Radial Tunnel Syndrome

What do we mean by Radial Tunnel Syndrome? What are its potential causes, symptoms and treatment options?

Radial Tunnel Syndrome 1Most of the athletes visit physical therapists for their lateral elbow pain. Physical therapists are of the view that Radial Tunnel Syndrome (RTS) occurs due to swelling or irritation of radial nerve because of the friction caused due to compression by muscles.

What do you mean by Radial Tunnel Syndrome?

Radial Tunnel Syndrome occurs when the radial nerve gets compressed where it passes through a tunnel near the elbow. This compression happens in proximal forearm where the radial nerve splits into PIN (main trunk) and sensory branch (minor trunk).

What are the causes of Radial Tunnel Syndrome (RTS)?

Pain of Radial Tunnel Syndrome occurs due to the pressure on radial nerve. Other causes of Radial Tunnel Syndrome include:

Injury
Bone Tumors
Inflammation/Swelling of surrounding tissues
Non-cancerous fatty-tumors
Too Small tunnel
Repetitive bending, gripping and pinching of wrist
Direct blow to the outside of elbow
Continuous twisting of arm
What are the potential symptoms of Radial Tunnel Syndrome (RTS)?

The symptoms of Radial Tunnel Syndrome start getting worse when you bend your wrist backward or hold an object with a stiff wrist. Following are the symptoms of Radial Tunnel Syndrome:

Tenderness and pain on the outside of elbow
Pain in the forearm and hand during activity
Minimized grip and forearm strength
Pain that worsens while rotating wrist
Cutting and stabbing pain at top of the forearm or at the back of hand, when you straighten your fingers
Numbness and tingling down the forearm
How can Physical Therapy be helpful to treat Radial Tunnel Syndrome (RTS)?

Fore mostly, the physical therapist will advise you to avoid the repetitive activities which involve your wrists. If Radial Tunnel Syndrome is caused due to your work site conditions, your work site conditions would be modified. Apart from these, following therapeutic techniques would be administered to treat the condition:

Stretching and strengthening exercises would be administered to reduce pain
Cold and heat therapies would be practiced
Range of motion exercises would be administered to restore tissue flexibility and normal functioning of the joints
You would be advised to wear night-splint to limit your elbow movements at night
Soft –tissue massage would be used to promote blood circulation
Modalities like ultrasound, moist heat and electrical stimulation may also be used
Spinal manual therapy may be used to improve neural mobility
Ergonomic interventions like; load management, postural awareness and workstation modification are used
Functional strengthening exercises are used to treat Radial Tunnel Syndrome
Contact Active Physical Therapy for the state-of-art treatment of your overuse injuries. Our certified and skilled physical therapists are always ready to help you with customized treatment plans as per your needs and requirements.