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). Nerves have historically been considered the basic units of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the Electrochemistry, electrochemical nerv ...
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.
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
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a nerve compression syndrome associated with the collected signs and symptoms of Pathophysiology of nerve entrapment#Compression, compression of the median nerve at the carpal tunnel in the wrist. Carpal tunn ...
,
cubital tunnel syndrome,
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 tinel 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
*
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Neurology procedures
Musculoskeletal examination