Cut ulnar nerve & having issues.

I cut my ulnar nerve, artery and tendon at the wrist. Still feel pain and burning sensation after surgery 2 months ago. Can't grip anything or no strength. Scar is sensitive. Am I still suppose to have those feelings? Has anyone gotten their full strength back?




I have given your post a heading so more people will see it. Thanks.

Post Edited By Moderator (straydog) : 2/6/2016 6:38:01 PM (GMT-7)

Welcome to the forum and like Susie said severing a nerve especially one as large in its function as the ulnar nerve is a traumatic experience and nerves never entirely recover. The degree of residual effects depends on the severity of the injury,completely severing,nicking it,compression on,etc. In saying that nerves in various places and area's of the body are highly specialized according to the system they're functioning in. Some nerve cells do not have the ability to regenerate at all but those that do,do so at a extremely slow rate.

My daughter was running as 10 yr olds do and hit the plate glass entry door to the laundry in our apartment building and her right arm literally crashed through the glass ahead or severing all that you have. That was 8 years ago and after working with Occupational therapy and physical therapy about a year post surgical repairs she was pretty much at the top of her healing and recovery. What she was at that point was where she remains today all these years later. She regained the use and feeling in her thumb which was originally lost,the constant burning pain slowed and eventually dissipated and although her lower forearm and wrist doesn't interpret touch as normal and she gets hives often if stressed in the same area she pretty much regained all pre-injury ability.

This early out what your experiencing is normal and you still have a ways to go it seems.

Good luck and hopefully you will continue to see results and relief as you continue to heal.

Are you by chance seeing a hand specialist? Don't get discouraged, with the nerve being cut thats a huge issue. Perhaps you don't realize the trauma that has been done because of that. I can tell you are expecting a lot more progress than what you have but again, I just don't think you realize the magnitude of what has happened. Do exactly whatever the dr says to do. As more time goes by different things will be added to the list of exercises.

Something to run by your dr is to ask about buying a hot wax machine & when it would be ok to use one at home. Hot wax machines are inexpensive & they can help a lot with stiffness. I bought mine at Kohls several years ago on sale under $50. My reason for buying is I have psoriasis, extremely dry hands, a lot of arthritis in both hands & wrists. It really does help with the stiffness. I fell & broke my arm a few years back & where the break was at I could get it in the hot wax. It helped a lot with the pain & stiffness.

Keep us posted.

Awesome, so glad to hear you are seeing a hand specialist.

Koolin, hello and welcome to the forum. I severely damaged my ulnar nerve, at the elbow. It went undiagnosed for 5 months before I finally had surgery on it. At that point I was down to about 25% normal nerve function. That was back in 1996. Today, I still experience tingling/burning and diminished sense of touch/feel from the elbow down into the fingers, but it is manageable.

Looking back, I'd say the scar (8 inches long) took almost a year to be desensitized with ice and massage. Still, if I scratch it, it is tender. I don't know if your physical therapist is using what mine referred to as 'points' or not to help the nerve. A stylus type of instrument would be placed along the nerve path and "zaps" would be sent through the stylus. I believe this helped tremendously with getting back as much function as I have. I remember a lot of ultrasound treatments to the nerve also.

My brain reads 'cold' as 'wet'. Hot is still 'hot' thank goodness. Be very careful as you learn how the nerve will send messages to the brain and how the brain will interpret those messages. Especially with considering 'hot wax' (paraffin) treatments!

Follow your therapists lead. He may have you tape your ring finger and pinky together with your middle finger, to help the 'muscle memory'. The medial nerve will help as much as it can.

Oh, yeah, I feel 'itch' but I do not feel 'scratched' and have injured myself by scratching too much and too hard, trying to 'satisfy' the itch. One thing that has helped is if I scratch the opposite arm in the area of the itch. Sort of like what they do with mirror therapy for amputees.

The biggest thing you have to be concerned about is the possibility of injury to yourself. Be very aware of where your hand is, heat sources, cold sources, anything sharp, pressure, strangulation, etc. When possible, expose BOTH hands to temperature extremes, so that your 'good' hand can help your affected hand relearn and notify your brain of what it is feeling.

Nerves take far longer than muscle and skin to heal. I KNOW it's frustrating, but patience will prevail.
Feel free to contact me anytime!

The hot wax machine I mentioned Koolin the wax does not heat up enough to create a burn. A lot of physical therapists uses them depending on the individuals condition. You will find drs & therapists work differently so, I would not be concerned that your therapist does things different than what Pitmom's did, same as no two injuries are alike. That is good that you have not lost muscle. Has your dr tried you on any of the medications used to treat nerve pain such as Gabapentin or Lyrica? I have just named these 2, there are several others that can help nerve pain. Narcotics do not work on nerve pain.

Hopefully the EMG will shed some light on things.

What people?

Pain is subjective. Doctors are taught that if they do 'a', then 'b' will be the result. There are so many variables that 'school' can't take into account.

Two months is not a long period of time. The skin may be healed and scarred, the muscle may also be healed, but nerves take much longer.

An individuals perception of pain will vary greatly from the next individual. Chronic pain sufferers learn to 'grade' our pain differently. I have many areas of pain. On average, most of it is at a level 4. I have an old whiplash injury that has been a constant 7 since it was aggravated by me being hit by a truck and injuring the shoulder. Some days it is a 10. Unrelenting 7 is much harder to 'ignore' than just constant 4.

Anxiety plays a role also. You are worried that your hand won't heal completely. That can add to the perception of pain. The physical therapist I had for my right wrist (dominant hand) was really good at talking with me about the 'what ifs' as she worked hard at helping me get as much function back as she possibly could. Three surgeries was quite a lot to have to deal with. The last 2, nerves were removed in an effort to keep me from developing more ganglion cysts. When I was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome in that wrist...it was almost too much for me. I refused another surgery and the risks.

Keep your own pace. Don't let worker's comp push you around. Get a lawyer.

As for your friends, they are probably trying to express concern. Unless they've also severed a nerve, all they have to go by is what they may have healed from. Try to be gentle and patient with them.

Pitmom,
Hello. I'm starting to notice muscle deterioration in my hand.

Hi all...I completely severed my ulnar nerve at my elbow November 2016 had surgery to screw my medial epicondyle back in place they micro surgery stitched the nerve back together and had to transfer ulnar nerve to inside of my for arm.I was devastated. ..a lot of nerve pain super hypersensitivity with touch hot cold ...if I have an itch it's never feels itched while itching .I can't cross my fingers any more and my muscles wasted. I Juse had a second surgery done where they super charged my ulnar nerve .they took my medial nerve and transfered it into my ulnar nerve to Jumpstart the hand where the injury haso effected my hand.pins and needles all the time burning going nuts.have had more feeling back since second surgery I'll keep u posted