title: Associations between ulnar nerve strain and accompanying conditions in patients with cubital tunnel syndrome.
abstract: Pathophysiology of cubital tunnel syndrome (CubTS) is still controversial. Ulnar nerve strain at the elbow was measured intraoperatively in 13 patients with CubTS before simple decompression. The patients were divided into three groups according to their accompanying conditions: compression/adhesion, idiopathic, and relaxation groups. The mean ulnar nerve strain was 43.5 ± 30.0%, 25.5 ± 14.8%, and 9.0 ± 5.0% in the compression/adhesion, idiopathic, and relaxation groups respectively. The mean ulnar nerve strains in patients with McGowan's classification grades I, II, and III were 18.0 ± 4.2%, 27.1 ± 22.7%, and 33.7 ± 24.7%, respectively. The Jonckheere-Terpstra test showed that there were significant reductions in the ulnar nerve strain among the first three groups, but not in the three groups according to McGowan's classification. Our results suggest that the pathophysiology, not disease severity, of CubTS may be explained at least in part by the presence of ulnar nerve strain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Institute of Rheumatology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo 162-0054, Japan , Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kawasaki Municipal Kawasaki Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan , Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kensuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ochi
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Horiuchi
authors.forename: Toshiyasu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Kazuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Kozo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Horiuchi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D020430:Cubital Tunnel Syndrome / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D019299:Decompression, Surgical; D004550:Elbow; D004568:Electrodiagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009431:Neural Conduction / Q000502:physiology; D011312:Pressure; D013180:Sprains and Strains / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D014459:Ulnar Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Cubital Tunnel Syndrome; Etiology; Nerve Strain; Pathophysiology; Ulnar Nerve Palsy