The so-called funny bone is the spot in your elbow where if you hit it, you feel a jarring, unpleasant sensation from your elbow and down into your lower arm. What you are hitting is the ulnar nerve, which passes through the elbow as it makes its way from the collar bone to the lower part of your arm.

Hitting your funny bone can cause a very unpleasant sensation. Some people feel pain, others feel an uncomfortable tingling from the elbow down.

The elbow is where you find your "funny bone." If you hit this spot in just the right place, your lower arm goes numb and you have a tingly feeling for a few seconds to a couple of minutes. While it's not painful, it's not comfortable either. What you're hitting isn't really a bone, but a nerve, called the ulnar nerve. The ulnar nerve reaches from the collarbone down to the lower arm through the inside of the elbow, through the cubital tunnel.

Pressure on a nerve can cause entrapment leading to symptoms such as pain, numbness, and/or weakness. Two of the most common nerve entrapment syndromes are carpal tunnel syndrome and cubital tunnel syndrome. A new diagnostic test for these conditions is now available.

Cubital tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a condition that affects the ulnar nerve where it crosses the inside edge of the elbow. The symptoms are very similar to the pain that comes from hitting your funny bone.

It could be the way you are sleeping at night. Bending the elbow while sleeping on your side can put a compressive force on the ulnar nerve as it passes through the elbow. Wearing a slip-on elbow support with the pad along the inside of the elbow may help.

If your symptoms are better in the morning, this could mean you have a mild nerve compression. Continuing to wear the elbow protection may be all that's needed.

In the case of cubital tunnel syndrome, one treatment does not fit all. So say surgeons from the Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh after reviewing recent studies on the topic. They found that there are a number of different surgical approaches that all have good results.

The first step is to go back to your surgeon for a follow-up evaluation. Depending on what your surgeon finds, there may be several options to choose from. First, a firm commitment to a rehab program may be in order. Working with a physical therapist may be advised. If this is a viable option, you'll have to work hard for at least three months to restore motion and regain function.

An elbow fracture in someone with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a bad break. Surgery is often needed. There are two basic choices: open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) or total elbow replacement (TER). ORIF involves using a metal plate, wires, and/or screws to hold the broken bone(s) together. Plates and screws are referred to as instrumentation.

An elbow fracture in someone with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a bad break. Surgery is often needed. There are two basic choices: open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) or total elbow replacement (TER). ORIF involves using a metal plate, wires, and/or screws to hold the broken bone(s) together. Plates and screws are referred to as instrumentation.