Ulnar Nerve ( Funny Bone )
Your ulnar heart helps you grip things with your hand and help fine motor skills like compose . It also helps your hand and fingers sense things like passion , softness and pain . A tingling , funny-feeling sense datum occurs when you knock your ulnar nerve in your elbow . That ’ s why it ’ s sometimes referred to as your funny bone .
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Overview
What is your ulnar heart ?
Your ulnar nerve aid you prompt your forearm , hand , and 4th and fifth finger . Your forearm extends from your elbow to your hand . Your ulnar nerve also sends sensory information like touch , temperature and pain to your head . This nerve is normally known as your comic bone .
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Pressure on your ulnar nerve can lead to certain health conditions that get pain , numbness and weakness in your hand , weapon and elbow . This can affect the manner you grip point , perform daily task and even sense sensation . If you experience any of these symptoms , reach out to your healthcare provider . They ’ ll talk to you about what you ’ re spirit and provide solutions to make you find better .
Why is it called a funny bone ?
Your ulnar nerve work underneath the first layer of skin near your elbow . When you find your elbow against a hard surface , you may temporarily pinch your ulnar heart . The impact make a funny-feeling , shock-like tingling or burning known as “ strike your comic bone . ”
Occasion
What be the role of your ulnar heart ?
Your ulnar nerve mastery nearly all of the small muscles in your hand . Although your ulnar nerve commence at your armpit , it doesn ’ t perform a affair until it enter your forearm .
As a motor ( movement ) nerve , your ulnar nerve stimulates muscle in your forearm , hand and fingers so you can :
- Bend and clean up your pinky and ring finger
- Grip and hold point
- Perform fine motor chore , like write with a pen , buttoning a shirt or call on pages in a magazine
As a sensory heart , your ulnar heart gives feeling to your :
- Pinky finger
- Ring finger on the slope close to your pinky finger
- Palm and back of your hand on the pinky side
Anatomy
Where be your ulnar heart ?
Your ulnar heart exist one of five nerve branch of your brachial plexus . This heart bundle sends sensory information and helps you move your shoulders , branch and hand .
Your brachial plexus begin as nerve roots in the cervical spine in your neck . These nerve then live behind your collarbone ( clavicle ) , through your armpit ( axilla ) and down your sleeve .
You have a left and right ulnar nerve — one to suffice each arm . Your ulnar heart starts at the brachial plexus in your armpit and :
- Connects to your C8 cervical vertebra and T1 thoracic vertebra ( the middle of your brachial plexus )
- Runs down the front of your upper arm near your axillary and brachial artery
- Travels through your cubital burrow , a tissue open place under a bony bump in your elbow ( medial epicondyle )
- Goes beneath muscles on the interior of your forearm , running alongside your median heart and your ulna ( the long bone in your forearm )
- Divides into humble heart branches
- Enters your medal on the pinky finger slope through an opening call Guyon ’ s canal ( ulnar burrow ) that also hold your ulnar artery
What are your ulnar nerve branch ?
- Muscular arm. Controls campaign in the movement of your forearm .
- Dorsal cutaneous branch. Sends sensory information between your brain and the middle back of your hand , pinky finger and gang finger .
- Palmar cutaneous arm. Sends sensory information to and from the halfway part of your medal and pinky and call finger .
Circumstance and Disorder
What circumstance and disorders affect your ulnar nerve ?
Conditions and disorders that can affect your comic bone heart include :
- Ulnar nerve entrapment. Pressure on the ulnar heart in your elbow or wrist can cause a pinched heart , nerve ( neuropathic ) pain and/or neuropathy ( nerve damage ) .
- Cubital tunnel syndrome. Prolonged pressure affects your ulnar heart inside the cubital tunnel in your elbow .
- Ulnar tunnel syndrome ( Guyon ’ s canal syndrome ). Pressure on your ulnar nerve inside the Guyon ’ s canal in your wrist make symptom like to carpal tunnel syndrome .
- Ulnar nerve breakdown. Your ulnar nerve stretch and slips out of place , often after a traumatic injury . You may feel or pick up a snap in your elbow .
What are the sign of ulnar heart problems ?
- Curvature of your pinky and ring fingers ( claw hand )
- Elbow pain or wrist pain
- Hand weakness that strike your ability to grasp item or perform project like writing or typing
- Muscle loss in your hand and affected fingers ( a rare symptom )
- Numbness or tingle in your pinky finger and gang finger
Additional Common Questions
When should I talk to a healthcare provider ?
- Curving inward of your ring finger or pinky finger
- Loss of grip strength or inability to hold on items
- Pain , numbness or tingle sense datum in your elbow , wrist , pinky finger or ring finger
- Problems perform tasks like buttoning a shirt or writing
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There ’ s zero humorous about hitting your funny bone , which isn ’ t a bone at all . That tingling feeling when you bang your elbow on a severe surface live really an ulnar heart reaction . Your ulnar nerve help with movement and spirit in your forearms , wrists , and 4th and fifth finger . But pressure on the heart can lead to ulnar heart entrapment and early trouble .
If you experience pain , numbness or weakness in these areas , reach out to your healthcare provider . They can lead your discussion and make you on the path to rest .
Concern at Cleveland Clinic
From sudden injury to chronic consideration , Cleveland Clinic ’ s orthopaedic providers can maneuver you through test , treatment and beyond .
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