The best way to test for light touch in the extremities and pin is to test the back of the hands and the backs of the feet. If those are normal, it’s really not necessary to go all over the body with different testing, because most of the different conditions that can cause sensory loss will affect distal more than proximal, and it is best not to do the palms necessarily, because many people have calluses and tough skin in their feet and sometimes they can’t feel things when, in fact, it is only because of the skin, not because, not because of a sensory loss. So, the first thing is light touch, and we do the same thing in the extremities as we did in the face.
-“Close your eyes.”
And, by the way, one other point, don’t let the patient cross arms or legs. A patient with a slight mental status problem may be confused which side you are testing, so keep everything parallel and separate.
-“Okay, close your eyes. Tell me, which side am I touching?”
-“Left, right.”
-“The same both sides?”
-“Yes.”
-“Excellent. How about now?”
-“Right, left.”
-“Same both sides?”
-“Yes.”
Normal light touch.