Neurapraxia is very common in professional athletes, especially American football players, and is a condition that can and should be treated by a physician. Signs and symptoms
A variety of nerve types can be subjected to neurapraxia and therefore symptoms of the injury range in degree and intensity. Common symptoms of neurapraxia are disturbances in sensation, weakness of muscle, vasomotor and sudomotor paralysis in the region of the affected nerve or nerves, and abnormal sensitivity of the nerve at the point of injury. It has been observed that subjective sensory symptoms include numbness, tingling, and burning sensations at the site of the injury. Objective sensory symptoms are generally minimal in regards to touch, pain, heat, and cold. In cases of motor neuron neurapraxia, symptoms consist of flaccid paralysis of the muscles innervated by the injured nerve or nerves. Symptoms are often transient and only last for a short period of time immediately following the injury. However, in severe cases of neurapraxia, symptoms can persist for weeks or months at a time. Causes
The cause of neurapraxia is a neural lesion which causes a temporary block of nerve conduction without transection of the axon. A conduction block is classified as a 40% reduction in action potential amplitude over a short distance on the nerve, or a 50% reduction for a longer distance on the nerve. In neurapraxia, stimulation to the injured nerve results in a greater reduction in the action potential amplitude on the proximal site of the injury as opposed to the distal site.
The thinning of myelin sheaths or focal demyelination are the main consequences of the injury that lead to conduction blockage. Diagnosis
Seddon classification
There are three distinct classifications and degrees of nerve injury:

Neurotmesis is the most serious degree of nerve injury. It involves the disruption of the nerve and the nerve sheath. Axonotmesis occurs when the majority of the supporting structures of the nerve are preserved, but disruption of the nerve fibers is still observed. Wallerian degeneration often occurs in the near the proximity of the injury site. Neurapraxia is least serious form of nerve injury.There are two different forms of mechanical nerve injury involving neurapraxia. The underlying causes of transient nerve injury typically include a brief ischemic episode or any form of compression. More persistent forms of nerve injury involve demyelination and axonal constriction. In certain circumstances, diagnosing neurapraxia can be uncomfortable because of the presence of severe neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain is an indication that the lesion of the nerve is still in progress. Diagnosis of neurapraxia is almost always followed by a quick and complete recovery period. Treatment and recovery
The entire nerve is involved in the response to traumatic injuries. The outcome of nerve repair is dependent on the degree of the nerve injury and the circumstances at the site of injury. Since neurapraxia is the least serious form of peripheral nerve injury, recovery and treatment are not extensive. Once the cause of neurapraxia is eliminated, recovery of the lesions in the nerve occurs within a short time span.