United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

how do you respond to a doctor that says "you aren't even trying to move your arm. you must not want to use it. you could move it if you wanted to because i can feel the muscle contract"?

my name is susan & i live in the houston area. in march i was in indiana (my huband travels with work so i was visiting him) and was in a car wreck. i shattered my humerus in 4 places and ended up with a plate, 11 screws, wire mesh, a 13 day hospital visit, radial nerve palsy, & a 2 month stay there. the dr there said the only damage i had was to the radial nerve & when it came back my arm would move normally.

when i came home & found someone to take over my case one of the first things they asked was how severe was my b.p. injury (what's a bp injury?). i started therapy (2x a week + home stuff) & had an emg done and the doc that did it said that the nerve bundle wasn't completely attached and that about half the muscles had no use. i saw my arm/hand doc he read the report and said that i had a "moderate to severe bp injury" and referred me to a surgeon that does shoulders for a consult.

so i saw the shoulder guy today and he said i wasn't even trying. he said that there was very little damage after looking at the same emg report. his treatment plan is physical therapy 2x a day, at least 5 days a week (my insurance will pay for 20 visits a year not to mention that it's a 100 mile round trip) and pain meds (even though he didn't give me a rx)

sorry this turned out to be a long post but no i really don't know what to do now, who to listen to, & even doubting myself.

Can you respond, You must not be using your brain, you must not want to, you could use it if you wanted. Now give me a referral to a qualified BP specialist.

Sorry, couldn't resist.
First of all welcome to the club no one wants to join.

BP injury, is bracial plexus injury. Your nerves in through the shoulder have been damaged. Damage can range from mild stretch to completely avulsed (pulled out) Depending on which nerves are affected you will lose some funtion (or all) in a portion or all of your arm and hand.

EMG's are a wonderful diagnostic tool. Keep in mind though that they are not 100% accurate and leave room for interpretation. I would suggest getting to a BPI specialist. If you click on the resources link at the top of the page there are some listed. Although many drs have a little knowledge of what this injury is most do not have enough to treat it and will not admit it. Thus the answer you received from your dr.

In most cases you will be doing therapy, and if you are able, doing excersizes in water is great, it takes out the gravity. We extended our PT by going 2x per week and working at home on the excersizes.


You have found the best place right here for support and answers. There is a world of knowledge and experience here.
Sue

I'm sorry to have to say Welcome to Brachial Plexus Injury Group. You did find the right group to help with your questions and concerns.

Nerves heal an inch a month. There is nothing you can do to change that fact. What you can do is go to a therapist that specializes in shoulders and arms. I live in NH. I am very fortunate to be treated at Mass General Hospital in Boston, MA. My therapy is with Procare in Portsmouth, NH. My PCP is the first to admit that she knows nothing about BPI. She goes by what my MGH doctors tell her. You need to find a doctor that know BPI. That is how you will be treated properly and heal to the best of your bodies ability. Doing therapy is essential to help fight atrophy while your nerves heal. Look for a doctor in your area that specializes in BPI. That is the absolute first place to start. Please keep us posted. We have all been there and many of us still are.
Janelle

Hi, I'm Scott from Arlington. (just up the road right???)
You never need to apologize for lengthy posts. I'm the king of lengthy posts...I post compositions hoping there is a glimmer of help, hope or happiness in what I post... and I'm still here...
You wrote,
'when i came home & found someone to take over my case one of the first things they asked was how severe was my b.p. injury (what's a bp injury?).'
That is for them to determine and for them to explain the extent as well as the plan for recovery. If you can bend things now I suggest that you keep bending them so they don't get a chance to go stiff.
I think you'll find among us the fact that they(bpi's) are all severe. Obviously some more so than others. You'll get a better understanding of your injury right here if you just keep asking the questions.
We are here for each other and although time marches on the support from this group stays and gets stronger.
I'm so sorry you sought us out but I'm thrilled you found us.
My best,
Scott