United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

I was just wondering if anyone has experienced uneven shoulders, with the bpi side being tighter? is so what do you do about it
Thanks, Suzy

Yes, the shoulder on my bpi side is smaller, less defined and slopes. My shirts are always shifted and the straps never stay up.

Nancy

Same with me. I'm always pulling up straps.

Yes, same with me, all the above. My Lbpi shpilder is ALWAYS tight.
Carolyn J

My bra strap is always slipping and my affected arm is a lot lower then the other. Exercise believe it or not does help. I have been in college and when I have my 6 hour days of class it really tightens up. Stretching really helps to relieve the pain. Good Luck to you.

Yes, to the point that when I was in school and they would check my spine, they always sent a note home telling my Mom to take me to the Dr to check for curvature of the spine. They would say that my spine felt fine but the uneven shoulders where a sign. Of course, they never listened when we would tell them that was caused by something else, so every year we had to go get a note from the Dr.

The same with me. I hate certain types of necks on t-shirts etc because you can even notice it is always crooked. Bra straps are such a pain.
Kath

Yes, me too. BPI shoulder slopes and the shoulder blade protrudes a LOT when I move my arm. One therapist calls this an angel wing. I think my shoulders have always been about the same size with BPI a bit smaller. I am 61 and am thankful to say that my shoulder and arm have always been as strong as the other one. Right now my BPI arm is stronger than than the other. And shoulder straps have always slipped. A sense of humor is essential.

Un even shoulders in my case resulted from me useing my upper trap muscle to do ever thing. Now that I am in therapy I am learning to use my triceps and biceps, so my bra strap/ shirt stap problem is almost non existant. Just try to relax your upper traps. That should help.
Amy

WOW!!! I'm new to this site and this is like a miracle! I'm 36 years old and had no idea that there were so many other people out there with the same thing I have! I had no idea that it had a name or even support groups for it!

Everything you all are saying is exactly what I've experienced all my life. My parents really didn't know too much about it. I was always told that the brachial plexus on my left side was torn when I was born (I was 10lb. 9 oz. and delivered vaginally). Luckily, the injury was discovered in the nursery and my parents were given exercises to do with me before I even left the hospital.

I guess I've been pretty lucky. I have full use of my arm. I just can't rotate at my shoulder very well so the backstroke has always been a bit of a problem for me. My shoulder on my left side slopes (bra straps always falling - racer back bras work well), my shoulder blade is high on that side and I can't quite straighten out my left arm all the way. Slight bend at the elbow.

Also experienced the school doctors sending me home with notes that I had curvature of the spine as well.

I've never had pain, which is a good thing.

I'm just amazed right now. This is incredible!