The window of opportunity for nerve regeneration is short with the regenerative capacity of the injured neurons and the regenerative support of the distal nerve stump declining with time and distance

Recovery following peripheral nerve injuries is often incomplete. The gold standard treatment is surgical nerve repair performed immediately or shortly after injury. To date, there are no additional treatments that are used to enhance functional recovery. In this paper we outline two emerging applications of electrical stimulation to enhance nerve regeneration and functional recovery. The first is brief electrical nerve stimulation performed at the time of nerve repair that is used to accelerate nerve outgrowth across the injury site. The second is daily electrical muscle stimulation that reduces muscle atrophy and also accelerates muscle reinnervation.