What is Radial Tunnel Syndrome?
Screwdriver Pain Syndrome (Radial Tunnel Syndrome) is a painful condition that presents itself at the proximal forearm.
The symptoms generally present a dull achy pain on top of, or on the side of, the forearm near the proximal radius.
In other words, your forearm hurts closest to the elbow.
What causes Radial Tunnel Syndrome?
This widely problematic condition rears its ugly head in work trades where supination (tightening a screw, waxing a car) or work environments (moving a mouse, typing, etc.) are performed regularly.
Every time you turn the screw clockwise (supinate your arm) the supinator muscles work to failure as resistance increases.
The discomfort of pain may increase to the point where the muscles will spasm, lock up, and force you to quit the task.
In some of my patients the pain will linger all day and into the night.
When you refer your patients to a doctor for a closer look, they generally come back with a diagnosis of “Radial Tunnel Syndrome.”
What is Radial Tunnel Syndrome?
It is a tunnel at the elbow that allows the radial nerve to pass through. And when this nerve is pinched or squeezed it begins to hurt.
The muscles and fascia that surround this nerve become inflamed. And that inflammation presses in upon the nerves’ surface causing it to rebel.
How can massage therapy help?
As professionals we want to focus on the possibility of three muscles that could cause inflammation by supinating the arm.
The Biceps Brachii, the Brachioradialis, and the Supinator.
We want to look for trigger points, tightening of tendons, or hypertonicity of the muscle bellies.
In the video below, I discuss how I approach this condition aggressively with deep tissue therapy: