Froment's Sign - Process of Examination

Process of Examination

To perform the test, a patient is asked to hold an object, usually a flat object such as a piece of paper, between their thumb and index finger (pinch grip). The examiner then attempts to pull the object out of the subject's hands.

  • A normal individual will be able to maintain a hold on the object without difficulty.
  • However, with ulnar nerve palsy, the patient will experience difficulty maintaining a hold and will compensate by flexing the FPL (flexor pollicis longus) of the thumb to maintain grip pressure causing a pinching effect.
  • Clinically, this compensation manifests as flexion of the IP joint of the thumb (rather than extension, as would occur with correct use of the adductor pollicis).
  • The compensation of the affected hand results in a weak pinch grip with the tips of the thumb and index finger, therefore, with the thumb in obvious flexion.
  • Note that the FPL is normally innervated by the anterior interosseous branch of the median nerve.
  • Anterior interosseous branch comes off more proximally than the wrist, in evaluating lacerations near the wrist.
  • Simultaneous hyperextension of the thumb MCP joint is indicative of ulnar nerve compromise. This is also known as Jeanne's Sign.

Read more about this topic:  Froment's Sign

Famous quotes containing the words process of, process and/or examination:

    “That which endures is not one or another association of living forms, but the process of which the cosmos is the product, and of which these are among the transitory expressions.”
    —Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)

    “Healthy parenting is nothing if not a process of empowerment. As we help to raise our children’s self-esteem, we also increase their personal power. When we encourage them to be confident, self-reliant, self-directed, and responsible individuals, we are giving them power.”
    —Louise Hart (20th century)

    “Maybe it’s understandable what a history of failures America’s foreign policy has been. We are, after all, a country full of people who came to America to get away from foreigners. Any prolonged examination of the U.S. government reveals foreign policy to be America’s miniature schnauzer—a noisy but small and useless part of the national household.”
    —P.J. (Patrick Jake)