Tunnel Compression Syndromes of Median and Ulnar Nerves

Abstract

Entrapment means, “to be caught in a trap”. Nerve compression syndromes that are caused by entrapment may thus be treated by surgical decompression increasing the free space surrounding the nerve. In e.g. the carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) it is believed that the median nerve is compressed in the carpal tunnel due to an increased pressure within the tunnel. Surgical decompression lowers this compression and thereby the entrapment of the median nerve. It is suggested in textbooks that almost any peripheral nerve can be compressed [1]. It is not the aim of this chapter to discuss all of these — often hypothetical — entrapments and their surgical treatment.