ABSTRACT
Location of the injury: hand, wrist, forearm, elbow, upper arm, shoulder. Observe the position of the hand and fingers at rest and with passive flexion and extension of the wrist. Always compare with the contralateral unaffected hand or arm. For a general impression of the range of motion of the fingers: ask the patient to make a fist and stretch the fingers, then spread and close. However bear in mind it is still possible to make a clenched fist with all superficial flexor tendons discontinuous. If a nerve injury is suspected, the muscles and skin it innervates are examined. The median nerve and the ulnar nerve are mixed nerves at the level of the wrist, meaning they have both a motor and sensory function. With injury of sensory nerves, there will be numbness distal to the trauma. Additionally, the skin becomes dry and can feel smoother due to decreased sweat secretion.
