FIBROMYALGIA AND ULNA NERVE ENTRAPMENT – ARE THEY CONNECTED?…

Back in January I wrote how I had been suffering from pins and needles in my right pinky finger and second finger and my GP had said she thought it was probably a trapped Ulnar Nerve.

A trapped Ulnar Nerve is caused when the surrounding tunnel between the forearm muscles becomes too tight. The ulnar nerve goes round the back of the inner side of your elbow (sometimes called your funny bone). It then goes through a tight tunnel between the forearm muscles. If the tunnel becomes too tight it can cause pressure on the nerve, usually resulting in numbness in your ring and little fingers – called cubital tunnel syndrome.

I was told to apply anti inflammatory gel twice a day and if it was no better in four weeks to go back and see my GP. During the four week period I also had my lumber spinal injections so my pain consultant suggested I go straight to see his Physiotherapist as she could treat me conservatively with massage and exercises. At my second visit to the Physiotherapist it was obvious that it was very bad and she felt that I should go back to my pain consultant to talk about some pain relief. It has now reached the stage where I cannot drive, cannot use the computer upstairs as I cannot work the mouse without pain and the pain during the night is waking me up regularly.

I booked a telephone conversation with my pain consultants nurse yesterday and she pointed out that firstly it was a new problem so I would have to see my pain consultant first and secondly that because I am having regular steroid injections in my lumber spine it would mean that I am not allowed some in my arm. I was given an arm splint which I am using all the time as it’s my right hand which is always doing one thing or another.

I then decided that I would research this problem to see if there was anything I could do in the meantime to help it heal and it is apparently a very very common compalint. Resting the arm with the trapped nerve is obvious but not being able to write and go onto the internet on my laptop would be heartbreaking for me so I am just trying to pace myself a little. I also noticed that when I put this condition into google that quite a few came up with ‘Fibromyalgia’ in the description so I looked further into the problem and low and behold it is quite a common complaint for people who are suffering from Fibro.

The trouble is that the nerve actually comes from your neck and so the nurse I spoke to yesterday said the consultant would definitely want to check out my neck first which of course has had two previous surgeries to it and has another prolapsed disc under the previous fusion. I can now see that the chances are this new problem is related to all my spinal and Fibro problems and I will just have to try and be patient until I know the outcome of it all.