United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Hi, I had a deep tissue massage on 4/9/08 and had damage to the long thoracic nerve, paralyzing the anterior serratus muscle, and cannot abduct my right arm further than about 20 degrees.
Has anybody ever heard of this injury from a massage before? And...any input on recovery? I am doing physical therapy twice weekly, and have had an MRI and 2 EMG's. My injury is not as bad as many on this website, but it is my dominant arm, and my life has changed significantly since this injury.
thanks

I have not seen all sites, but I have not ever seen anything about massage causing an injury to long thoracic nerve- but I guess anything is possible. When I had massage to help my damaged long thoracic, the therapist was pretty heavy handed. I would assume, or hope, that anyone doing massage would know what to do or not or how heavy to go on the deep tissue. I am curious what prompted you to go for the massage. If you had symptoms or other pain in the area, that may have been the problem all along, not the massage.