Questions posted in the Neurology and Neurosurgery Forum have been answered by doctors from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

Question Title: elbow pain

Forum: Neurology Forum
Topic: Neurology - General


I'm a 56 year old male in excellent health. About a month ago I began
experiencing a pain near the inner bone of my right elbow. It was as
though I'd hit my "funny bone" without the tingle and numbness that usually
accompanies that event. The low level pain has abated a bit but now my
hand feels as though it's asleep or numb. It's not painful just very
disconcerting. Is this condition a symptom of something that could be
serious? Or is it just an annoyance that I'll have to learn to live with?

Thank you for your response.


______

With the pain and tingling you describe, you could have involvement of your ulnar nerve - the nerve that causes the sharp pain of hitting your "funny bone" when you hit your elbow. Sometimes even seemingly mild trauma at the elbow (even leaning on your elbows a lot) can cause involvement of the nerve there. You should get evaluated to see if there's weakness (you don't descibe any) or reflex changes. If your history and physical suggests ulnar nerve involvement, your physcian may order an EMG (an electrical test of the nerves and muscles) to evaluate this nerve and see the type and extent of involvement. Certainly your elbow pain may be due to local factors and these symptoms may go away, but an evaluation would be helpful at clearing this up



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