United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Hey Everyone,

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this.

The bicep in my BPI arm is quite a bit larger than my other arm. It has been this way since my injury occurred. Originally it was thought that it was swelling and inflammation - then after it never went away my doctor said it was just the way the muscle atrophied - but my OT doesn't agree and I am not so sure I agree either. My OT measured my bicep of both my arms, and my right bicep is 5cm larger than my left one. It looks very swollen when you look at it as well. My shoulder does have atrophy and so it is very tiny and then the bicep muscle is just huge looking.

They have tried quite a bit to get the swelling down - icing, heating, kinesio tape, other types of tape.... nothing seems to be working.


Any thoughts on what it might be or what could stop it?

Thanks

I recall when I wore my sling too long, my bicept would swell. I found that in the mornings the swelling was way down...I know it is hard, especially with your shoulder and any atrophy of muscles, etc...but try going without the sling for a few days. Also poor circulation can cause extra inflamation in that area. More stretching and movement of the arm will surely help the process.
Hope that helps you out...
Good Luck...

With
Peace & Light
Mardelle

Thanks for the advice Mardelle.

I actually have not been in a sling for a while. I will wear it occasionally, but never for more than a few hours at time - mainly only if I am walking for long distances.

I'll have to look into the circulation though, maybe that is what it is. I have had some lymphedema massages and what not and it never helped...and my movement is limited due to nerve tension ... but I will talk to my OT about it all.

Thanks again!

My arm to was very swollen but after many months my swelling never went down. My OT thought it could have been lymphnodes that may have been damaged so a PT that specialized in lymphnode massage, gave me one twice a week after the first week it went down a centimeter. It took 6 weeks of massages for it to go down and some times still if I haven't been streching like I need to, and keep up my circulation it will still look a little swollen so I still have to keep up with it. Hope this helps.God bless!

Sincerly,
Leah

Sorry about the last post I should have read all the way down before replying. God Bless!

Sincerly,
Leah

Mine is pretty big too but its because I broke the humorous (twice now) in half and it has healed with a ton of bone around it. It is directly underneath where the widest part of the bicep should be. So mine is bone. I don't know your situation as far as a possible bone injury went.

I didn't have any bone injury, at least not in my bicep area. My brachial plexus was injured during a surgery to remove my right cervical rib - so they did remove bone, but it was in my neck not my arm.

I don't know. It has been this big since after the surgery. Not sure when after the surgery it began to be swollen, as I was not focused on it too much... but definitely since I was out of the hospital and doing stuff on my own I noticed it was swollen. It was been almost 9 months with no change in its size. It has perplexed my occupational therapists and myself though as nothing seems to get it to go down.

Thats right! I remember you telling us how it happened now. I'm not sure what doc to go to but have you seen anyone for it yet?

Yeah I have seen my doc and asked him about it a few times. He generally says it is the atrophy of the muscle. But there have been questions from other docs and my occupational therapists about it becuase atropohy would make the muscle smaller, not larger... and it is quite a bit larger than my left. It was 5 centimeters larger when last compared to my left, and then it went to 7 centrimeters larger just in the past 3 weeks.

So... yeah I am not sure.

Granted I'm no doctor, but that ain't atrophy!