United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

As long as you keep moving your arm, the blood will flow with more ease, when you stop, it stops. SO whenever you start to feel it getting cold, doing some exercise with it is always helpful!

Yes keep moving the arm...even if you just keep lifting it onto the armrests of chairs, or walk with it swinging (DON'T use a sling all the time)This applies especially if you have a very severe injury. Lifting the arm and stretching it up as far as you can towards your head by grabbing it at the wrist with your other hand is good.

Keep trying this and feel the stretch and you'll find you can lift it a little bit further each time. Doing this will help the blood flow and by doing that, it will increase the warmth in the arm. It can also help with the pain believe it or not.

PLEASE be warned though..if you have a very flail arm and it is very cold, don't go rushing in to lifting and stretching it as far as you can towards your head, particularly if you are lying down. Warm it up as far as you can by rubbing, or gentle massage BEFORE lifting and stretching...reason being that the inflow of all that cold blood into the chest could bring on a heart attack. We have heard of this happening, only the once that we know about, but it pays to be careful.

Entertaining injury as Jen says...between us two, we have over 40 years of living with it, and we STILL have new stuff to learn!

PLEASE also remember...if you have recently had surgery, ALWAYS ALWAYS check and then double check with your surgeon or therapist BEFORE you do any stretches or physiotherapy of any kind on yourself.

Lizzy F

Wow! I never knew I didn't have fingerprints on my LTBPI.
Too bad I can't use it to pull off an Oceans 11...12 or 13. It was rather difficult to turn my wrist around though to actually obtain any prints. For the longest time I'd say 'Jacob look I pulled another one off.' and I would proudly hold up a newly pulled off piece of finger nail. I have a real hard time of cutting my nails so I thought this was a good thing. It isn't and I don't advise doing it. I always thought my hand looked 'waxy'. Either way shiny it is. I'm glad you posted such an observation Jenny. Now I feel more like one of the unfortunate gang members. After looking at pictures from camp I noticed someone else with the same 'hook-hand' as I have and I shared that with Jacob as well. Up until all this all I could do was explain this and that to him now he's more informed. Too bad it doesn't help in our never ending 'I won 't ask for help and he won't offer to help unless asked' saga.
Well TTFN and Happy New Year!!!
Scott
Oh yes everone can do this,
http://freerice.com/