Froment's sign

Process of examination

• 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 flexor pollicis longus of the thumb to maintain grip pressure causing a pinching effect.
• Clinically, this compensation manifests as flexion of the interphalangeal joint of the thumb.
• 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 flexor pollicis longus 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.

  Eponym