United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

my hand has improved to where i can do some things. my grip is almost non-existant, but i can hold a potato in my hand if the other hand puts it in there. i can not pick up a potato with my bad hand. i can peel the potato with my good hand but it is very scary cause i dont want to cut my bad hand. my question is is it normal to lose some of my function due to doing too much with that hand? i peeled about 8 or 10 potatoes thanksgiving day. this morning i can not bend my fingers as much as i could 3 or 4 days ago. and they are extremely stiff. my dr told me to do as much as possible with my bad arm.

I can use my bad hand to grasp things and like you if I use it too much it'll be stiff and sore the next day but a couple of days later I'll have the use back. It does keep strengthening the more I use it. I've been told to use it as much as I can too.

I was told to use my arm / hand as much as possible at all times regardless of how ineffective or inefficient it was. The reason was to keep the right synapses firing after the injury and to avoid having your brain forget how to do things.

I was also told to keep manipulating my fingers and wrist with my good hand to keep them supple and flexible in preparation for re-innervation. When your muscles start to get their nerves back everything is so weak that any kind of obstacle like stiff joints can impede or halt your recovery.

this is just like not exercising for a while and then you start a program and then that first week you can't move your body and every movement is hard... you overworked your hand with the potatoes... everyone who posted gave you really good advice but I'm going to add one piece for you...

we use homeopathy in our family - so an hour before Maia goes to her trainer she takes some Arnica and as soon as she's done she takes another dose -- then one more dose later in the evening if she's still feeing a little sore
She also comes home and soaks in a hot bath and rests and then the next day she's usually fine. If she's really sore, then we'll do some massage, etc. sometimes we use arnica gel / oil / cream...

by taking it in advance of the event, she's getting her body ready and she doesn't get "as" affected --- it cuts it down to half the reaction or more....

http://www.vitacost.com/Hylands-Arnica-Montana

homeopathy is over-the-counter but if you haven't used that type of product before, best to read up first or to contact a local homeopath for professional advice

we've been doing homeopathy for many years with really good results -- especially for maia (allergies, asthma, etc.)

i expected to be sore but the loss of function is what concerned me. before i peeled the potatoes, i could almost make a soft fist now i can only curl my fingers.this is still new to me in some regards so i just dont know what to expect with new things. thanks for the replies. this injury will not get to me. but sometimes it is just outright annoying, frustrating, and makes me angry. gggrrrrrrrrr

I totally understand. Two and a half years and it still annoys and frustrates me.

it has been right at 6 months since my injury. my OT told me yesterday that my pinch and grip are not improving enough to continue therapy but maybe once a week. it has only been 3 or 4 weeks since i have been able to do that. before that it was 0 on both. is this normal to hit a stopping point for a time? or will it just quit improving?