Evaluation of the nerve-injured patient

The evaluation of patients with nerve injury or nerve compression requires an accurate history and subjective report to determine the tests that are the most useful in providing the essential information. Motor and sensory evaluation is necessary inglobal mixed-nerve injuries, but in cases of nerve compression, tests of provocation give more accurate information for detecting the site of nerve compression. There is no gold standard test in the evaluation of patients with nerve injury or compression; therefore, a battery of valid and reliable sensory and motor tests provides the most complete information to formulate a treatment plan.