When the Funny Bone (Ulnar Nerve) Goes Crazy!

It is probably safe to assume that at one time or another each of us has bumped our elbow into a door frame, edge of a desk, or some other object. The result of this contact being a sudden tingling lost of feeling or some other sensation the total length of our lower arm and up to our shoulder. When we experience this sensation be often claim that we have struck our funny bone due to the funny feeling we get in our arm. In reality we haven't struck a bone at all! What we have done is to push are pinch our Ulnar nerve. That funny or dull feeling in our arm and fingers is cause as the nerve reacts to the pressure from the

There are three separate nerves that run down the arm to the region of the hand. Each of these nerves control sensation and movement to a different part of the arms and hands. The Ulnar nerve controls feeling in the fourth and fifth fingers on the hand. In addition it also controls movement of those same fingers. Running from the hand to your shoulder it passes though a small groove in the hummers bone at the elbow. At this point the nerve lies very close to the skin of the arm and can easily be activated when we bump it. Thus it gives us that funny bone feeling as the result. The nice thing about the sensation is that it doesn't last for a long period of time and we are able to assume whatever activity we were involved in when we bumped the nerve.