Tinel's sign
Encyclopedia
Tinel's sign is a way to detect irritated nerve
s. It is performed by lightly tapping (percussing) over the nerve to elicit a sensation of tingling or "pins and needles
" in the distribution of the nerve.It takes its name from French neurologist Jules Tinel (1879-1952).
For example, in carpal tunnel syndrome
where the median nerve
is compressed at the wrist
, Tinel's sign is often "positive" causing tingling in the thumb
, index
, and middle finger
. Tinel's sign is sometimes referred to as "distal tingling on percussion" or DTP. This distal sign of regeneration can be expected during different stage of somatosensory recovery.
Nerve
A peripheral nerve, or simply nerve, is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of peripheral axons . A nerve provides a common pathway for the electrochemical nerve impulses that are transmitted along each of the axons. Nerves are found only in the peripheral nervous system...
s. It is performed by lightly tapping (percussing) over the nerve to elicit a sensation of tingling or "pins and needles
Pins and Needles
Pins and Needles is a musical revue with a book by Arthur Arent, Marc Blitzstein, Emmanuel Eisenberg, Charles Friedman, David Gregory, Joseph Schrank, Arnold B. Horwitt, John Latouche, and Harold Rome and music and lyrics by Rome...
" in the distribution of the nerve.It takes its name from French neurologist Jules Tinel (1879-1952).
For example, in carpal tunnel syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is an entrapment idiopathic median neuropathy, causing paresthesia, pain, and other symptoms in the distribution of the median nerve due to its compression at the wrist in the carpal tunnel. The pathophysiology is not completely understood but can be considered compression...
where the median nerve
Median nerve
The median nerve is a nerve in humans and other animals. It is in the upper limb. It is one of the five main nerves originating from the brachial plexus....
is compressed at the wrist
Wrist
In human anatomy, the wrist is variously defined as 1) the carpus or carpal bones, the complex of eight bones forming the proximal skeletal segment of the hand;...
, Tinel's sign is often "positive" causing tingling in the thumb
Thumb
The thumb is the first digit of the hand. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position , the thumb is the lateral-most digit...
, index
Index finger
The index finger, , is the first finger and the second digit of a human hand. It is located between the first and third digits, between the thumb and the middle finger...
, and middle finger
Middle finger
The middle finger or long finger is the third digit of the human hand, located between the index finger and the ring finger. It is usually the longest finger...
. Tinel's sign is sometimes referred to as "distal tingling on percussion" or DTP. This distal sign of regeneration can be expected during different stage of somatosensory recovery.