The global incidence of carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel syndrome is difficult to quantify.
In the USA, it’s thought that 3 to 6 percent of adults suffer from the conditions. In the UK, the prevalence may be higher, somewhere between 7 and 16 per cent.
In Singapore, the figure for CTS about 1 percent of the general population, with the conditions affecting the elderly and women (both pregnant and not pregnant) more.
It wasn’t until after World War II that Carpal tunnel syndrome became widely accepted as a diagnosis. There are some records of injuries like “telegraph operator’s arm” or “bricklayer’s shoulder” in the late 19th and early 20th-century literature. Even back then, women were disproportionately affected.
While still somewhat rare, these conditions can cause permanent damage to arms, wrists, hands, and digits.
If you’re experiencing pain, numbness, or tingling in your upper extremities, don’t wait. Read on to find out the carpal tunnel vs cubital tunnel symptoms to watch for and the treatments available.
Shared Symptoms
Classified as entrapment neuropathy, both carpal and cubital tunnel syndromes are essentially the results of a pinched nerve in the hand. Both conditions share common pain symptoms as well as common causes.
Affects the Nerves
When certain nerves that run from your arm to your hand and fingers get compressed. Over time, the nerve starts to swell. The swollen nerve irritates the channel of ligaments and bones that the nerve runs through.
The resulting pain is what leads to the syndrome diagnosis.
Research has shown that people with nerve and immune system disorders like bone spurs, hypothyroidism, diabetes, and various types of arthritis have a slightly increased chance of higher developing CTS and cubital tunnel syndrome.
Women also present with the conditions in higher numbers than men.
Causes Arm, Hand, and Wrist Pain
Ever sat cross-legged for too long? The numbness and that “pins-and-needles” feeling are like what people who suffer from carpal and cubital tunnel syndromes feel.
Other symptoms include chronic weakness, tingling, and sharp or aching pain anywhere along the arm. From the tips of the fingers right up to the armpit and shoulder.
Both conditions are unlikely to go away on their own. Lack of treatment can lead to the muscles wasting away in the affected areas.
Diagnosis for both starts with a physical examination by your hand specialist. Your hand surgeon might order a nerve conduction study. This will assess the nerve electrophysiological status of your wrist or elbow..
If the results come back as weak, it may lead to a diagnosis of CTS or cubital tunnel syndrome. (Or, in rare cases, both.)
Aggravated by Repetitive Actions
Hobbies like golfing, driving, gardening, and playing a musical instrument, as well as a plethora of occupations that need repetition, bring and aggravate these conditions.
Rarely, cubital tunnel syndrome and carpal tunnel syndrome is a side effect of certain medications.
It’s not only caused by actions you make at work. CTS and cubital tunnel syndrome can stop you from performing your employment duties. In severe cases, this results in loss of income or unemployment for the sufferer.
Everyday actions like holding a mug of coffee, using cutlery, or buttoning a shirt become difficult. As a result, people can find themselves with secondary ailments like insomnia, depression, and anxiety, which will also need treatment.
Where’s the Disparity? Carpal Cubital Comparison
Nerve compression is the source of both carpal tunnel syndrome and cubital tunnel syndrome. The difference between these two deceptively similar conditions lies in the location of the damaged nerve.
Ulnar Nerve in Elbow: Cubital Tunnel
The cubital tunnel houses the ulnar nerve, which is a hollow body part made up of ligament, bone, and muscle at the elbow. It’s responsible for controlling the movement of the elbow, arm, wrist, and fingers.
When you compress or stretch your elbow, pain occurs. This is usually because of a sudden injury or following a consistent, repetitive bending of the elbow. This causes the condition that doctors call cubital tunnel syndrome.
Receptionists, telemarketers, metalworkers, locksmiths, stonemasons, and joiners. These professionals are particularly susceptible to suffering from cubital tunnel syndrome.
Median Nerve in Palm: Carpal Tunnel
Carpal tunnel syndrome results from a damaged median nerve. A passageway called the carpal tunnel contains the nerve. The nerve extends across the palm side of your hands, surrounded by bones and ligaments.
Like the ulnar nerve, when a person applies too much pressure or compression to their median nerve, they damage it. Symptoms include numbness, tingling, burning, and pain, which often radiates throughout the hand and wrist and up the arm.
Certain professionals are most likely to suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome. Musicians, bakers, factory workers, seamstresses and tailors, hairdressers, and checkout operators.
Pain Characterisation Differences
While both conditions affect the fingers and hands, the nerves are different.
People feel the pain of CTS the most in the thumb and first three digits. Carpal tunnel syndrome is usually accompanied by mild to intense burning sensations. They radiate across the hand and up the wrist and arm.
In contrast, the fingers challenged by cubital tunnel syndrome include the last digits: the little and ring fingers. Sufferers usually report pain in their inside hand, too. Symptoms can worsen at night, especially if you tend to bend your elbow while asleep.
Non-Surgical Treatments for Carpal Tunnel and Cubital Tunnel
If left untreated, both conditions can lead to a permanent lack of coordination in your extremities.
With only around 30 per cent of sufferers improving without any medical intervention, the odds are not in your favour. If you suffer from the debilitating arm, hand, or wrist pain caused by carpal or cubital tunnel syndrome, it’s worth seeking treatment early.
Medications
The best-case scenario is that your health professional catches these conditions early. You can recover using conservative treatment.
This involves a combination of medications, nerve vitamins, splinting, and physiotherapy.
OTC medications like ibuprofen, aspirin, or acetaminophen might help reduce pain. If you need stronger pain relief, consult with your healthcare professional. They might recommend stronger NSAIDs, diuretics, and corticosteroids.
Vitamins and supplements that may help include topical menthol and safflower, Vitamin B6 and C, and Omega-3 fatty acids. Again, you must consult with your medical professional. Do so before starting any complementary approaches.
The adage, Let food be thy medicine, might hold some weight for CTS and cubital tunnel syndrome, too. For example, avoiding coffee and other stimulates may help.
Exercises and Physical Therapy
Medication isn’t the only option available to sufferers of these difficult conditions.
Medical experts recommend taking medication in conjunction with do-at-home exercises and physical therapy.
Exercises you can do at home might include:
- Elbow and wrist extensions
- Front-facing arm flexes
- Neck Stretches
Physio treatment is suitable in cases where surgery isn’t necessary. It is also helpful for recovery after tissue and nerve surgery to relieve the symptoms of carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel syndrome.
Treatments will include scar massage, mobility-enhancing stretching, and wrist and hand muscle exercises. A good clinic might also offer physical therapy education so you know how to relieve pain on your own as well as worksite visits.
Surgical Interventions for Both Conditions
We use our hands every day, often unconsciously. With slow-progressing issues like carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel syndromes, sometimes you don’t realise what’s going on until it’s too late.
By then, hand surgery might be your only option.
Surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome and cubital tunnel syndrome aims to relieve nerve compression.
Surgeons at the Centre for Hand and Reconstructive Microsurgery (CHARMS) train in the three surgical procedures. Limited open carpal tunnel release (LOCTR) with specialist instruments. Endoscopic surgery. And traditional open carpal and cubital tunnel release.
Recovery is generally fast and involves a regime of medication and physical therapy.
Surgically treating carpal tunnel syndrome may even have positive impacts on how your brain functions. As outlined in a Scientific Reports study from 2019. Essentially, hand surgery can make you happier!
Your hands are one of the most essential parts of the human body. You’d only trust an expert hand surgeon to work on them, right?
CHARMS has an expert surgical and consultant team. It consists of surgeons, hand therapists, and nursing staff. They are senior, nationally recognised, and Singapore Council registered.
They have a total of fifty years of experience in hand condition treatment. From aesthetic considerations to improving function and join replacement.
Choose CHARMS for Your Hand Care Needs
CHARMS is a right choice medical care provider for international patients. Especially those who have exhausted their limited options in their home country.
Singapore is one of the few countries in the world where hand surgery is a speciality. You’re guaranteed the best nursing care, most up-to-date medical knowledge, and dedicated surgeons. They specialise in hand conditions like carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel syndromes.Don’t wait until your condition worsens and you’re immobilised by pain. Whether you’re in Singapore or living overseas, we urge you to enquire with CHARMS today.