United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

I am new to this board and so happy that I found it! I suffered a work related injury on June 27 of this year and still have not had a solid diagnosis. The doctors that I have seen and the PT say it is Brachial Plexus Neuropathy and I am seeing a Neurologist next week hopefully; I was waiting on L&I paperwork

My question is: how do you know if it is temporary or permanent? If it is temporary how long does it usually last? My hand is swollen and burns like someone poured acid on it and my shoulder feels shattered most of the time, with pain radiating up the side of my neck, through the collar bone, under the clavical and under arm. This has gotten progressively worse each day.

Does anyone know? If it is temporary should it be getting worse or should it be getting better??

Any advice or info?

By the way, my name is Dy

Thank you so much

I am in Centralia. How old is your son? Does he still have a lot of pain?

Thank you for responding and assisting me with this; it has been very difficult not knowing what is going to happen

Dy

Dy-

What injury did you have?
Brachial Plexus Neuropathy is also known as Brachial Plexus Neuritis, or Parsonage Turner Syndrome. If that is what you really have, and it sounds similar based on how you describe the pain, it is both temporary, and permanent to varying degrees. Looking at the internet sites, they suggest that the pain subsides, followed by a period of muscle weakness. Anywhere from a few months to a couple of years, depending on various factors, you should get some return of function. If you are young, and the incident is not too severe, you get better return. Some sites suggest that the worse the initial pain, the slower the recover will be. Search with the names you know, and you will see tons of info on BPN.

In the majority of cases, it only happens once. And if you are going through it, once is definitely enough. Some cases repeat at certain intervals. For my case, I had the initial attack in 2000 or so. It seemed at the time to be work related, since I do computer work, and it impacted my right hand which I had been using for many mouse clicks daily in a workstation that was not particularly ergonomic. This took away full use of my index finger, middle finger and thumb of the right hand. After a few years of constantly working the fingers of my hand, I got back my index finger. A year or so later, my thumb started to return, but not the strength of the thumb, and I had general weakness of my right arm.

In 2006, I had a second attack. This one lead to winging of my right scapula and even more arm weakness. Workman’s Comp had told me if I had further problems with my arm or hand that I should open a new claim. That is what I did. But, this time looking into it, the doctors finally agreed with the diagnose I had worked out on my own, that I had Parsonage Turner Syndrome. This actually explained both occurrences. Prior to them agreeing with my diagnosis, doctors had thought I might have FSH muscular dystrophy. That really did not fit the pain and did nto explain my prior loss of hand function. That, and I am jsut too old to suddenly get muscular dystrophy. . .

A couple of years down the road, my scapula still wings. I still have minor pain in the upper shoulder and neck. Strength has not really returned, but I can lift my arm on my own and have close to full range of motion. They are still searching for the cause.

Enough about me. This pain I know can seem severe at times. I can say that I have re-defined my top pain comparison since I have had this. I either have a new “10”, or this pain is more like a 15 compared to my old top pain. Function can return. In order to get it back, you have to try to use the impacted muscles. If you can not raise your arm on its own, try to use the other one to help it do light weight things. When you can stand to, or when you PT allows, try to passively stretch the joints. Lift the arm as much as you can on your own, and then have someone help you. Or stand facing a wall, and raise your arm to it. Use your hand to walk your arm higher up the wall. Then apply as much force as you can to lower it slowly as you back away from the wall. These sorts of exercises help build back flexibility and strength.

Good Luck
Richard

Wow. Thank you. That is a lot of information I could not find any where else.

My injury resulted from a fall at work. I was on a platform about 3' high and stepped back too far and went off backwards. I had enough where-with-all to put my left elbow down to keep from smacking my head on the cement below me. I hit with the elbow first, hard, and then my left shoulder, right at the shoulder blade, hit the pallet that was on the floor. At first, it didn't hurt too bad at all and the shoulder did not hurt even minutely. My hand swelled up huge and got very numb; I could not move the fingers or the wrist at all. Went to the ER who sent me to an Ortho

After about 1 week, my left shoulder began hurting from the front rib area through the shoulder and the clavical. I thought it was disconnected and went to a chiropractor who adjusted it but the pain only intensified. My hand has feeling now, but it took 2 weeks to come back. It still swells up after I am up a few hours and it is a little numb and burns horribly sometimes; the fingernails feel kind of dead and have little feeling. The pain in the shoulder is excruciating and definitely a 10+ and under my arm pit even hurts like I have a huge lump there (but there is no lump)

So, perhaps this is what I have? I know I just want to find out and get treatment but so far (almost a month later) the L&I paperwork is still bouncing around and I am still waiting for treatment

Thanks for the amazing post and to everyone thus far who have responded. I am learning so much from all of you and cannot thank you enough

Dy

Dy-
Well- You may have more going on than I was thinking. My own problem was not caused by any sort of physical trauma of the kind you describe. I think, and I have seen this on my own paperwork, that when doctors do not know what causes your problems, they write very general causes on the paperwork. Did they ever do MRI of the area of impact- Shoulder, elbow, head, neck? Or is that still to be done once the paperwork gets sorted out? It may be you have a brachial plexus injury, but you hit so many different places, it is no wonder you are in so much pain.
Richard

I have not had any diagnostic tests at all; nothing. It will be 4 weeks tomorrow since the injury. I am in near constant pain and it takes me a few hours just to work up the nerve to get dressed for work. And, yes, it is still a "paperwork" thing

I will hopefully hear something this week or next about getting some testing done but I feel so helpless and defeated right now. Just do not know what to do.

I appreciate all of your advice and assistance with this. I love this forum and will let you know when I get the tests done

Dy

Dy

I also can appreciate the problem of dealing with the paperwork end of it. In my case, Workman’s Comp- They finally authorize tests- like nerve conduction for example. I schedule the test, and eventually get the results. Then I see that in cases like mine, unless the test is done in the first couple of weeks after the injury, it will probably not be conclusive. Mine was almost two months after the injury was reported, and it was inconclusive- unless you take the doctors recommendation that I might had FHS dystrophy as a conclusion (one that every other doctor laughed at later). It is a shame that the patient only has the one choice, unless they can afford to pay for it themselves.

Now in my second case, the doctors finally agree that I have brachial plexus neuritis, and then none of them ever thinks that since I still have neck pain, it would be appropriate to do an MRI of the brachial plexus, until two years have passed. That particular doctor who finally suggests it is incredulous that no one else thought of it. Doctors in general have very little clue as to what is involved in brachial plexus injuries. Even when they know the area of the potential cause for the problems, they do not think of the bigger picture.
Richard