United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Kate and I are dissecting what's really happening in affected arm muscle by muscle. It's been very fruitful and there's a lot to still go through.

So my question to you is can you just list where you have pain and rate it 1-5 (5 being awful and needing medication). Be real specific - front of the shoulder or back of the shoulder (versus just saying shoulder).

And also if it is constant or if you can resolve it (albeit it temporarily) with stretcing/ exercise, etc.

Thanks. The overuse post is fantastic. Thanks for taking the time to help us in this way.

Thanks for your help,
francine

And actually - can you break it down if you feel it is nerve pain, muscle pain, or bone pain? [Can you actually determine that difference though?]

I'm curious about what happens to the deformed humeral head.... does it cause great pain later in life?

What happens to muscles that are contracted from childhood?

Pain is hard to really describe.

Right now my arm has a nerve signal that is up and down the inside of my arm from my shoulder to my palm also my thumb and index finger feel it.

If some on taps me in certain spots on my arm, back or shoulder I will get a zing type signal and its not only annoying its painful.
Depending on where they tap ( and I mean a light tap) the zing will either go to the palm of my hand or certain fingers.
I think because of the loss of sensation on the front of my forearm it feels as if the signal has skipped over that part of my arm.
As I continue to type I realize that my arm is having a party inside and trying pinpoint the feeling is very difficult.
I have scapular winging and weak hand but I also have all natural healing as surgery was out of the question when I was young.

I find a great deal of frustration in not know how to define the feelings.
About three months ago my robpi arm was so painful I could not move it at all.
I actually went to bed with the pain and that is a big deal for me.
I did nothing to cause this, it came out of nowhere.
I was scared and would not even talk to anyone.
I could not move my arm at all. But, thanks to the kind considerate understand medical professionals who know nothing about obpi/adults, I got to wait a week before an the orthopedist could fit me in... Pain or no pain... grrrrr
By that time the severe pain had diminished.
It never happened before or since but I went to a "sports medicine orthopedic doctor" and I use the term doctor loosely.
He told me I had an old injury and from the X-ray could tell my rotator cuff has a great deal of scaring.
He also told me I
(a) could get a shot of cortisone
(B) go and get some PT

Oh! worst of all he told me they don't do anything for these type of shoulders.... double grrrrrrrr

It was all up to me... so why did my insurance have to pay him?
He was most annoyed when I put OBPI on my medical information sheet.
I don't have enough space to tell you how he objected to that term.
He was so angry.... needless to say I will NEVER see him again!
I did not let him get away with making it a birth defect!

I think my major problem is that anatomy has always been my least favorite subject.

I should look at a diagram ( find me a simple one) and I think many of us could better describe the muscles that pull,dance etc...

Remember girls most adults were given very little information about our injuries.

See if you can post a link with a diagram of the arm, shoulder, back muscles and don't forget some of us have smaller pec muscles as a result of this injury.
Ops... don't forget some questions about our necks.
The unaffected side of our neck really gets tight because it compensates to hold our heads straight.

Kath (adult/robpi)

Kath,

This site might be a good place for you to start figuring out which muscle is which. Here are the main pages for shoulder-glenohumeral and scapula motions.

http://www.exrx.net/Articulations/Shoulder.html
http://www.exrx.net/Articulations/Scapula.html

This is a helpful page because you can look at the little videos for what motion causes pain, and then click over the specific muscles listed to "see" where they are placed and how they attach.

This is the root page describing all the joints and the motions they do:

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Articulations ... chor728527

Ok, ball's back in your court!!

Kate

OK "Girls",
"My 2 cents" is to refer you back to the "#1 Topic of Pain" Thread that Kath just bumped up. I for 1 really stated everything there.

Kate, it will take me time to read the web sites you recommended for Kath, me too I guess to read and apply to myself & get back to 'Ya. Until then.....

HUGS all around,
Carolyn J

Francine and Kate,
pain is an interesting thing, its beginig to drive me insane. something different all the time.

most commonly I only have pain in a couple places. the one that causes me the most trouble is my back so heres my shot at the anatomy I know so far: My pain is on the right side between my vertebral column and across to my scapula. I would say mostly in the rhomboids, and trapezius but also under my scapula (that my dr. says is a constant burcitis caused by my unstable scapula). Thats pretty constant now, it started out 6 years ago and then it was very occassionally but it has progressively gotten worse I have been able to get a great deal of relief from kinesio tape after ultrasound and deep tissue massage.
My other long standing pain is still very occassionally and thats the shooting pain that generally stay in a muscular level in my right forearm, that pain generally "shoots" from between the muscle bellies of the palmaris longus and the flexor carpi radialis.

And now for my newest pain which thankfully only lasted this weekend was in my elbow region on the deep muscular level where the extensor carpi radialis longus would go around the elbow.

Theres my anatomy, can you tell I have been studying? I have a practical exam on Tuesday next week! Yikes!

Hope that helps,
Amy 19 ROBPi from MN

good luck breaking this all down and let me know what you all discover!

like this wasn't long enough... I forgot to add what I do daily to help relieve or avoid the pain. I have to stretch my pecs every day so that my muscle in my back don't have to over compensate quite so much.


Message was edited by: hope16_05

I know tons of stuff about the upper extremity after a year and a half of grad school for OT but even so I think it can be hard to pin down.
I think of great deal of my back of the shoulder pain is in the trapezious muscle (triangular upper/mid back muscle). This poor guy is not inervated by a nerve from the brachial plexus and although it does contribute to some movement of the scapula I know now from observing the range I have its doing too much of the work.
So I do trap stretching everyday to keep that muscle as loose and possible
Becky

Frankie gets nerve pain in the inside of his wrist he says it like a shocking pain that will make you jump its usually only happens when he has a fever or very over tired Dr's can't explain it he's has MRI EMG and it has left both Dr Nath Dr Kumar and Dr Kozin stumped I have read that others also have this at different times Frankie uses hot compresses or a parifin wax dip heat stops the shocking. Mare

Kate
I am out for the next few days most of the time but I will get to those sites thanks.

Now for the ball in my court.
I am sure you know by now how persistent and stubborn obpi kids can be...
Well, maybe he is too little yet!

I took tennis lessons for almost ten years.
I, of course, used my left hand to hit but could not toss the ball with my right hand (duh moment for me!).

My husband and all my friends played and they kept encouraging me to let them serve for me and or serve with a bounce.
But I did not like that idea and would keep trying different ways to toss that ball.
I had a very strong back hand and strong forehand strokes but could not serve.
One day I threw my racket and watched it bounce along the court boy was I mad.
I realized, I don't like tennis and it was not something I really enjoyed.
I was only playing because it was something I could not master and I hate to give up on anything... LOL...
That was the last time I played.... LOL.... LOL...

It seems to be an obpi quirk, we are challenged to do the ordinary and so try things just so see if we can.
It never seems to be about wanting to do someting, it's more about seeing if it's possible...
That one of the great benifits of being OBPI.
I have had so many wonderful hobbies and experiences just because of the challenges so many things posed for me.
Kath (robpi/adult)

I certainly agree/re-affirm the "OBPI Quirk..." statement Kath has made. We just are "driven" to find out or prove we can do IT..whatever IT is. I too have had many hobbies over the years just because I finally tried it!

HUGS all around,
Carolyn J