What is a common functional outcome associated with anterior interosseous nerve injury?

The inability to pinch is a common functional outcome associated with anterior interosseous nerve injury. The anterior interosseous nerve, a branch of the median nerve, innervates specific muscles in the forearm, primarily the flexor pollicis longus and the lateral half of the flexor digitorum profundus. When this nerve is injured, the individual may lose the ability to produce the necessary pinching action between the thumb and index finger, which is facilitated by the flexor pollicis longus’s ability to flex the thumb and the flexor digitorum profundus’s ability to flex the index finger. This presents as a specific inability to perform a pinch grip, as these muscles are crucial for such an action.

While other choices relate to general motor function of the hand and wrist, they are not specifically tied to the function of the anterior interosseous nerve. Inability to extend fingers involves the extensors, not the anterior interosseous nerve, which does not control any extensors. Weakness in wrist flexion is largely connected to the overall function of the median and ulnar nerves, and does not pinpoint the specific deficits caused by the anterior interosseous injury. Similarly, inability to flex the elbow suggests