Peripheral nerve injuries in the hand and upper extremity affect sensation, motor function, or both. The most commonly injured nerves in the hand are the median, ulnar, and radial nerves — each of which controls specific areas of sensation and specific muscle groups. When a nerve is compressed, stretched, or cut, the signals that travel along it can be interrupted, causing numbness, tingling, loss of sensation, weakness, or combinations of all of these.
What is a peripheral nerve injury?
Nerve injuries exist on a spectrum. At one end are mild compressions — like carpal or cubital tunnel syndrome — where the nerve is irritated but intact. At the other end are lacerations that cut the nerve completely. The degree of recovery depends on where on that spectrum the injury falls, how quickly rehab begins, and how well the therapy is targeted to the nerve's stage of healing. Even incomplete nerve recoveries can be meaningfully improved with the right approach.
