Establishing normal values of moving two-point discrimination in children and adolescents

To establish normal values of moving two-point discrimination (2pd) in children and adolescents, bilateral median and ulnar nerve distribution in 313 subjects aged 4 to 18 years was evaluated. A moving 2pd of 2 to 3mm for both the median and ulnar nerve distributions bilaterally was found in 270 subjects. 2% (N = 5) had moving 2pds of 4mm for both right and left median nerve distributions. There was a significant increase in mean age with 2, 3 and 4mm of moving 2pd for median and ulnar nerves bilaterally. There was no significant difference between sexes for ulnar nerves bilaterally or left median nerve. A borderline difference was found between the sexes for the right median nerve. Multivariate logistic regression revealed age as a significant predictor of discrimination for all variables. Significantly more subjects had a moving 2pd of 4mm in the ulnar nerve distribution than in the median nerve distribution.