Fact · Accessibility and health
30 to 41percent
In a cadaver study, the cross-sectional area of the cubital tunnel shrank by 30 to 41 percent as the elbow moved from full extension to 135 degrees of flexion.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“As the elbow was moved from full extension to 135 degrees of flexion, the mean cross-sectional area of the three regions of the cubital tunnel decreased by 30, 39, and 41 per cent”
Changes in interstitial pressure and cross-sectional area of the cubital tunnel and of the ulnar nerve with flexion of the elbow: an experimental study in human cadavera, RH Gelberman et al., Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American), 1998, Abstract.
Open the original (DOI 10.2106/00004623-199804000-00005)- What it measures
- Twenty cadaver elbows were imaged with MRI at several flexion angles. The three values are for three regions of the tunnel.
- What it does not show
- Cadaver elbows, not living people typing. It shows the mechanical effect of bending, not how often that bending causes symptoms.