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:

Injuryr
Bone Tumorsr
Inflammation/Swelling of surrounding tissuesr
Non-cancerous fatty-tumorsr
Too Small tunnelr
Repetitive bending, gripping and pinching of wristr
Direct blow to the outside of elbowr
Continuous twisting of armr
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 elbowr
Pain in the forearm and hand during activityr
Minimized grip and forearm strengthr
Pain that worsens while rotating wristr
Cutting and stabbing pain at top of the forearm or at the back of hand, when you straighten your fingersr
Numbness and tingling down the forearmr
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 painr
Cold and heat therapies would be practicedr
Range of motion exercises would be administered to restore tissue flexibility and normal functioning of the jointsr
You would be advised to wear night-splint to limit your elbow movements at nightr
Soft –tissue massage would be used to promote blood circulationr
Modalities like ultrasound, moist heat and electrical stimulation may also be usedr
Spinal manual therapy may be used to improve neural mobilityr
Ergonomic interventions like; load management, postural awareness and workstation modification are usedr
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.