A brachial plexus injury damages the nerves that link the spine with the shoulders, arms and hands. This is mainly a traumatic injury that affects adults and a birth injury that affects newborn children. Understanding the causes and symptoms of brachial plexus injury occurs before receiving treatment in Illinois.
Causes
A brachial plexus injury is located in the brachial plexus, which are shoulder nerves that transmit signals from the spinal cord to the arms and hands. The most common cause is sudden trauma inflicted on the nerves, such as a sports injury, motor vehicle accident or heavy lifting accident. Brachial plexus injuries that affect newborns are related to cases of medical malpractice.
Regular exercise and physical therapy are known to reduce the extent of the injury. Some athletes wear padding to protect certain parts of the body while playing sports.
Symptoms
A brachial plexus injury causes pain, weakness and numbness in the shoulders, arms or hands. The affected nerves or muscles may become paralyzed depending on the location and extent of the injury. Some people experience joint pain and stiffness.
While muscles heal after several weeks or months, nerves take longer to regrow. A severe injury often takes weeks or months to fully heal, or if it never heals, causes a permanent disability that is impossible to recover from.
The brachial plexus is the bundle of nerves that affect movement, control and feeling starting from the shoulders down to your arms and hands. Tearing or nearly tearing a nerve in the network often causes pain and weakness in addition to stiffness and paralysis. The types of treatments needed, and the duration of the healing process, depend on the location and severity of the injury.
