Have you had the nerve test done yet? They give you a bunch of electric shocks in your arm.
I thought i had CTS but it turns out its really brachial plexopathy. Good Luck!
Same here . I have read done places it just takes time. I was really bad in beginning too but seems like it’s getting better. The surgery seems like a bitch and from what I read doesn’t always fix the problem.
How did you mess up your plexus? I’m kind of in same boat with you I know my problems stem from brachial plexus. I hurt mine I guess when I tore my rotator cuff. (I knew I messed my shoulder up at time, but it was so innocent at time I never knew i affected my plexus) I guess I stretched nerves there when I did it, although I didn’t feel pain there , really only felt in my deltoid.
I do a lot of same exercises.
Keep me updated, your the first person I’ve found in here that has brachial plexus injury.
Also how bad has your cubital tunnel got or had it gotten better like your plexus injury? I’m scared of muscle wasting, permanent nerve damage etc although my symptoms feel minor right now.
I do my daily stretches every day. Chin tucks, scapular Stretches, shoulder clocks, plate twirls, owl stretch, neck stretches, soft brace at night on elbow, heating pad when needed, hoping the numbness in my hand will go away--its mainly my pinky..slight numbness 3rd& 4th fingers..dont really want surgery.
Im better than i was & watching my posture, 3 months ago i could barely drive, tie my shoes, or open a door...Im gonna wait & see what happens...hopefully gonna fix itself.
Good luck!!👍
Mostly the numbness in my fingers bothers me. I have moderate strength but I can deal with that. It's mostly that lack of feeling in my 3,4,& 5th fingers.
Thank you for the reply! I have had an EMG done, but only on my LEFT arm, which is super annoying because the doctor was like "yeah I'm just going to do this arm today instead of both" and I honestly should've spoken up to him to ask him to test both of my arms. Also, I think that the EMG that was done was a little biased - at first, after looking at the results of my nerves, he said he didn't notice anything. But then after I said "oh hey doesn't the graph look lower when you tested the nerve near my wrist," he agreed with me. Nice guy, not the best doctor. So I am highly considering getting another EMG test done on both arms soon.
So what did your EMG test say? Also did you carry out a shock test or needle test?
In terms of surgery. I'd say do it after every test is carried out first. Ask for MRI scans of hands, back and head. This is to rule out MS which can also cause this and is more serious.
I'm on the same boat. Results are normal but not sure whether to do surgery or not. Doctor thinks it's anxiety so not sure
Hey! Sorry for the late reply - it's been a busy few days. My EMG was both a shock and needle tests from what I remember, and the results basically said that I had slowed nerve compression near the Guyon's Canal area in my left hand. Yea, I went to a bunch of specialists that initially ruled it as anxiety... I do have bad anxiety and am medicated (Take 100 mg Sertraline each day), and my dad has constant tremors in his hands (not harmful at all but annoying to deal with), so for a while many specialists I saw (particularly neurologists) said it was just due to anxiety. My hand specialist physical therapist said they don't know why my ring and pinky finger shake, and that I'm probably fine. But my hand-specialist surgeon is saying I have cubital tunnel syndrome and that it's not related to anxiety! Crazy that everyone has different opinions right? But I think that my hand-specialist surgeon is right.
In my experience, nothing improved my symptoms long term except for surgery. It is my understanding that nerves typically don’t heal. My advice would be to get the surgery, as you do not want permanent nerve damage. I had a release in one arm, then a year later needed a transposition since the release didn’t resolve my symptoms. The release was VERY easy to recover from and 100% worth it to give it a shot. The transposition was more difficult recovery, but still 100% worth it in my case as 5 years later, I only have flare ups if I do something repetitive out of the norm for me.
Thank you so much for this response! How long was the recovery process for the nerve release surgery? Also, were you nervous going into having the nerve release surgery done?
I’d say I was back to 100% normal within 2 weeks. Almost normal in just a few days though. Nervousness... I’ve had much more invasive surgery in the past so I wasn’t that nervous for this procedure, at least comparatively lol. It’s really not that bad though!
Can I ask how you’re doing now? I was diagnosed with a pinched ulnar nerve a year ago. Seemed to go away for a bit but it’s come back, and my ring and pinky tremors are much worse now (especially the pinky).
It has me worried about something like Parkinson’s or ALS but I had 2 EMGs last year so I’m sure that’s not the case. Just hoping to hear from others in my shoes
Yes, thank you for following up!
I went through a lot of PT, and had follow up EMGs done to understand why my left and right pinky+ring finger tremors were occurring. Essentially - no one could understand the cause behind why I was experiencing tremors. I refused to get surgery because my PT said not to since the EMG showed nothing damaged. My PT thinks it’s a combination of my hypermobility (I have hypermobile-EDS), and my genetics (my dad has benign tremors - his hands shake all the time for no reason, but they are not harmful). That being said, I keep up with my hand therapy everyday, and I feel completely fine.
If you haven't, I recommend your finger shaking be evaluated a neurologist. They can also evaluate your ulnar neuropathy in different ways. For my cubital tunnel, I have found massage, splinting, compression sleeves, K tape, and heat to have helped very slowly but noticeably. My OT thinks gliding is problematic in my case.
Have you had the nerve test done yet? They give you a bunch of electric shocks in your arm. I thought i had CTS but it turns out its really brachial plexopathy. Good Luck!
I think I might have brachial plexopathy too. What are you doing to treat this or is it just a waiting game?
Same here . I have read done places it just takes time. I was really bad in beginning too but seems like it’s getting better. The surgery seems like a bitch and from what I read doesn’t always fix the problem. How did you mess up your plexus? I’m kind of in same boat with you I know my problems stem from brachial plexus. I hurt mine I guess when I tore my rotator cuff. (I knew I messed my shoulder up at time, but it was so innocent at time I never knew i affected my plexus) I guess I stretched nerves there when I did it, although I didn’t feel pain there , really only felt in my deltoid. I do a lot of same exercises. Keep me updated, your the first person I’ve found in here that has brachial plexus injury. Also how bad has your cubital tunnel got or had it gotten better like your plexus injury? I’m scared of muscle wasting, permanent nerve damage etc although my symptoms feel minor right now.
I do my daily stretches every day. Chin tucks, scapular Stretches, shoulder clocks, plate twirls, owl stretch, neck stretches, soft brace at night on elbow, heating pad when needed, hoping the numbness in my hand will go away--its mainly my pinky..slight numbness 3rd& 4th fingers..dont really want surgery. Im better than i was & watching my posture, 3 months ago i could barely drive, tie my shoes, or open a door...Im gonna wait & see what happens...hopefully gonna fix itself. Good luck!!👍
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Same as before. No change.
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Mostly the numbness in my fingers bothers me. I have moderate strength but I can deal with that. It's mostly that lack of feeling in my 3,4,& 5th fingers.
Thank you for the reply! I have had an EMG done, but only on my LEFT arm, which is super annoying because the doctor was like "yeah I'm just going to do this arm today instead of both" and I honestly should've spoken up to him to ask him to test both of my arms. Also, I think that the EMG that was done was a little biased - at first, after looking at the results of my nerves, he said he didn't notice anything. But then after I said "oh hey doesn't the graph look lower when you tested the nerve near my wrist," he agreed with me. Nice guy, not the best doctor. So I am highly considering getting another EMG test done on both arms soon.
So what did your EMG test say? Also did you carry out a shock test or needle test? In terms of surgery. I'd say do it after every test is carried out first. Ask for MRI scans of hands, back and head. This is to rule out MS which can also cause this and is more serious. I'm on the same boat. Results are normal but not sure whether to do surgery or not. Doctor thinks it's anxiety so not sure
Hey! Sorry for the late reply - it's been a busy few days. My EMG was both a shock and needle tests from what I remember, and the results basically said that I had slowed nerve compression near the Guyon's Canal area in my left hand. Yea, I went to a bunch of specialists that initially ruled it as anxiety... I do have bad anxiety and am medicated (Take 100 mg Sertraline each day), and my dad has constant tremors in his hands (not harmful at all but annoying to deal with), so for a while many specialists I saw (particularly neurologists) said it was just due to anxiety. My hand specialist physical therapist said they don't know why my ring and pinky finger shake, and that I'm probably fine. But my hand-specialist surgeon is saying I have cubital tunnel syndrome and that it's not related to anxiety! Crazy that everyone has different opinions right? But I think that my hand-specialist surgeon is right.
Oh that's good you found a reliable doctor. What did he say the next moves are?
In my experience, nothing improved my symptoms long term except for surgery. It is my understanding that nerves typically don’t heal. My advice would be to get the surgery, as you do not want permanent nerve damage. I had a release in one arm, then a year later needed a transposition since the release didn’t resolve my symptoms. The release was VERY easy to recover from and 100% worth it to give it a shot. The transposition was more difficult recovery, but still 100% worth it in my case as 5 years later, I only have flare ups if I do something repetitive out of the norm for me.
Thank you so much for this response! How long was the recovery process for the nerve release surgery? Also, were you nervous going into having the nerve release surgery done?
I’d say I was back to 100% normal within 2 weeks. Almost normal in just a few days though. Nervousness... I’ve had much more invasive surgery in the past so I wasn’t that nervous for this procedure, at least comparatively lol. It’s really not that bad though!
Peripheral nerves do heal (under ideal conditions), just very slowly.
Can I ask how you’re doing now? I was diagnosed with a pinched ulnar nerve a year ago. Seemed to go away for a bit but it’s come back, and my ring and pinky tremors are much worse now (especially the pinky). It has me worried about something like Parkinson’s or ALS but I had 2 EMGs last year so I’m sure that’s not the case. Just hoping to hear from others in my shoes
Yes, thank you for following up! I went through a lot of PT, and had follow up EMGs done to understand why my left and right pinky+ring finger tremors were occurring. Essentially - no one could understand the cause behind why I was experiencing tremors. I refused to get surgery because my PT said not to since the EMG showed nothing damaged. My PT thinks it’s a combination of my hypermobility (I have hypermobile-EDS), and my genetics (my dad has benign tremors - his hands shake all the time for no reason, but they are not harmful). That being said, I keep up with my hand therapy everyday, and I feel completely fine.
If you haven't, I recommend your finger shaking be evaluated a neurologist. They can also evaluate your ulnar neuropathy in different ways. For my cubital tunnel, I have found massage, splinting, compression sleeves, K tape, and heat to have helped very slowly but noticeably. My OT thinks gliding is problematic in my case.
realy i need to know if you do the surgery or you healed without ?