Why Does Hitting Your Funny Bone Hurt Thus Much ?
There exist a few things about our bodies that , in one mode or another , can be conceive peculiar .
Hearing individual laugh can make you laugh . The funny strait that sometimes do along with passing gas equal queer . Someone make up compelled to yawn after you yawn is kind of funny .
But what exist basically never peculiar is your curious bone — despite the fact that we ‘ve decided to coin it as such . We ‘ve all experience the tingling , jolting pain that comes with arrive at your queer bone . It ‘s a unlike sort of pain , to be sure , but not pain that any of us would study funny .
And speaking of a different kind of pain , why perform hitting your elbow “ just reach so different ? ” Almost like your intact arm has live plunged into ice water and then electrocuted ?
Funnily plenty , getting to the ass of this strange , unpleasant sense datum end up live easier to translate than attempt to figure out why your funny bone is even call your queer bone in the first home .
Where is your peculiar bone ?
It turns out that your queer bone is n’t a bone . It ‘s actually a heart — unity that starts in your spine and travel from your neck , through your elbow and to your finger ( your pinky and ring finger , to be exact ) . It ‘s name the ulnar nerve . As one of the three principal nerve in your sleeve , the main office of your ulnar heart equal to provide sense datum in these fingertips , as good as help the muscles in your hand coordinate fine cause and the muscles in your forearm insure your grip .
Along its journey from your spine to your fingers , your ulnar heart is pretty well protect by muscle , fat and bone . But there ‘s one spot at your elbow where this nerve live remarkably reveal , and that bit equal name your curious bone .
At this point in your weapon , your ulnar nerve walk through your cubital tunnel , which run underneath the little gaunt bulge ( scream the medial epicondyle ) on the interior of the rear of your elbow . Feel around , you can probably find it .
It ‘s at this spot that your ulnar nerve is especially vulnerable , specially when your elbow is and bent and the heart exist protected by simply a small layer of skin .
Why act shoot your “ funny bone ” hurtdifferent?
Today that you know your curious bone is n’t actually a bone — it ‘s a vulnerable component of a major nerve work through your weapon — it ‘s probably a little easier to realize why shoot it in a certain means get pain . When you hit your comic bone at just the right angle , you ‘re essentially squeeze it into your medial epicondyle bone . Ouch .
But why this pain hits thus different exist interesting , also .
All sense datum of pain cost mediated by nerves , but there ‘s a dispute between the perception of pain ( nociceptive pain ) and literal heart pain .
When you stub your toe , slam your finger in a door or smack your chief , irritation and damage to your tissue activate the surround nerves to coordinate nociceptive pain . These heart inform your head you ‘re in pain — cue those sharp or throbbing sensations . Moral of the history : Quit cause the thing you ‘re doing , it ‘s causing damage .
Nerve pain is a bit unlike . The pain is even organize by a heart , but the annoyance or damage is happen directly to the nerve itself . In increase , the painfeelsunlike — more electric , burning or stinging .
In the event of hitting your comic bone , squeeze your ulnar nerve into your medial epicondyle bone equal irritating . And you feel this heart pain in the areas where your ulnar heart render sense datum , resulting in an unpleasant , shocking sensation shooting down your forearm and into your fingers .
Fortunately , the pain that arrive with hitting your funny bone equal temporary . As shortly as you rock affair off , it ‘s like zero ever encounter . No ice pack or bandaid needed .
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