United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Our son is going to be fitted with a Dyna Splint for his arm and we have been told that the splint will help to straighten out his arm and also help with his shoulder rotation?? Has anyone used a Dyna Splint and had any success in relieving the shoulder rotation problems or severity?? Also, he cannot supinate his arm (left OBPI) and therapist is saying that the splint will alow him to straighten his arm which will improve his shoulder rotation and that will also allow him to supinate his arm?? He has about a 15% contracture in his arm and cannot supinate it beyond neutral now. Any help or experience is greatly appreciated!!

We didn't use dynasplint but we are having success with TES and an ark pediatric brace that includes supination and a stiff splint for elbow that he wears at night.He wears the shoulder brace day and night most days. The rotation of our sons shoulder is changing and he has gained 90 degrees supination in the last 4 months and my son is 13 years old - so i doubt if ten months old is too late. These methods have worked wonders on winging scap. and increased external rotation about 45 degrees . It is true you want to start at the shoulder then work your way down the arm.We treated the winging first, then we moved onto the rotator cuff and lower scap stabilizers (while continuing to treat upper scapular stabilizers), now the triceps and supinator muscles.
We no longer are a candidate for the rotational osteotomy after using dr.Pape's protocol's for the past 9 months and Richard has gained huge amounts of range and strength and improved posture -even at this late stage in the game

I used a dynasplint for 4 months and it did not help for me at all. I also have had my contracture (80 degree's) for 16 plus years. I have gone to see a physician at Mayo Hospital where they are going to do a capsule release, and a lot of other things that I do not have the medical defintions of. Due to the tight capsule in my elbow it was not going to move at all. I had my splint at the highest tension and nothing moved. My only hope will be the surgery. One thing I will recommend is that I did end up with a radial nerve injury which after 2 months of being off the splint has finally resolved. This was due to the splint not compensating for my internal rotation and therfore it put pressure on my radial nerve. I and the Physical Therapist had a hard time making the splint feel comfortable. I am not sure how old your child is, but if they complain about the splint listen to them because as an adult I struggled with it the whole time I wore it.

My son got a splint for his elbow contracture almost a year ago (he turned two this past Oct.). At the time he had about a -10-15 degree contracture. The doctor told me that the splint would help but he may never get to 0 degrees (which is ok) and that it could take up to six weeks to see any difference at all. Well, he got to between 0 and -3 degrees very fast (about a week or two). We still use it on him because we notice that his body changes during growth spurts and he often needs the splint and additional therapy during these times. He hasn't been at 0 degrees in a long time, but lately has maintained about a 5 degree contracture for the most part. They say to increase the tension on the splint over time as he gets used to it and as needed if you don't see any improvements for a while. I remember crying before I had to put the splint on him for the first time, worrying how it would affect his sleep. I also worried about increasing the tension because he was too young to verbalize if something hurt (you would just have to assume if he cried that could be it). However, he never had a problem and never complained from day one and still doesn't. As far as how it impacts shoulder rotation and supination, ask a PT or doctor to explain it to you or show you on your own arm. That might help you to understand how it all works together. Good luck.

I live in South Dakota and I noted you're seeing a Mayo doctor which is only a few hours away. Is he a brachial plexus specialist? What is his name? You may email me at ljoy@sio.midco.net. Thank you.