The Hand to Shoulder Solution

When Elbow Sleeves Help And When They Hurt;

Carl Petitto

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0:00 | 3:34

We break down why elbow sleeves can worsen common elbow pain and even trigger nerve symptoms instead of helping. We explain when compression is a bad idea, what warning signs to watch for, and why a proper assessment beats a quick brace fix. 
• common reasons for elbow pain including golfer’s elbow and tennis elbow 
• how the ulnar nerve causes the “funny bone” feeling 
• cubital tunnel syndrome signs like numbness and tingling on the pinky side 
• why compression and rubbing from sleeves can increase inflammation and pain 
• daily habits that add pressure on the cubital tunnel such as leaning on tables and car armrests 
• why the elbow is complex and deserves a real evaluation when pain is deep or motion-specific 
• choosing strength and stability training with a therapist instead of relying on a sleeve 
Check me out, CarlPetitto.com. Write in with questions.


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Hello and welcome to the show, The Hand to Shoulder Solution, with me, Carl Petitto. 

If you are experiencing pain in your arms and hands, this is your resource. 

Subscribe, listen, and share to help us 'give pain the middle finger for good'! 

This is a resource to help you mitigate pain at home and become more educated on what to ask your doctors and therapists. No medical advice will be given, and you should always see your medical professional for any questions. 

Thank you, and welcome to the show! 

Quick Tip And Host Intro

SPEAKER_00

Another quick tip from the Hand to Shoulder Solution. I'm your host, Carl Petito.

Common Causes Of Elbow Pain

SPEAKER_00

Let's talk about elbow sleeves. I have a lot of people write in, people ask questions, patients ask me about elbow sleeves. There's a lot of reason to have elbow pain. Whether you have golfer's elbow, penicill that we spoke about on previous episodes, penonitis of the triceps, terminal tendon, just a general instability.

Ulnar Nerve And Cubital Tunnel

SPEAKER_00

Also, a really big deal that happens often with the elbow is compression of the ulnar nerve on the inside. But when you hit your funny bone, you're actually hitting the ulnar nerve, which is about as wide as a pen or pencil and thick like a noodle, so it's big. If you feel the tip of your elbow in the inside bony part of your elbow, you find that trough in there, that's your ulnar nerve. We don't want any pressure on that. So if anyone is having epicondylitis or tennis elbow or the medial epicondylitis or the golfer's elbow or ulnar nerve compression, which is called cubital tunnel syndrome, right here, and they're having numbness and tingling on the picky side of the of the hand. We don't want any compression.

Why Sleeves Aggravate Tendon Pain

SPEAKER_00

So let's slide this on. With the golfer's elbow and tennis elbow, when a person is sliding this on, you they have to hold with their muscles as it's coming on. That's aggravating the golfer's elbow and/or the tennis elbow. I've seen people have tennis elbow and golfers elbow both at the same time. And for a sleeve to give stability, it has to squeeze a lot. So if you have a nerve compression syndrome, like cubital tunnel syndrome, like we just talked about, we don't want pressure on

What To Do Instead Of Sleeves

SPEAKER_00

that. So what we have to do is avoid any leaning on the table or leaning on furniture, leaning on the center console of the car, the window sill of the car. But what does this do? This is just like I'm leaning on it because there's pressure right there on the cubital tunnel. It's putting pressure on the nerve. When you cross your leg and your foot goes to sleep, that's pressure on a nerve. That's not circulation. So here I would not wear a sleeve for cubital tunnel syndrome when a person is having numbness and tingling on the picky side of the hand. Also, golfer's elbow, we don't want this compressive sleeve pressing on that bone right

Final Warnings And How To Reach Me

SPEAKER_00

there, or tennis elbow on that bone over here, and sliding and chafing that area that's going to increase the inflammation, increase the pain. All right. If you're having pain deep inside, or if it's with specific motions, just always get to your healthcare provider because there's three joints in the elbow, there's a lot of ligaments that connect bone to bone, there's a lot of tendons that connect muscle to bone. There's a lot going on in the elbow. It's not as simple as just grabbing a sleeve. Now, if you're a sports person and for whatever reason you just need that extra stability, I would be seen by a therapist and find out what muscles should be strengthened so you get that stability back. If you're working on preventing an injury, more often than not, I've seen these cause injuries. They start they can actually cause that nerve compression syndrome, the cubital tunnel syndrome. They can actually cause the tennis elbow, the golfer's elbow. So be very wary, be very careful. If you start have having symptoms, if you haven't had them already, stop wearing this thing. If you do have symptoms, do not start wearing this thing, okay? These more often than not cause more harm than good. Thank you for watching the Hand and Shoulder Solution. Check me out, Carlpotato.com. Write in with questions. I like questions. Thank you.