United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

hi I had an brachial plexus accident 6 years ago and have just had a shoulder fusion 7 weeks ago . Last week i had sever pain and then lost a lot of my hand function that i had . Does anyone have ideas on how to fix it and how to help the faster regrowth of nerves to make it work . does a tens machine help . I am seeing a specialist later this week. any ideas regards jamie

Hello-
My original issue involved loss of function of my thumb and first two fingers of my right hand. I did not have an accident that caused it though, so my response may not be related to your condition. It took a couple of years for me to regain use of my index finger, and the thumb took a couple of years beyond that. During the first couple of years, I used a muscle stimulation device I borrowed from my Physical therapist. I think that helped get back the function I have now. My index finger is close to normal in movement and strength. My thumb is maybe 85% of normal movement, and 2 % of normal strength. The return of strength of my thumb seems to be stalled. When I was working on that, I had a second occurrence of neuritis that impacted my right shoulder. SO, while the grip strength limits my use of my hand, I could not really lift much with it now anyway.
I attribute the return of my hand to use of the muscle stimulator, and to constantly working the hand to try to keep the tendons limber. They talk about nerve re-growth, but it helps to try to use the impacted fingers and hand as much as you can to direct the growth.
Good Luck
Richard