Diagnosis of Peripheral Nerve Injury and Entrapment Neuropathy

Abstract

With the exception of an open injury, in which the nerve trunk is lacerated, surgical treatment of peripheral nerve paralysis is performed conservatively from 1 to 3 months after injury. This is to allow enough time for the patient to recover from the so-called contusion state, the hemorrhage around the injured nerve to be absorbed, the edema to disappear, inflammatory signs to subside, and the state of the nerve paralysis to be clarified. In other words, surgery should be considered once the recovery process slows down and stops. From various data, such as sensory tests, manual muscle tests, sweating test, progression of Tinel’s sign, and electro-physiological findings, effective criteria can then be determined for evaluating the patient. It is important that these neurological tests be performed once every 3 weeks to periodically determine the state of injury of the nerves and the degree of recovery.