Electrodiagnostic evaluation of traumatic nerve injuries

This article reviews the techniques of motor and sensory nerve conduction studies and needle electromyography methods, which are particularly useful for localizing nerve injuries in upper extremity and hand trauma. Included are details of methods for detecting and quantifying the degree of axon loss and for using this information to make treatment decisions and predict outcomes. The epidemiology and classification of traumatic peripheral nerve injuries, 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.