elbow nerve bruising?

[Yeti]

or, "How I Hurt Myself Jumping Double Dutch".

This could belong in the "post season confessions" thread, insofar as it's a bit stupid, but my season isn't over yet.

On the last day of skiing at Sunday River, a week ago, I got clotheslined. It was near the end of the day, conditions were very soft, and we were having fun. There was a rope set up along the right edge of one trail (damned if I can remember trail names) alongside a 5' drop to another trail. Skiers timid of the orange rope had piled up a nice berm sloping toward the rope. I'd been using the berm as a kicker to jump over the rope all afternoon.

On the last run of the day (always where trouble hits), I started approaching the berm with good speed -- go out big, right? Along came a slower-moving snowboarder, well below and in front of me, who appeared to be doing the same thing as me. I figured we could both jump the rope at the same time. Wrong. This guy couldn't jump the rope at all. As I left the ground, Gomer ducked the rope -- actually stood up and pushed the rope over his head. I'd planned for maybe a foot of clearance, but not four extra feet. At full speed, I took the rope across the chest and under my armpits. Like an arrow being nocked, I bowed the rope out 20' downhill of my intended LZ and came to a stop.

I was fine. Gomer looked surprised, so I skied down to him, stuck my tongue out, and disappeared in a spray of slush. Seriously, it was my own damn fault, and was more fun than bad.

Next day, I had a mouse-sized bruise on the distal end of my upper arm above the elbow -- about where you'd rest your elbow on a table. Bruises are fine, and are par for the course of my misadventures, but what's less cool is the odd nervy feeling in the forearm side of my elbow. If I push on the bruise on my upper arm, I can feel a weird burn/tingle about 3" distal from where my elbow turns the corner. Surfing in a thick wetsuit yesterday, the neoprene grabbed at my forearm in a way that caused the same burning feeling. It's like a very intense funny-bone feeling, which makes me think nerve.

Any ideas? Do compression injuries involving nerves (assuming that's what I've got) heal on their own? Just hours before, I'd been thinking about wearing elbow armor for springtime stupidity...

[summit]

If this persists more than a week or so, see a doctor. I have some nerve damage to my left arm from a binding vs left elbow. I know what you are feeling.

[Vinman]

I'm guessing it is the 4th and 5th fingers that you get the tingle in. If so you've compressed/contused the ulnar nerve. Most of the time these things will go away on their own as the swelling goes down. The fact that you don't have symptoms all of the time and did not mention any strength loss in your hand/ grip strength would lead me to believe that this is a minor injury and will heal on its own.

If it doesn't do what summit said.