bpi/winged scapula

[Nan in On]

I have to agree with Scott. Injured nerves take an incredibly long time to heal (years) and many of these docs are in too much of a rush to put you under the knife. I too have read very few postings of positive results from these surgeries, especially when discussing the issue of PAIN which is a biggy!
I was injured 4 years ago and although I rely on pain medications and still have a lot of muscle weakness which has resulted in problems with both shoulders and my neck, my winging and use of my arm has improved and I have no where near the levels of pain I did in the first 18 months following the injury.
I have learned to cope with the fact that I will probably never recover fully and I have had to make major changes to my lifestyle, but after years of research, I would not even consider surgery at this point in time. Who knows what new developments there will be in the future... but for now I am doing gentle therapy and doing my best to be patient with myself not to push beyond my limits.
This is only one opinion but for those of you who are newly injured, please see a reputable neurologist for diagnosis and do not make any rushed decisions about surgery until you have all of the facts.
Take care all.

[admin]

i have a ? i had tos surgery for xtra cervical ribs on left side on dec 6 was healing fine no winging noticed. i had a bad car accident on jan 3 symptoms of pain got worse on left side and now right side is showing tos..i noticed and pt noticed scapular winging 2 days ago. my ? is was it the surgery or the accident that caused the left scapula to wing out. at times it feels like my scapula wants to tear away from my back. i know one of the complications is injury ti the long thoracic nerve but my ortho and vascular surgeon seem to think the accident caused it since no symptoms of it until after..i was rearended and pushed into a car in front of us. i was the front passenger and damage was worse on my side of the car the guy hit us doing 60mph. we were going about 40 and lady who we got pushed into was going about 50mph as stated on police report. do doctors reply here or a nurse? any info would be helpful.

[admin]

i have a ? i had tos surgery for xtra cervical ribs on left side on dec 6 was healing fine no winging noticed. i had a bad car accident on jan 3 symptoms of pain got worse on left side and now right side is showing tos..i noticed and pt noticed scapular winging 2 days ago. my ? is was it the surgery or the accident that caused the left scapula to wing out. at times it feels like my scapula wants to tear away from my back. i know one of the complications is injury ti the long thoracic nerve but my ortho and vascular surgeon seem to think the accident caused it since no symptoms of it until after..i was rearended and pushed into a car in front of us. i was the front passenger and damage was worse on my side of the car the guy hit us doing 60mph. we were going about 40 and lady who we got pushed into was going about 50mph as stated on police report. do doctors reply here or a nurse? any info would be helpful.

[Nan in On]

So sorry to here that you now have to deal with this Amelia! I am not a doctor and so this is just my opinion (as a winger who incurred a LTN injury during surgery), but I would think that it was likely the TOS surgery that caused the injury. If you were suffering with whiplash symptoms such as neck pain or headaches I would think that might be accident related, but the nerve injury would more likely be a result of your surgery. Of course the doctors would rarely admit to you that this was the case, and it is unlikely you would be able to prove it, unfortunately. Please read through Steven Fromm's webpage as it has much info on scapular winging. You might be wise to visit a neurologist to determine the extent of the nerve injury (whether the nerve has been cut, stretched, or compressed)because this will determine your course of action, but please do not do anything drastic until you have more information! As Scott has said, nerves can take a very long time to heal and rest is best.
I have not had any surgery and my winging has improved some with time and my pain levels are not what they were in the beginning. It is essential to find what works best for you to manage the pain in the meantime and patience is a must. There is no "quick fix" for this from what I understand.
Again, I am sorry, and I wish you all the best.

[admin]

yes nan i have been suffering from severe whiplash and possible cervical disc bulges..my ortho ordered an mri which i had done today. i have had numbness in my nose and upper lip, facial twitching, bad neck and shoulder spasms..burning pain severe at times. thats why hes ordering mri..because at the time of accident i still had some burning from the rib resection but it wasnt on both sides.

[Nan in On]

SO sorry... The good news is that Whiplash symptoms usually subside more quickly than nerve injuries... I believe I was much improved in a few months time...although time will not heal the damage done to disks (neck pain) and my doctors are not willing to operate on cervical disks unless there is severe functional impairment (ie. trouble walking). I have been told it is a "crap shoot" by neurologists, but they could be shooting me a load of crap!
Regardless, you will be out of commission for some time and someone needs to be held accountable. Certainly sounds like the accident greatly worsened your condition, regardless of whether or not it "caused" the winging!
Wishing you all the best no matter what you decide and hope you feel better soon...

[admin]

thanks for your reply pain is so bad now just sitting up straight makes it worse..thanks for your kindness

[macurtiss]

I have this winging scapula thing everyone is discussing, but I sure didn't until I went to a chiropractor. I went on a very long hilly hike in September '04. I think I was holding my head in a funny position on the descent. After putting up with my neck hurting for three weeks, I went to my pain specialist (I've had three lumbar spine surgeries) and he sent me to a chiropractor for "cervical facet syndrome." The morning following my second chiropractic treatment, I was in excruciating pain. It felt like a hot poker was impaling me through my right arm pit and elbow. Ever since, I am unable to lift my right arm above shoulder level and my neck and clavilces are always aching. I have also grown a "wing." The fact that I'm rail thin makes it look even worse. I don't have any numbness or tingling in my arm. The neck pain is triggering bad headaches where neck meets skull. My EMG showed damage to my long thoracic nerve. I'm still waiting on MRI results for brachial plexus injury. What's wrong with me and how do I get rid of my neck pain, headaches, and aching clavicles?

Lawyers need not respond. The chiropractor is the nicest man and he did not mean to hurt me. He doesn't even know about my injury and that is how I want it to stay.

[admin]

does anybody with a wing have Parsonage-Turner syndrome? I just discoverd that this may be what is the problem. I wonder if the decompression surgery will fix the wing if this syndrome is the culprit. im going to lose it pretty soon if I dont get rid of this pain. it is horrible...Im 33 and ive become 83 in 8 months.

[admin]

mike, the decompression surgery is designed to help with the winging, it is not intended or guaranteed to help with the pain at all and several who have had it actually report worse pain in posts here. If the pain is the only/main reason for having the surgery, I would think again.
Just my 2 cents.