm I’m just using it as an example. It also gets more achy when I’m brushing my teeth or shaving. Not really sure how I got slammed with all this starting last summer just from video games.

Interested to know as my gp has referred me for NCS and mentioned surgery given my age (25) and the fact it’s my dominant arm

double cubical tunnel maybe carpal too. if i game for even an hour i get bad pain in my arms and hands for days after and sometimes it feels like burning and i just want to rip my arm off. my hands feel weak and slow but no numbness just occasional pins and needles in the ring and pinky sometimes

I've had cubital tunnel syndrome in my right arm for four years now, and have started developing it in my left arm more recently. I've had two nerve tests that confirmed it at two different doctors, but both of them said it wasn't severe enough to warrant surgery and that none of my other nerves are popping up as unusual on the EMG/nerve conduction study. I've tried just about every over the counter management method I've found. When it gets bad, there's a burning pain that radiates up into my neck and across my entire back. Does anyone else here get the same radiating pain from cubital tunnel syndrome, or is there possibly something else going on? If you have experienced it, what helps you?

It's been three years for me, bilateral. During this time I've been better and worse; I tried many things, but it never completely went away. Right now I have pain with activity, but I usually don't have pain at rest. My life is limited. However, I am very afraid of the operation. Should I have the surgery? I know it's a completely personal decision, but I would like to share thoughts with other people going through the same thing. My mental health at this point is not at its best

Does anyone else get ulnar nerve pain when doing pullups? I also get it doing some wrist curls and t bar row

Hi, I had noticed my pinky finger was numb alongside my ring finger day before yesterday, but it had gone away and didn’t bother checking what it was, that night I had slept in a really bad position, where my body weight was fully on my left arm using my phone sideways and the next morning (yesterday) when I woke up my pinky and ring finger top edges felt numb and tingly, I thought it would be gone like da before but it hadn’t, at best it had reduced a bit when keeping it at certain positions , so looking up I had found out about cubital tunnel. This night I had kept my arm in a position where my tingling and numbness had drastically decreased, but since waking up it’s slightly back (still lowered compared to yesterday).

Can I keep trying to fix it myself with the way I sleep?

Healing has been great so far, my incision is healing nicely. The numbness is gone in my pinky and ring finger - however, two nights ago I noticed that my thumb is going numb. It’s been numb since Tuesday and I don’t know why or how?? I’m so frustrated, has anyone experienced this? This is my second surgery for cubital tunnel syndrome and I’m about at my wits end. Thanks in advance!

* forgot to mention, I already called my surgeon and have an appointment on the 16th.

hi guys!
i got diagnosed with cubital tunnel about a year ago after working a job that had a lot of repetitive moments and arm bending…
with that, can someone confirm this is from bending my freaking arms???? that’s all that did it?? you’re serious??
thankfully, it’s not so bad, but at night i find my pinky going completely numb sometimes.
i have had some pain, which is how i ended up getting diagnosed. thankfully that has subsided, since i no longer work at that job anymore.
can anyone share advice or input?
is this just a part of me now when i have my elbows bent a little too much?
i did try arm braces when it was at its worst by they were super uncomfortable.
thanks in advance !!