shoulders not level - bpi side lower

Forum for parents of injured who are seeking information from other parents or people living with the injury. All welcome
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jackieb
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Mar 05, 2002 9:18 am
Location: Australia

shoulders not level - bpi side lower

Post by jackieb »

my son's shoulders are not level his bpi side drops, i was wondering if this is normal?

he is unable to wear overalls because the strap does not stay on but keeps dropping down, he also has some problems wearing a jacket undone.

can anyone help?
njbirk
Posts: 1806
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2001 10:09 pm

Re: shoulders not level - bpi side lower

Post by njbirk »

It is very normal.
The muscle mass in the shoulder is simply not there and the gleno-humeral joint for most of us is not the usual ball and socket. All this adds up to a sloping shoulder.

It is really hard on us gals and our bra straps.

Nancy
PeggyUBPN
Posts: 403
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2004 2:14 pm

Re: shoulders not level - bpi side lower

Post by PeggyUBPN »

yes..all to normal for BPIs.

Are you woking on balance issues, also, with therapy?

My daughter does wear overalls; we just tighten the bpi side more. As for jeackets/coats, everytime she gets off the bus (and still has her coat partially on) it's halfway down her arm on her bpi side. She's not all that fond of being clad, anyway. She says she's hot all of the time. As soon as we get home (if there is no one else, other than our family around, the clothes come off).
admin
Site Admin
Posts: 19873
Joined: Mon Nov 16, 2009 9:59 pm

Re: shoulders not level - bpi side lower

Post by admin »

I agree with the others. It is very common and my child has it as well. However, it has gotten better since his surgery. Hopefully, in time you will notice some improvement. Perhaps bracing, taping, TES, surgery or therapy may be able to help some, however, I think this is often an ongoing issue, like so many others.
admin
Site Admin
Posts: 19873
Joined: Mon Nov 16, 2009 9:59 pm

Re: shoulders not level - bpi side lower

Post by admin »

Hi - My son's bpi shoulder is elevated and forward. He's 13 months and hasn't had any surgeries yet. Is the drooping of the shoulder something that develops later?
Kath
Posts: 3242
Joined: Mon Nov 18, 2002 4:11 pm
Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: I am ROBPI, global injury, Horner's Syndrome. No surgery but PT started at 2 weeks old under the direction of New York Hospital. I wore a brace 24/7 for the first 11 months of my life. I've never let my injury be used as an excuse not to do something. I've approach all things, in life, as a challenge. I approach anything new wondering if I can do it. I tried so many things I might never have tried, if I were not obpi. Being OBPI has made me strong, creative, more determined and persistent. I believe that being obpi has given me a very strong sense of humor and compassion for others.
Location: New York

Re: shoulders not level - bpi side lower

Post by Kath »

My shoulder droops... I put a shoulder pad in the right shoulder sometimes ... it is part of bpi.

When I was young my mother tied a loop in the back before she put the straps on my shoulders so they would not fall off ... you can use a clip across the back to keep the straps together. On the adult obpi board there is a post about bra strap and how to keep it on our shoulders.

Kath
Kath robpi/adult

Kathleen Mallozzi
jackieb
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Mar 05, 2002 9:18 am
Location: Australia

Re: shoulders not level - bpi side lower

Post by jackieb »

wow, thank-you all for the information, it is good in a way to see that this is normal, although i think that the doctors and physio here have been seriously lacking. I am from Aust and cameron had surgery at 1yr (nerve graft) since that time not much else has been done and we have been told that all is going well.

We also (my husband and I) were just talking and realised that cameron has not had physio for nearly 2years! We have seen the surgeon twice in this time and each time he is very happy with cameron's progress and just says that we are to see him again in another years time.

We thought what was happening was perfectly normal, obviously not!!!!!!!!!
admin
Site Admin
Posts: 19873
Joined: Mon Nov 16, 2009 9:59 pm

Re: shoulders not level - bpi side lower

Post by admin »

my sons affected shoulder is higher. He wore overalls today and I noticed they were tighter on the injured side. I took out some rescent pictures and noticed this too. It has improved with much therapy. We push down on that side and it has become better.
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