When you hit your funny bone, or to be more correct, the ulnar nerve, you experience pain where the ulnar nerve works: down the forearm and into the ring and small fingers. This is called the ulnar nerve distribution, and it is the area of the body where the ulnar nerve provides sensation.
Throughout our lifetime joints can be stressed during activities like carrying a grocery bag, wringing out a washcloth, or twisting off a bottle cap. These activities can stretch ligaments and wear out cartilage in your joints resulting in inflammation and pain. There are simple strategies you can use to protect your joints which will reduce pain during daily tasks.
Rest assured that the most common causes of finger-popping are not a problem at all. Many people can make their fingers pop, often called cracking their knuckles. The sound you hear is thought to be caused by nitrogen bubbles moving in the fluid that surrounds your joints. That being said, if your noisy finger joints are associated with pain or swelling, it's good to see your doctor for an evaluation.
Tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylitis, develops when the forearm muscles that connect to the outside of your elbow become irritated. This can cause pain and tenderness that’s usually located on the outside (lateral) part of the elbow. There are several simple tests you can do to determine if you have tennis elbow. You can do most of these tests on your own, but a few do require the assistance of a doctor or medical professional.
A gamekeeper's thumb, also called a skier's thumb, is an injury to one of the important ligaments at the base of the thumb joint. The injury involves the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL), a band of tough, fibrous tissue that connects the bones at the base of the thumb. This ligament prevents the thumb from pointing too far away from the hand.
