ulnar nerve problems after extensive elbow surgery

[nicholas527]

Approximately 2 years ago I had a biking accident and did sever damage to my elbow.  I snapped the head of the radius completely off and dislocated the humerus.  In the process I also managed to tare the entire lateral ligament complex of the elbow.  My surgeon managed to relocate the humerus and reattach the head of the radius with a plate and some screws.  He also managed to reattach the torn ligaments.  After many months of physical therapy I now have almost all of my range of motion back.  Since the pain of the surgery has gone away I started to notice that I have been having ulnar nerve problems.  Every time I rest my arm on something, like an arm rest, my pinkie finger and ring finger fall asleep really quickly.  I was wondering if this has happened to anyone else out there. Or if someone could point me in the right direction with possible problems or treatment.   Thanks in advance.

[Erin555]

Hi, I had a similar operation in 2006 after a year and a half of doctors telling me there was nothing wrong, I had dislocated my elbow and tore the ligament between the elbow and the tricep, because I broke my arm at the same time they did not find out about the ligament tear, after a year and a half I had an MRI and then surgery to connect the ligament and remove the chips of bone in my elbow. I have had very similar issues with my arm and constant nerve pain in my entire arm, causing numbness of my little fingers and the outer edge of my hand and arm. I also had about 6 months of physio and have gained most of my movement. I also tried acupuncture, this did help my constant ulnar nerve pain, although when I over use my arm I still have a lot of pain. I am still unable to lean on a table, lift anything heavy or sleep on that side without numbness, I also have problems when writing over long periods of time. I was told because the muscle was left unattached for so long that this was going to be the case for me, but I have been determined to get it working again and get rid of the pain. I felt that acupuncture was a help to me but did not fix all the pain. Amazing to hear your story, have never heard of anyone else with same pain issues, I hope you have had more luck than me with solving the nerve pain. :) Erin

[Jammer210]

I am a guitar player and have had an ulnar nerve problem after
extensive computer work and guitar playing. I could barely use my left hand at all.  I was told I had to have the ulner nerve re-routed with surgery but refused because of the possible damage it could do. I tried acu-puncture and chiropracters with no results for over a year. Finally I went to a "real" chiropracter I was referred to by a friend. The chiropracter was sure he could help. I went for about a month and a half.  He worked his way from my neck to my back and then finally my arms and hand. The numbness started to fade after the month and a half and about two weeks later I could play guitar again. I feel I have most of my dexterity back and have been fine for over 10 years. Nerve damage takes a long time to repair, try to stay away from surgery as long as you can it could possibly make matters worse.