Possible Ulna nerve transient injury

Dear Ask The Doctor: I woke up on Monday with some pain in my arm and waved it off as abed sore. I went about my day as usual, but at night as I was going to sleep there wa sa sharp pain from my elbow down. Later in the night, I noticed that the part of my right palm below my pinky was swollen. It is still swollen and quite uncomfortable. I also have been constipated for the last 2 days or so if that's important. Should I be worried?

Dear Jimmy: According to your description, this is most likely an inflammation (neuritis) of the Ulna nerve due to a possible bad position during your sleep, and because of its superficial position at the elbow, you feel that sharp pain shooting through your elbow down, for now try to avoid leaning on the elbow maybe during work, sleeping or while driving a car. The suggested conservative treatment consist of: postural education (i.e.: avoid resting on elbows at work, using elbows to lift the body from bed, and resting elbows on car windows while driving), using an anterior elbow extension splinting (if necessary), and correction of ergonomics at work. Anti-inflammatory medications also are useful to relieve nerve irritation. Oral vitamin B complex supplements may be helpful. This treatment should be done out for 6-12 weeks, this is in average the time that the nerve needs to recover.