United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Hello. My mane is Erica and I have a BP injury since birth I am 27 years old. I can't move my hand are fingers but I have some movement of my arm up and down. I've always had pain through the years but the last five have been really bad. I've had x-rays but doctors say I have arthiritis. I just wanted to know if anyone my age has ever felt this way. Its a sharp shooting pain from my shoulder to my thumb and sometimes I have had muscle spasms in back of my shoulder. Thanks

My name is becky. I am your age,27. I too have developed pain in my right bpi arm in the last couple of years.I know alot about the anatomy of the arm and I think what happened to me is that nerve damage causes weakened, non functional muscles in the shoulder. The better functioning muscles pick up the slack, and after a while those muscles get overused and start to hurt.

I don't have arthritis but do experience muscle pain. I would suggest physical therapy, massage therapy, and moist heat.(I have tried all of these)

I go to a chiroprator who does something called active release therapy. It basically just intense massage but it has brought me significant relief. Better than everthing else I have tried. I also put heat on my shoulder and then stretch.
The shooting pains I do not have, but I know others do, you are not alone.
Becky

Thanks for your response Becky. When I get my husband to massage my shoulder that doess help. I think I will check into the chiropractor. I just hope my insurance will cover it. Also I have tried heat it does help but only a little. I wonder if the doctor is right saying I even have arthiritis. I don't know. But I did find the doctor I saw when I was like 8yrs old and he treats adults so I made and appointment but its not till April. So until then I'll have to try to cope with it.
Thanks again
Not feeling so lonely anymore.

Erica,
Welcome to the boards. I am 45 robpi and experienced alot of pain when i was your age. I see that you live in houston. You need to go to the medical resource page and look for Drs. who specialize in bpi. There are a few in Houston.I would suggest that you see a bpi specialist, and maybe they can suggest something to do for the pain.
A couple of years ago ,I finally went to a pain specialst and am now pain free. There is alot of info on this site. Again, welcome to the board....Judy

Hi. I'm Christy, 33 LOBPI. While my injury is on the mild side I have the pain you describe. I'm currently on Lyrica for some of the neurological pain and Ibprofin for the spasms and muscle pain. The rest I just deal with because my drs. aren't very helpful. I know when I was in PT it helped a lot to calm some of the spasms.

Hi...I am 38, with a LOBPI. Like you, I have similar pain issues. I use massage, stretching, and pain relivers like the others. I haven't ever found anything that makes the pain go away, just eases it.

We were in the Houston area for 7 years, up until this last summer. There are some really great Drs there that specialize in bpi injuries.