Peer-reviewed research
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 · DOI 10.2106/00004623-199804000-00005
Read the originalRead on October 16, 2026
- What it is
- A cadaver study of 20 specimens that used MRI and pressure measurements to show how the cubital tunnel narrows and pressure inside the ulnar nerve rises as the elbow bends.
- How much weight it carries
- Peer-reviewed classic study. It uses cadaver elbows, not living typists, so it shows what happens to the tunnel under flexion, not how often typing causes symptoms.
Facts taken from this source
- 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.
“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” (Abstract)