Many people love to laugh. Almost anything in the world can get a giggle started. Have you heard that your comical funny bone isn't actually a bone at all? The funny bone is actually the ulnar nerve. For most of its length, the ulnar nerve is protected, like rest of the body's nerves, by bones, muscles and/or ligaments. As the nerve passes the elbow it runs through a channel called the cubital tunnel, and here it's protected only by skin and fat, making it vulnerable to bumps. When you hit your humerus bone, you're actually hitting the nerve against bone and compressing it.
The result is an exhilarating
cocktail of numbness, tingling and pain that shoots through the areas where the
nerve does its work: down the forearm and hand and into the ring and pinky
fingers. Tapping your funny bone doesn't do any damage to your elbow, arm, or
ulnar nerve. There are two camps in the
debate over how the ulnar nerve got be known as the funny bone. One side says
that it's an anatomical pun because the nerve runs along the humerus, which
sounds like humorous. The other side claims that the nerve got its nickname because
of the funny (odd) feeling you experience after you hit it.
When you hit your funny bone, it
seems like the worst thing in the world. Imagine experiencing chronic
irritation there like someone banging on your funny bone day and night. It's a
real problem called cubital tunnel syndrome. Cubital tunnel syndrome occurs
when the ulnar nerve is obstructed during its trip along the elbow and gets
pinched from sleeping with the arm folded up.
The result is the same as a quick
whack to the funny bone. Numbness, pain and a tingling sensation all last a bit
longer. Over time, progressive irritation of the nerve causes the numbness to
settle in and stay. Muscle weakness in the forearm and hand can also set in,
and the pinkie and ring finger can curl up in a position called the ulnar claw.
The condition can usually be helped with elbow splinting and the correction of
aggravating postures, hand therapy, or in extreme cases surgery that provides
more space for the nerve and reduces the amount of pressure on it.
“You see, dear, it is not true that woman was made from man's rib;
she was made from his funny bone.” (James M. Barrie) [i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“Does Everyone Have a Funny
Bone?” by Wonderopolis
·
“What is the Funny Bone, and Why Does Hitting It
Hurt So Much?” BY Matt
Soniak
·
“What’s a Funny
Bone?” by KidsHealth
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