The key difference between cubital and carpal tunnel syndrome is that cubital tunnel syndrome occurs due to the compression of the ulnar nerve at the elbow, while carpal tunnel syndrome occurs due to the compression of the median nerve that runs from the forearm into the wrist.
Daily contact with hazardous materials and excessive usage of certain body parts at the workplace can lead to serious health problems called occupational diseases. Occupational diseases may include lung disease, lead poisoning, cubital tunnel syndrome, carpel tunnel syndrome, etc. Cubital and carpal tunnel syndrome are two occupational diseases that mainly affect the hands and cause severe pain in the arm. However, cubital tunnel syndrome affects the small and ring fingers in the arm, while carpel tunnel syndrome affects the thumb, index, and long fingers in the arm.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Cubital Tunnel Syndrome
3. What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
4. Similarities – Cubital and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
5. Cubital vs Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Cubital vs Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
What is Cubital Tunnel Syndrome?
Cubital tunnel syndrome is an occupational disease that occurs due to the compression of the ulnar nerve at the elbow in the arm. Cubital tunnel syndrome causes pain that is very similar to the pain people feel when their funny bone in the elbow is hit. This pain usually affects the small and ring fingers in the arm.
The symptoms of this condition may include numbness and tingling in the hand (or ring and little finger) when the elbow bends, pain in the hand, weak grip due to muscle weakness in the affected arm, and aching pain on the inside of the elbow. Moreover, cubital tunnel syndrome occurs when elbows bend more often through pulling, reaching, or lifting, leaning on the elbow a lot, an injury in the affected area, arthritis, bone spurs, and previous fractures or dislocation of the elbow.
Cubital tunnel syndrome can be diagnosed through medical history, physical examination, nerve conduction test, electromyogram, and X-ray. Furthermore, treatment options for cubital tunnel syndrome may include resting, stopping the activity that aggravates the condition for a while, wearing a splint or foam elbow brace, using an elbow pad, anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen and naproxen), nerve gliding exercises, and steroid injection surgeries.
What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
Carpal tunnel syndrome is an occupational disease that causes severe pain and numbness in the hands and wrists. It occurs due to the compression of the median nerve that runs from the forearm into the wrist. Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when the space in the wrist narrows due to trauma, imbalance, rheumatic arthritis, mechanical problems in the wrist joint, repeated use of hand vibrating tools, retention fluid during pregnancy, cyst or tumor development in the canal, diabetes, repeated sleeping on a bend, and increasing age.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
The symptoms may include numbness at night, tingling pain in the fingers, especially thumb, index, and long fingers, decreased feeling in the fingertips, difficulties in using the hands for smaller tasks such as handling small objects, grasping the steering wheel while driving, holding a book while reading, writing, typing using a computer keyboard, weakness in the hands, inability perform tasks that need delicate motion like buttoning the shirt, unintentionally dropping objects and atrophy.
Carpal tunnel syndrome can be diagnosed through medical history, Tinel’s sign, wrist flexion test, X-rays, electromyography (EMG), and nerve conduction studies. Furthermore, treatment options for carpal tunnel syndrome may include wearing a wrist splint at night, taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) drugs, cortisone injections, and surgery.
What are the Similarities Between Cubital and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
- Cubital and carpal tunnel syndrome are two occupational diseases mainly affecting the hands.
- Both syndromes are due to the compression of nerves in the arm.
- They cause severe pain in the arms.
- Both syndromes can be diagnosed through medical history, physical examination, and nerve conduction tests.
- They can be treated through specific medications and surgeries.
What is the Difference Between Cubital and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
Cubital tunnel syndrome occurs due to the compression of the ulnar nerve at the elbow in the arm, while carpal tunnel syndrome occurs due to the compression of the median nerve that runs from the forearm into the wrist. Thus, this is the key difference between cubital and carpal tunnel syndrome. Furthermore, cubital tunnel syndrome affects the small and ring fingers in the arm, while carpel tunnel syndrome affects the thumb, index, and long fingers in the arm.
The below infographic presents the differences between cubital and carpal tunnel syndrome in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Cubital vs Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Cubital and carpal tunnel syndrome are two occupational diseases affecting the hands or arms. Both these syndromes are mainly due to problems that people encounter at the workplace. However, Cubital tunnel syndrome occurs due to the compression of the ulnar nerve at the elbow in the arm, while carpal tunnel syndrome occurs due to the compression of the median nerve that runs from the forearm into the wrist. So, this is the key difference between cubital and carpal tunnel syndrome.
Reference:
1. “Cubital Tunnel Syndrome.” Physiopedia.
2. “Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment.” Cleveland Clinic.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Ulnar Nerve” By BruceBlaus – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “815 The Carpal Tunnel” By OpenStax College – Anatomy & Physiology, Connexions Web site, Jun 19, 2013. (CC BY 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia