elbow pain

  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.  

[CCF Neuro MD MJD]

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