Failure to Compensate: Patients With Nerve Injury Use Their Injured Dominant Hand, Even When Their Nondominant Is More Dexterous.

Objective: To identify how individuals respond to unilateral upper extremity peripheral nerve injury via compensation (increased use of the nondominant hand). We hypothesized that injury to the dominant hand would have a greater effect on hand use (left vs right choices). We also hypothesized that compensation would not depend on current (postinjury) nondominant hand performance because many patients undergo rehabilitation that is not designed to alter hand use.

Quality of Life and Psychosocial Factors as Predictors of Pain Relief Following Nerve Surgery.

Peripheral nerve injuries may result in pain, disability, and decreased quality of life (QoL). Pain is an incompletely understood experience and is associated with emotional and behavioral qualities. We hypothesized that pain following peripheral nerve surgery could be predicted by changes in emotions or QoL postoperatively.