Everything You Need To Know About Radial Nerve Dysfunction

Category: Health

Fitmist It is unfortunate that injuries and mishaps can strike at any time but now with easier access to information and advancement of science, people are becoming more aware of all types of ailments and also be able to gather the required knowledge to fight against it. And similarly, through this article, we are going to cover a very common occurrence which has been tormenting people for a long now which is known as the radial nerve dysfunction. So let us further know about radial nerve dysfunction then and see about its causes and treatments…..Learn more What is the radial nerve? Before starting the article, we should first have some knowledge about the radial nerve. The radial nerve is a major peripheral nerve of the upper limb and is the terminal continuation of the posterior cord of the brachial plexus. The radial nerve runs underside of the arm and controls the movements of the tricep muscle. The radial nerve is responsible for extending the wrist and fingers and controlling the sensations of the hand. Things to know about radial nerve damage Injury to the radial nerve results in radial neuropathy which is also known as radial nerve palsy….Learn more • Neurapraxia- first-degree injury; least serious classification • Axonotmesis- can be either second third or fourth-degree injury • Neurotmesis- fifth-degree injury; most severe nerve damage Since the radial nerve runs underside the arm, studies have shown that there are generally four areas where the radial nerves are more prone to suffer from injury and those places are: 1.Injury at the axilla- After leaving the brachial plexus, the radial nerve travels underside of the arm close to the armpit. Improper use of clutches is considered the biggest cause for causing compression in this point. This injury causes weakness of arms and finger extensions and you may also suffer from a condition known as ‘wrist drop’. 2.Injury at the spiral groove- The radial nerve travels down the arm and wraps around the humerus in a channel which is known as the spiral groove. The nerve can get compressed due to some reasons and interfere with movements of the wrist and fingers….Learn more 3.Posterior interosseous nerve injury- Injury of radial nerve at the posterior interosseous nerve does not produce any abnormal sensations but can lead to muscle weakness. 4.Superficial radial neuropathy- Radial nerves are most susceptible to injury at the wrist and injury to radial nerves of the wrist causes unbearable pain to shoot up and down the arm. Causes of radial nerve dysfunction The causes of radial nerve dysfunction can be due to a wide range of factors. Some of the popular causes of radial nerve damage are: • Fracturing humerus, the bone in the upper arm • Sleeping in an awkward position • Pressure from leaning the arm over the back of a chair which is also known as ‘Saturday night palsy’ condition • Using crutches improperly • Falling on or receiving a blow to the arm…Learn more Symptoms of radial nerve damage The symptoms of dysfunction include: • Mild or severe pain • Weakness in wrist, hand or fingers • Loss of motor functions of fingers, hand and wrist • Numbness, tingling sensation and trouble straightening the arms • In some extreme cases, condition like ‘wrist drop’ or ‘finger drop’ Treatments for radial nerve dysfunction The following symptoms are quite enough to diagnose radial nerve dysfunction, however, to completely verify electrodiagnostic testing and imaging tests can also be done. A minor injury can go away easily without any medications….Learn more Upon encountering radial nerve damage the following precautions can be taken. • Analgesic and anti-inflammatory medications • Anti seizures medications or tricyclic depressants to treat pain • Anaesthetic creams • Electroacupuncture or some other physical therapy to regain muscle strength • Massage • Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation In some extreme cases, it can also lead to surgeries and some of the common treatments used to treat are: • Nerve repair- Repairing of damaged nerves takes place through this surgery. The doctors try to heal the affected nerve to its original condition. This condition is used when the nerve damage is mild, however, if the nerve damage is severe, nerve grafting or transfers is also employed….Continue reading