If you have symptoms of nerve compression or damage, your healthcare provider may do a simple, noninvasive test to elicit Tinel’s sign. Tinel’s sign is a tingling feeling you get when your healthcare provider taps your skin over an affected nerve. Test results can help them diagnose nerve compression so you can get treatment to relieve symptoms.
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.
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Testing for Tinel’s sign is a way for your healthcare provider to assess for signs of nerve damage or nerve irritation at a specific site.
Your healthcare provider may call this sign either Tinel’s sign or Hoffmann-Tinel sign. The names come from the people who first described it in 1915, physiologist Paul Hoffmann and neurologist Jules Tinel.
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Your healthcare provider may test for Tinel’s sign if they’re concerned about nerve damage or irritation at a specific site.
Some examples of when your healthcare provider might look for Tinel’s sign include:
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If you have nerve compression or damage, you may experience:
Any healthcare provider who’s looking for signs of nerve compression can test for Tinel’s sign.
There’s nothing you need to do to prepare for a Tinel’s sign test.
Your healthcare provider will take a full history of your symptoms. This may include questions about any numbness, weakness or tingling you may experience. Tinel’s sign may then be tested as part of the physical examination.
A Tinel’s sign test procedure is simple. Your healthcare provider taps your skin above the nerve. They ask you to describe what you feel as they’re tapping.
If you have a positive test, you’ll feel tingling when your healthcare provider taps on you. This may indicate nerve damage or irritation at that site. If the test is negative, you won’t feel any tingling. Although Tinel’s sign can help your healthcare provider understand what’s going on, a negative test doesn’t exclude the possibility of nerve compression.
Depending on the result of the Tinel’s sign test and the rest of your history and examination, your healthcare provider may recommend more testing. This could include:
There aren’t any risks associated with a Tinel’s sign test.
Tinel’s sign test results are immediate. You’ll know right away whether you feel a tingling sensation during the test. Your healthcare provider will then discuss the next steps in your care.
You should talk with your healthcare provider if you experience signs of a damaged or irritate nerve. These symptoms may include burning, numbness or weakness.
It’s best to have your healthcare provider perform a Tinel’s sign test for proper diagnosis.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
If you experience symptoms of nerve compression or damage, a Tinel’s sign test can help your healthcare provider make a rapid diagnosis. You don’t need to live with numbness, pain or weakness. Talk to your healthcare provider about your symptoms, treatment options and what you can do to relieve discomfort at home.
Last reviewed on 04/01/2022.
Learn more about the Health Library and our editorial process.
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Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy