Peripheral Nerve Injuries

Symptoms

Signs that one or more nerves have been injured vary, depending on the injury's cause and severity. Symptoms may be immediate or develop gradually over time.

Among the symptoms that indicate a nerve injury are:

• Pain, with the degree of intensity ranging from a tingling sensation to extreme, burning pain
• Loss of feeling or abnormal sensations
• Weakness in the affected body part, such as hand weakness, with a tendency to drop objects.
• Loss of motor function, such as a hand or leg being difficult to move
• Loss of active range of motion, such as difficulty lifting fingers or flexing the wrist

Sciatic Nerve Injury

The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in the body, running from the lower back down the back of the leg. It controls muscles in the leg and foot. Prolonged pressure on the sciatic nerve, over time, will injure the nerve. Injury can be caused by habits such as crossing legs (which can develop into footdrop) or sitting for long periods.

Other causes of sciatic nerve injury are more immediate, such as a cut or blow to the pelvis area or leg, or during surgery. Research has shown that in about 1 of every 100 cases of hip replacement surgery, the sciatic nerve is cut or damaged during surgery. The patient subsequently develops symptoms of sciatic nerve damage.

Signs that the sciatic nerve has been injured include:

• Pain that radiates from the lower back or hip down through the back of the leg.
• Pain that feels like a leg cramp, but doesn't go away.
• A tingling sensation or numbness down the leg.
• Pain when sitting, sneezing or coughing.
• Muscle weakness in the leg or foot. These people may shuffle their foot when walking or may not be able to flex their foot up to stand on the balls of their feet.
• In severe cases, people cannot move their foot or bend their knee.

Radial Nerve Injury

The radial nerve controls muscles in the arm and hand. Radial nerve injuries have numerous causes, including a bone break in the arm, overuse of the arm from athletics or work on the job, improper use of crutches, hanging arms for too long over an armchair or lying too long on top of the arm.

Signs of radial nerve injury include:

• Tingling sensation or lack of sensation in the back of the arm, forearm and hand.
• Weakness in arm muscles, making it difficult to straighten the elbow, wrist and fingers.