Manual muscle strength testing and dynamometry for bilateral ulnar neuropraxia in a surgeon

This case study describes a patient who had bilateral neuropraxia of the ulnar nerve following a 5-day bicycle ride across the Swiss Alps. The patient, who was a surgeon, and the referring therapist were uncertain about the diagnosis at the time of referral. The purposes of this case study are to familiarize the hand therapist with "cyclist's palsy" and to illustrate how the recoveries of both nerves were followed using manual muscle strength testing and dynamometry. A form developed for the simultaneous assessment and comparison of the two measurements is presented. Muscle strength is tested and graded as suggested in another article of this issue.