What is it?

The ulnar nerve is the nerve you smack when you hit your funny bone. It goes to your pinky and ring finger and controls that part of your hand. In the wrist there is a little tunnel of ligament that the ulnar nerve passes under. Like carpal tunnel syndrome, the nerve gets pressed and causes pain and dysfunction in the areas that the ulnar nerve controls.

Repetitive motions, pressure from your bike handlebars, position of hands while sleeping, motorcycle handlebars, heavy gripping, prolonged keyboard use, vibrating power tool use and things like that lead to this syndrome, which if left to get better, but it doesn’t, can cause serious problems in your wrist and hand. If you break your wrist, dislocate it, or smash the area really hard, it may create the problem or make it much worse. Sometimes arthritis, even tumors can cause this condition. Less commonly, problems in the artery that follows the ulnar nerve can lead to problems.

How do you fix it?

Change your activities or modify them. Avoid repetitive motions or pressure in your wrists. This may mean changing your handle bar grips, or using a mouse or keyboard pad. Ice may help reduce swelling, padded gloves on your motorcycle may make a difference in the pressure on your palm.

If home remedies fail.

Professionally guided exercises, therapeutic ultrasound, chiropractic adjustments to the wrist, acupuncture, soft tissue therapies and fitted bracing devices may help, like wrist guards. As a last resort, cortisone injections and surgery may be advised.

Who to call.

Call the doctor that is going to try the least invasive treatment measures first. Call someone with experience in dealing with this injury. Because you will have likely tried fixing it yourself, time is of the essence after you’ve tried, so find someone who can get you in to their office for help sooner rather than later.

Dr. Lou Jacobs has worked with lawyers, surgeons, A-List musicians, and a bunch of other folks who have suffered from this condition. His methods for treatment work and without the use of drugs and surgery. To schedule a consultation with Dr. Lou about your wrist pain, call (207) 774-6251.

Here is a list of peer-reviewed journal articles and professional citations related to Guyon’s canal syndrome and ulnar nerve entrapment at the wrist:

  1. https://journals.lww.com/jcma/fulltext/2021/09000/influential_factors_of_surgical_decompression_for.13.aspx
  2. https://www.scielo.br/j/anp/a/WkwjVcMGwyvRYcrsw49bvgC/
  3. https://turkishneurosurgery.org.tr/pdf.php?id=885
  4. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2744748/
  5. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1748681522002479
  6. https://ajronline.org/doi/10.2214/ajr.158.5.1566671
  7. https://jkoa.org/DOIx.php?id=10.4055%2Fjkoa.2015.50.6.532
  8. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2019.00632/full
  9. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210261224007594
  10. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21845587/
  11. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589514120300438
  12. https://www.thejcn.com/DOIx.php?id=10.3988%2Fjcn.2022.18.1.59
  13. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221026122200428X
  14. https://www.ijhsr.org/IJHSR_Vol.4_Issue.11_Nov2014/45.pdf
  15. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0972978X24002459
  16. https://academic.oup.com/jscr/article/2013/1/rjs043/2282594
  17. https://www.physio-pedia.com/Guyon_Canal_Syndrome
  18. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0266768197800162
  19. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589514121000955
  20. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK431063/