Tinel's sign (also Hoffmann-Tinel sign) is a way to detect irritated
nerve
A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons) in the peripheral nervous system.
A nerve transmits electrical impulses. It is the basic unit of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the ...
s. It is performed by lightly tapping (
percussing) over the nerve to elicit a sensation of tingling or "
pins and needles
''Pins and Needles'' (1937) 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.
Percussion is usually performed moving distal to proximal.
It is named after
Jules Tinel.
[Tinel, J. (1978) The "tingling sign" in peripheral nerve lesions (Translated by EB Kaplan). In: M. Spinner M (Ed.), Injuries to the Ma jor Branches of Peripheral Nerves of the Forearm. (2nd ed.) (pp 8–13). Philadelphia: WD Saunders Co][Tinel, J. (1915) Le signe du fourmillement dans les lésions des nerfs périphériques. Presse médicale, 47, 388–389][Tinel, J., Nerve wounds. London: Baillère, Tindall and Cox, 1917]
It is a potential sign of carpal tunnel syndrome,
cubital tunnel syndrome
Ulnar nerve entrapment is a condition where the ulnar nerve becomes physically trapped or pinched, resulting in pain, numbness, or weakness, primarily affecting the little finger and ring finger of the hand. Entrapment may occur at any point fro ...
,
anterior tarsal tunnel syndrome and
symptomatic neuroma.
History
Tinel's sign takes its name from French neurologist
Jules Tinel (1879–1952), who wrote about it in a journal article published in October 1915.
German neurologist
Paul Hoffmann independently also published an article on the sign six months earlier, in March 1915.
Previously, in 1909, Trotter and Davies published their findings that sensations elicited distal to the point of nerve resection are referred to the area or point of nerve resection; however they "failed to comment on the clinical relevance of their observation."
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See also
* Hoffmann's sign
* Phalen maneuver
References
External links
*
{{Orthopedic examination , state=autocollapse
Neurology procedures
Musculoskeletal examination