Signs of nerve damage that may be noticed after a scene include weakness (often focal depending on the affected nerve), numbness, tingling, pain, difficulty with fine motor control, and specific signs like “wrist drop” (which generally indicates radial nerve damage).
It is possible for these symptoms to resolve over an hour or so. It is also possible that recovery could take months or years, or that the injury could be permanent. An indication that experienced bottoms report regarding recovery time is that if there is notable improvement over the hours following the injury, generally recovery will take place within a few days, perhaps a week. If it takes days to see improvement, it will likely take weeks to recover. Longer time to initial improvement = longer time to full recovery. Take further action and begin first aid steps as outlined on this page.
The most commonly reported bondage-related nerve injury seems to be radial nerve compression damage from box or TK ties. The three main effects of radial nerve damage are decreased range of motion, altered sensation, and impaired strength. Bottoms who have experienced this injury have reported that range of motion came back first, then strength, and finally sensation.