Sensorimotor performance of the hand during peripheral nerve regeneration.

Conventional neurological testing procedures outline the sensory and motor incapasities which occur following peripheral nerve injury, but they provide little practical information on the ability of the patient to use the injured part in daily life activities. In the present study functional tests are introduced which lend themselves to statistical analysis and can be routinely and universally applied. The tests did also permit a study of the role of sensation in motor performance. The tests were able to distinguish between nerve-damaged and normal hands; with all differences being statistically significant. Rating scales were devised to indicate how much a motor or sensory performance deviated from normal: function was assessed as poor, satisfactory, or good. No correlation could be established between the results obtained from functional and routine neurological tests nor between sensorimotor performance and the response behavior of single afferents recorded in the same patients. The results indicate that the functional tests are useful and promising for a more general application. The results do also underline the need for sensation in the successful execution of a sequence of coordinated, skillful movements.