CARPAL TUNNEL VS CUBITAL TUNNEL:

The radial nerve, while providing support and sensation for some of these areas, also innervates the tricep muscles. It runs down your forearm along your brachial artery and eventually splits into two branches, the ‘deep branch’ and the ‘superficial branch,’ both of which help you feel and move areas in your forearm.

The ulnar nerve also runs down your arm and serves to innervate parts of your hand and forearm — specifically the ring and little finger, and corresponding palm areas. It helps out with that typing process. But the key difference here is the ulnar nerve runs through a groove in the humerus bone at the elbow; here in this groove is it’s generally protected, but also susceptible to some specific types of injury if the bone or joint is held at certain positions for too long — this is how one can develop Cubital Tunnel Syndrome.

THE ULNAR NERVE AND CUBITAL TUNNEL SYNDROME

When comparing Carpal vs Cubital Tunnel Syndrome, the latter is much less common, as Cubital Tunnel Syndrome occurs only in about 30 people out of every 100,000. The cause and symptoms, however, are often similar. Both are caused by the compression or irritation of a nerve, and both cause pain, numbness, or tingling in fingers — albeit different fingers. Cubital Tunnel Syndrome will typically affect ring and little fingers, and it’s caused when that ulnar nerve is compressed at the elbow — where it travels through the cubital tunnel at the groove in the humerus. The ulnar nerve is your ‘funny bone,’ and is the cause of that tingling feeling when you bang your elbow the wrong way. You can develop Cubital Tunnel Syndrome by bending your elbow too much with strenuous work, leaning on your elbow too much, or injuring the area. Arthritis and bone spurs can cause irritation on the ulnar nerve and lead to Cubital Tunnel Syndrome as well; often, however, the cause of the syndrome isn’t clear cut and is left unknown.

THE MEDIAN NERVE AND CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME

With the rise of office culture and how many jobs now tend to require extended periods of time typing at a computer or in assembly line, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome has become incredibly common. Nearly 1 in 6 adults are affected by Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and women are three times more likely to develop CTS than men. Like the less common Cubital Tunnel Syndrome, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is caused by the compression of a nerve — in this case the median nerve at the wrist, which travels through the carpal tunnel. Those suffering from this syndrome could experience numbness, tingling, or pain in their thumb, index, or long fingers and the corresponding palm; they may lose the ability to differentiate between hot and cold or experience muscle weakness in these areas. At first, they might experience symptoms only at night, as many people sleep with flexed wrists. That flex is what applies pressure to the carpal tunnel, and by extension to the median nerve, causing it to become irritated or swollen. Injury, overuse, or cysts and tumors can also cause this compression; in some cases, the cause is unknown.

In any case, if left untreated, CTS can cause permanent nerve damage and even result in the loss of function of the hand.