cubital tunnel syndrome and chiropractic

Hi all.
Around 6 months ago, I had posted here in one of the technique forums a question about a hand problem. After some useful discussion here, I had decided to visit a doctor and concluded that it was focal dystonia. I stopped drumming but continued to play percussion.

Later, after some further developments, it turned out that it was not dystonia, but cubital tunnel syndrome (aka ulnar nerve entrapment at the elbow). Normally this condition causes some pain, but in my case I have almost none. I don't even have a strong numbness or tingling, just a bit. But it heavily affects my arm movements, makes it impossible to play drums.

An ortopedist told me to rest it and try to keep the elbow straight for example with help of a splint. I have been doing that for 2-3 months already, but do not see any improvement. On contrary it feels like it slowly worsens over time. The next solution could be surgery, which is usually a simple and pretty successful one.

But before going that road, I decided to try a chiropractician. I know there are people who think it is pseudo-science and useless, but I also hear from a lot of people that it can be very helpful to completely cure an ulnar nerve entrapment. Does anyone have any experience with that?

Thanks in advance.

I'll be curious to follow your journey. I, too have been contemplating visiting a chiropractor. I can't seem to get my arm issues diagnosed, and I'm getting frustrated.

I can play one set about as well as I ever have, or close enough. But after that, my arms are just dead, very fatigued. Won't respond to the signals I'm sending them. It's a struggle to get thru the rest of the night. I often have to dumb down a lot of what I play.

I've seen a neurosurgeon, an orthopedist and a vascular surgeon, no one can pinpoint the issue. I'm thinking a witch doctor might be next

I wish you luck, and I'll follow the thread to see how you make out.

cemguvener said:

I know there are people who think it is pseudo-science and useless, but I also hear from a lot of people that it can be very helpful to completely cure an ulnar nerve entrapment. Does anyone have any experience with that?

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I have not experienced ulnar entrapment, however I used to visit a chiropractor regularly. She was extremely knowledgeable with extremities (not just the spine) and I received much benefit from her adjustments. Unfortunately, she's now retired.

I hope you find a good one who can help you make great progress.

BruceW said:

I'll be curious to follow your journey. I, too have been contemplating visiting a chiropractor. I can't seem to get my arm issues diagnosed, and I'm getting frustrated.

I can play one set about as well as I ever have, or close enough. But after that, my arms are just dead, very fatigued. Won't respond to the signals I'm sending them. It's a struggle to get thru the rest of the night. I often have to dumb down a lot of what I play.

I've seen a neurosurgeon, an orthopedist and a vascular surgeon, no one can pinpoint the issue. I'm thinking a witch doctor might be next

I wish you luck, and I'll follow the thread to see how you make out.

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Thank you and best of luck to you too. I will update here how it goes. So far I have also visited a physiotherapist, who wrongly diagnosed focal dystonia; and an orthopedist who diagnosed the cubital tunnel syndrome but did not offer any concrete solutions apart from resting. In the recent 2-3 months I obviously saw that resting will not solve the issue. I have no idea if chiropractic will help or not (and to be honest I am not very optimistic), but I am trying every option nonetheless. If it doesn't work again (which is unfortunately likely), I will try surgery.

CI need to look into that, I am currently having really bad left forearm and elbow pain and can only play for about 40 minutes. Hurts to leave my arm straightened for more than 20 minutes or so as it seems to stiffen and really hurts to bend again. DR. said Tennis elbow and referred me to rehab. But I am thinking it is more than that, Heat does little, ice does less, and Ibuprofen helps but wears off quickly and feels like I am doing more damage by not feeling the pain fully when on it. This sukks and is limiting my play time in a big way.

Tamboreter said:

I have not experienced ulnar entrapment, however I used to visit a chiropractor regularly. She was extremely knowledgeable with extremities (not just the spine) and I received much benefit from her adjustments. Unfortunately, she's now retired.

I hope you find a good one who can help you make great progress.

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I've had very similar experiences with chiropractors. There are ones out there fit the negative stereotypes but if you do your research, you'll find one that will fit your specific needs.

My chiro has primarily treated my allergies (with acupuncture) as well as random injuries I've incurred; torqued lower back, sprained wrist, injured shoulder, etc. He even improved my vertigo I had a couple years ago.

myxtc said:

CI need to look into that, I am currently having really bad left forearm and elbow pain and can only play for about 40 minutes. Hurts to leave my arm straightened for more than 20 minutes or so as it seems to stiffen and really hurts to bend again. DR. said Tennis elbow and referred me to rehab. But I am thinking it is more than that, Heat does little, ice does less, and Ibuprofen helps but wears off quickly and feels like I am doing more damage by not feeling the pain fully when on it. This sukks and is limiting my play time in a big way.

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Tennis elbow can be quite painful. You are right that suppressing pain is not always a good idea, because you can do more damage if you don't feel it. But Ibuprofen is not only painkiller, it also reduces inflammation which may indirectly help the tissues to heal quicker.

I have a freshman girl drummer who just got diagnosed with the cubital tunnel thing...and they are telling her the same thing: just don't do what ever aggravates it. She believes that doing shot put in track is what brought it on, not drumming, but now it get's bothered when we drum. They are going to pursue other options/get other opinions for rehabilitation as time goes.

I had not heard of this until here issue

Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX said:

I have a freshman girl drummer who just got diagnosed with the cubital tunnel thing...and they are telling her the same thing: just don't do what ever aggravates it. She believes that doing shot put in track is what brought it on, not drumming, but now it get's bothered when we drum. They are going to pursue other options/get other opinions for rehabilitation as time goes.

I had not heard of this until here issue

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It may not be drumming that brought the cubital tunnel syndrome on. But whatever the initial cause is, drumming does not help with the healing process for sure. I would advise to take it seriously and rest the arm for some months.

Well insurance covers chiropractic services so I'm thinking it's more than pseudo science. Why not try it?

Years ago I dated a girl who worked at a chiropractor's office. She got me to go for an adjustment. The guy was cradling my head in both hands and telling me to relax. I had zero idea what he was going to do. Then he asked me have you ever seen The Exorcist? At that exact moment he cracked my neck and it sounded like every bone in my neck/spine cracked. But boy did it feel good.

Isn't cubital tunnel basically tennis elbow?

joedrum said:

Isn't cubital tunnel basically tennis elbow?

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No, they are different things. Tennis elbow is related to tendons on the outside of the elbow, (golfers elbow on the inside).
Cubital tunnel syndrome is a nerve entrapment issue. The ulnar nerve is compressed in a tunnel like structure (cubital tunnel) at the elbow. The compression can be caused by inflammation, bone spurs, cysts,.... So it is not directly related to tendons, but to the ulnar nerve.

cemguvener said:

No, they are different things. Tennis elbow is related to tendons on the outside of the elbow, (golfers elbow on the inside).
Cubital tunnel syndrome is a nerve entrapment issue. The ulnar nerve is compressed in a tunnel like structure (cubital tunnel) at the elbow. The compression can be caused by inflammation, bone spurs, cysts,.... So it is not directly related to tendons, but to the ulnar nerve.

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awesome explanation!! this is good to know

A brief update about the (lack of) help of chiropractic on the cubital tunnel syndrome: I tried around 8 sessions of chiropractic for my cubital tunnel syndrome (ulnar nerve entrapment). Even though the chiropractic itself is a pretty good thing for the spine and nerves directly adjacent to the spine, it is practically useless for the cubital tunnel syndrome. That's at least my experience. As a next step, I will try surgery.