Tinel’s Test: Examiner repeatedly taps over the volar carpal ligament for up to 60 seconds. The test is considered positive if patient reports tingling or electric shocks in distribution of the median nerve [4, 6]. Tinel's sign is used to test for compression neuropathy.

Understanding the Context

The sign has become associated with carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosis [1] and other compression neuropathies such as tarsal tunnel syndrome, cubital tunnel syndrome, or Guyon canal syndrome. A Tinel sign is when your doctor taps your nerve to check for nerve problems. Learn about the procedure, results, and limitations for this test today. The Tinel's sign is a simple, non-invasive test used by healthcare providers to check for nerve irritation or compression.

Key Insights

It’s a go-to diagnostic tool for conditions like carpal tunnel, cubital tunnel, and tarsal tunnel syndrome. Other names for test: Hoffman-Tinel sign, nerve percussion test Used to assess: Median, radial, and ulnar nerve pathology Patient position: Sitting with elbow flexed Clinician position: At patient’s side Clinician’s stabilizing hand position: Supporting hand being tested Tinel’s sign is a tingling or “pins and needles” feeling you get when your healthcare provider taps your skin over a nerve. Tinel’s sign may be an indicator that you have nerve compression or damage where they’re tapping. Tinel's sign is performed by lightly tapping or percussing over the suspected site of nerve compression or injury. The maneuver is typically repeated along the course of the nerve.

Final Thoughts

1915: Jules Tinel (1879-1952), a French neurologist, described a “tingling sensation” or “formication sign” after slight percussion of a nerve trunk after injury to which he attributed the sensation to the presence of growing axons.