GUYON CANAL SYNDROME

Course overview

GUYON CANAL SYNDROME IS A RELATIVELY RARE PERIPHERAL ULNAR NEUROPATHY THAT INVOLVES INJURY TO THE DISTAL PORTION OF THE ULNAR NERVE AS IT TRAVELS THROUGH A NARROW ANATOMIC CORRIDOR AT THE WRIST. THE ULNAR NERVE ORIGINATES FROM C8-T1 AND IS A TERMINAL BRANCH OF THE BRACHIAL PLEXUS AND PROVIDES MOTOR AND SENSORY INNERVATION TO THE DIGITS. IN THE UPPER ARM, THE ULNAR NERVE COURSES POSTERIOR AND MEDIAL TO THE BRACHIAL ARTERY, TRAVELS TOWARD THE POSTERIOR ELBOW, THEN PIERCES THE MEDIAL INTERMUSCULAR SEPTUM APPROXIMATELY 8 CENTIMETERS PROXIMAL TO THE MEDIAL EPICONDYLE. THE NERVE THEN ENTERS THE CUBITAL TUNNEL POSTERIOR TO THE MEDIAL EPICONDYLE, THEN TRAVELS BETWEEN THE TWO HEADS OF THE FLEXOR CARPI ULNARIS MUSCLE TO ENTER THE FOREARM. FINALLY, IT TRAVELS TO THE HAND VIA GUYON CANAL. GUYON CANAL IS A UNIQUE LOCATION WHERE THE ULNAR NERVE IS VULNERABLE TO COMPRESSIVE INJURY, ALTHOUGH THE MORE COMMON LOCATION OF THE ULNAR NERVE INJURY OCCURS AT THE ELBOW WHICH IS KNOWN AS CUBITAL TUNNEL SYNDROME. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE EVALUATION AND TREATMENT OF ULNAR NERVE COMPRESSION DUE TO GUYON CANAL SYNDROME AND EXPLAINS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN REDUCING MORBIDITY AND IMPROVING CARE FOR PATIENTS WITH THIS CONDITION.