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It is a deception of the senses known as paresthesia, an expression used to designate any type of sensation not caused by external stimuli, such as stings, burns or pain. In the elbow region is a bundle of nerve fibers called the ulnar nerve. Because this beam is so exposed, it’s easy to touch it directly.
The function of the nerves is to transmit messages to the brain about the sensations perceived by touch, temperature, shock or pain receptors, by means of electrical impulses. Tapping the elbow stimulates the ulnar nerve, causing an electrical discharge that generates false pain information. “By directly exciting the nerve bundle, the stimulus is transmitted to the brain and felt as if it were a shock applied in the same region of the forearm and hand where the fibers of that nerve are distributed”, says neurologist Benito Pereira Damas, from Unicamp.
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