Detrimental effects of immobilization on functional recovery after sciatic nerve crush.

Peripheral-nerve trauma has been a challenge to surgeons, with significant advances in the surgery of repair. Immobilization of the injured limb after repair has been the traditional method of treatment. Although peripheral-nerve regeneration has been studied extensively, the correlation between functional recovery and the immobilization period has not been well-documented. In the present study, the authors studied the effects of immobilization on axonal regeneration after sciatic crush injury. They found a detrimental effect of immobilization on the functional recovery.