Guyon’s Canal Syndrome and its’ impact on everyday life and sport - literature review

Abstract

Guyon’s Canal Syndrome is a rare clinical condition resulting from ulnar nerve injury in the distal portion of the nerve, situated in a narrow anatomical corridor at the wrist. It is an example of neuropathy caused by pressure applied on a nerve. The pressure can be caused by various factors, which will be discussed in the following section of the review. The ulnar nerve is a mixed nerve, meaning that it provides motor and sensory innervation to the digits. This property of the nerve results in a variety of symptoms (motor and sensory) that occur during the injury.

The nerve originates from the central rami of the C8 and T1 nerve roots, which form the lower trunk of the brachial plexus. The lower trunk next divides into an anterior and posterior division, with the fibres of the ulnar nerve in the anterior division becoming the medial cord. The nerve leaves the brachial plexus as a terminal branch of the medial cord and lies from the axilla into the medial part of the anterior compartment of the upper arm, where it is located posteriomedial relative to the brachial artery. It then inserts onto the medial epicondyle of the distal humerus and enters the cubital tunnel. It then runs along the medial side of the forearm, lying superficially and being covered mostly by fascia and skin. It subsequently enters Guyon’s canal, a fibro-osseous tunnel formed between two bones: the pisiform and the hamate bone (the hook hamate exactly). The ulnar nerve in Guyon’s canal is laterally bordered by the ulnar artery. Finally, within the canal, the ulnar nerve divides into superficial and deep branches.

Guyon's canal syndrome is a condition that results from the injury of the ulnar nerve at a specific point. The syndromes associated with this injury are characterised by the loss of function of a portion of the nerve, which can be used to differentiate between injuries that are proximal or distal to the nerve.