ULNAR NERVE situation ruining my life

I am feeling depressed because there has been no progress with my ulnar nerve problem. Can any one help please?

Six months ago I woke up with right arm a bit numb but full of pins and needles feeling. A week later it went away except for in my right pinkie and half of the ring finger. Went to fisio, accupunkture, neck manipulation, no relief. Also did neck and ulnar stretching exercises for 2 weeks - made it a bit worse as my neck then started to pain too and my shoulder! Finally saw a Neorologist that confirmed damage to ulnar nerve after testing with pulse machine and needle -he says I have moderate damage and think the entrapment is in my elbow.

He gave no exercises and only said wear "child's knee volley ball pad" - at night to keep arm straight, in the day to cushion elbow. (I'm an adult, 49, male), ----> COULD NOT FIND PAD ANYWHERE IN TORONTO. None at sports store, tried all the pharmacies, Walmart, sports injury clinic, no luck! Where can I urgently get one??? (Did it even work for anyone?).

I then made my own contraption out of a yoga mat, and has been sleeping with it for 3 weeks. NO RELIEF. Pins and needle feeling in pinkie and half of ring finger did change a little bit, so I presume the problem is in the elbow, but not better, feeling just "shifted" a tiny bit - maybe even more intense.

----->Is the anyone that actually had this problem sorted out without surgery? I am petrified to have an op. Any practical advice that might benefit me? Help will be greatly appreciated! as I feel desperate to restore my health.

Sounds like this is classic Cubital Tunnel Syndrome. Near the bottom of this page has some non-surgical treatments like taking anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs like Ibuprofen, Naproxen, Aspirin, Diclofenac, Meloxicam, Ketorolac, etc.. Some of these you can only get by prescription.) Like your doctor said, you can wear a brace. You might go to a medical supply store and explain the situation to see what they might recommend...a pharmacist might be able to help with this too. You can google medical supply stores in your area or try your local yellow pages to find one near you. There are also the nerve gliding exercises that can help and I'm sure there is a lot of information on the internet about which exercises would be best.

Since you have pain in your neck and shoulder too, you might want your doctor to make sure there isn't an issue with the ulnar nerve in your neck or shoulder before jumping into the elbow surgery.

I've had problems with the ulnar nerve in both arms but very minor. I had the nerve conduction tests done and they were negative. The doctor that did the tests said that most likely I was putting pressure on the nerves by resting my elbows on hard surfaces which caused slight pinching of the ulnar nerves. I just avoid resting my elbows on anything now and I don't get the numbness or "pins and needles" sensations anymore unless I rest my elbows on something by accident. The doctor also suggested to try not sleeping with my arm bent at the elbow as that can cause these symptoms as well. There is no surgery I can have done, I just have to be careful not to rest my elbows on anything and not sleep with my arms bent at the elbow.

I did have carpal tunnel surgery on both wrists so I do know how these issues can be very painful and debilitating.

From what you described it really sounds like you need to have the surgery for the ulnar nerve to be repositioned in your elbow so that there is no entrapment/compression. Elbow braces are only going to help a little and are not going to prevent the numbness and other sensations entirely.

Don't wait too long for surgery though because this can cause permanent nerve damage and irreversible muscle wasting/atrophy. I'm not trying to scare you but if your doctor says you need surgery then you should probably go ahead and get it done or things will just get worse.

EDIT: Here is a video of the nerve gliding exercises: Nerve Gliding Exercises for Cubital Tunnel Syndrome