Pinched Ulnar Nerve From Bench Pressing
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Pinched Ulnar Nerve From Bench Pressing

Pinched Ulnar Nerve From Bench Pressing
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Updated on August 6, 2025
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You may not be an anatomy expert, but chances are you know exactly what the ulnar nerve is if you’ve ever hit your funny bone.

If you hit the right spot on your elbow, you’ll actually hit the ulnar nerve and feel a strangely painful sensation shoot down the outside of your arm and into your fourth and fifth fingers.

Hitting your funny bone isn’t very fun, and neither is pinching your ulnar nerve while bench pressing. A pinched ulnar nerve is also known as ulnar nerve entrapment.

Read on to learn more about ulnar nerve entrapment and how it can be treated.

What Is Ulnar Nerve Entrapment?

The ulnar nerve branches out from a collection of nerves that starts in your neck and runs all the way down to your fingers.

At the elbow, the ulnar nerve goes under something called the cubital tunnel, which is made up of muscle, bone, and ligament, and which resides on the inside of the elbow.

Ulnar nerve entrapment can develop in the wrist (cubital tunnel syndrome) or the elbow (Guyon’s canal syndrome). Cubital tunnel syndrome is quite common, but Guyon’s canal syndrome is rare.

How Bench Presses Pinch the Ulnar Nerve

Research shows that entrapment neuropathy can present as carpal tunnel syndrome and ulnar nerve neuropathy as a result of weight-lifting exercises, specifically the bench press.

In some people, the ulnar nerve does not stay in its proper position and can shift across a bump of bone in the elbow when the arm flexes, referred to as a subluxing nerve. Repeated shifting can cause irritation of the ulnar nerve.

Doing bench presses could, then, cause ulnar nerve entrapment. In this case, repeatedly bending your elbow as you exercise would cause the nerve to become inflamed and you would feel symptoms.

Symptoms of a Pinched Ulnar Nerve

Symptoms of a pinched ulnar nerve include:

  • Tenderness or weakness in the hand
  • Tingling sensation in the palm and fourth and fifth fingers
  • Elbow joint tenderness
  • Sensitivity to cold

Not only will this feel uncomfortable — a pinched ulnar nerve can affect your bench press because it will make it difficult to grip the bar and press the weight.

Treatment for a Pinched Ulnar Nerve

There are several different treatment strategies for people experiencing a ulnar nerve entrapment:

  • Anti-inflammatory medications
  • External padding around the nerve
  • Night splinting
  • Occupational therapy about how to position the extremity
If these options don’t resolve the issue, surgery may help relieve your symptoms.

The Takeaway

  • The ulnar nerve runs from the neck all the way down the arm, and it’s responsible for the sensation you feel when you hit your funny bone.
  • Ulnar nerve entrapment can occur from repeated motion, such as the kind involved in doing bench presses.
  • If you notice any symptoms of ulnar nerve entrapment, talk with your doctor about possible treatment options.

Resources We Trust

EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Cubital Tunnel Syndrome. Johns Hopkins Medicine.
  2. Davis DD et al. Ulnar Nerve Entrapment. StatPearls. August 7, 2023.
  3. Ulnar Nerve Entrapment. Johns Hopkins Medicine.
  4. Ulnar Nerve Entrapment. Cleveland Clinic. January 5, 2022.
  5. Endo F et al. Pisiform–Hamate Coalition With Entrapment Neuropathy of the Deep Palmar Branch of the Ulnar Nerve. Journal of Hand Surgery Global Online. August 4, 2020.
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Kara Andrew, RDN, LDN

Medical Reviewer
Member of American College of Lifestyle Medicine

Kara Andrew, RDN, LDN, is the director of health promotion for Memorial Hospital in Carthage, Illinois. She is also licensed as an exercise physiologist and certified in lifestyle medicine by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Her experience includes corporate wellness, teaching for the American College of Sports Medicine, sports nutrition, weight management, integrative medicine, oncology support, and dialysis.

She earned her master's in exercise and nutrition science at Lipscomb University.

Andrew has served as a president and board member of the Nashville Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She was recently elected a co-chair of the fitness and medicine group in the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

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Henry Halse, CSCS, CPT

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Henry is a freelance writer and personal trainer living in New York City. You can find out more about him by visiting his website: henryhalse.com.

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