Patients may give a history of falls and possibly tripping due to the foot drop. Patients tend to present with either an acute or a gradual foot drop. The fibular nerve's most common compression site is found at the fibular head/neck, where the nerve is most superficial. This occurs as the deep fibular nerve fascicles are more superficial at the fibular head thus, they are more exposed to trauma and compression. If a single branch is being affected, the deep fibular nerve tends to be more frequently affected than the superficial fibular nerve. In fibular neuropathy, both the deep and superficial nerves tend to be affected. Fibular neuropathy is considered the most common neuropathy in the lower extremities and tends to occur secondary to compression, entrapment, direct trauma, or ischemia. The fibular nerve terminology will be used in all parts of this article. It has recently become more commonplace to refer to the peroneal nerve as the fibular nerve to distinguish it from the similar-sounding perineal nerve.

The fibular nerve has been historically referred to as the peroneal nerve because the fibula can also be referred to as the perone.

Outline the importance of communication among the interprofessional team to enhance the delivery of care for patients with peripheral neuropathy.

Review the electromyographic findings in a patient with peroneal neuropathy.

Describe the nerve conduction study findings in a patient with peroneal neuropathy.

Identify the indications for electrodiagnostic testing of peroneal neuropathy.This activity describes the electrodiagnostic findings of nerve conduction studies and needle electromyography studies, as well as highlighting how interprofessional teams are critical to evaluating and managing peroneal neuropathies over the longterm. The peroneal nerve's most common compression site is found at the fibular head/neck, where the nerve is most superficial. In the case of a single branch being affected, deep peroneal neuropathy tends to be more common than superficial peroneal neuropathy. In peroneal neuropathy, both the deep and superficial nerves tend to be affected. The gold standard for diagnosing peroneal neuropathies is electrodiagnostic testing, which includes both nerve conduction studies and needle electromyography.

Nerve conduction study for sciatica