Electrodiagnostic evaluation of traumatic nerve injuries

This article reviews the techniques of motor and sensory nerve conduction s tudies and needle electromyography methods, which are particularly useful f or localizing nerve injuries in upper extremity and:hand trauma. Included a re details of methods for detecting and quantifying the degree of axon loss and for using this information to make treatment decisions and predict out comes. The epidemiology and classification of traumatic peripheral nerve in juries, the effects of these injuries on nerve and muscle, and the means by which electrodiagnosis is used to help classify the injury are described. An overview of recovery mechanisms also is presented.