For the purposes of re-education of hands which have some loss of sensation, it is useful to define two groups: (1) the inhibited and (2) the uninhibited.
1. Those who have a qualitative change in sensation often feel a light touch as though it were a painful thrust. Such patients are inhibited in the use of their hands and withdraw the affected digits from involvement with work.
2. Those who have only a quantitative loss of sensation tend to use their digits more forcefully than normal in an attempt to get the sensory feedback to which they are accustomed. These uninhibited hands tend to become damaged and absorbed.
In both types of case, it is helpful to have a means of assessment of the actual pressures experienced by the hand in normal work situations. The relative merits of methods based on electronic transducers and on the rupture of the dye-containing microcapsules are discussed. In either case, the objective is to help the patient to calibrate his remaining sensations and to help the surgeon or therapist guide the patient in the development of new-patterns of grasp and pinch.