A Simple Guide To Brachial Nerve Injuries Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

The brachial plexus is a medical network of nerves that conducts signals from the spine to the shoulder, arm, and hand.

Brachial plexus injuries are produced by injury to those nerves.

The brachial plexus is a network of nerves that begin in the neck region.

It branches off to form most of the other nerves that control movement and sensation in the upper limbs such as the forearm, arm, shoulder and hand.

The radial, median, and ulnar nerves begin in the brachial plexus.

Causes of brachial plexus injury

Brachial plexus injuries can happen as a result of shoulder tumors, trauma, or inflammation.

A rare syndrome called Parsonage-Turner Syndrome or brachial plexitis causes inflammation of the brachial plexus with no obvious shoulder damage.

This syndrome can begin with severe shoulder or arm pain that is followed by numbness and weakness.

Brachial plexus injury (BPI) is a general term for various conditions that may damage function of the brachial plexus nerve network.

Most of pediatric and adult brachial plexus damages are due to trauma.

The most frequent risk factors are:

1. High-speed vehicular accidents, especially motorcycle accidents

2. Blunt trauma

3. Stab or gunshot wounds

4. Inflammatory processes (brachial plexitis)

5. Compression (for example caused by a growing tumor)

6. Neuropathies

A brachial plexus injury that occurs during birth is called birth related brachial plexus palsy obstetric brachial plexus palsy.

Obstetric brachial plexus palsy occurs in < 1% of live child births.

It is most frequent when there is difficulty delivering the baby's shoulder.

In infants, brachial plexus damages may happen during child birth if the baby's shoulder is stretched during passage in the birth canal

During delivery, the baby's shoulder may become impacted on the mother's pubic bone causing the brachial plexus nerves to tear or stretch (shoulder dystocia).

The outlook for recovery depends on the pattern, complexity, and severity of injury.

1. Erb's Palsy is an injury of the upper brachial plexus nerves leading to loss of motion around the shoulder and capability to flex the elbow.

2. Klumpke's palsy is an injury of the lower brachial plexus leading to loss of movement in the hand and wrist.

Types of brachial plexus injuries

Brachial plexus injuries are categorized according to the form of injury sustained by the nerve.

The following are the types of brachial plexus injuries:

1. Avulsion – this means the nerve has been pulled out from the spinal cord and has no chance to recover.

2. Rupture – this means the nerve has been extended and at least partially torn, but not at the spinal cord.

3. Neurapraxia – this means the nerve has been gently extended or compressed but is still attached (not torn) and has excellent prognosis for rapid recovery

4. Axonotemesis – this means the axons (equivalents of the copper filaments in an electric cable) have been severed.

The prognosis is moderate.

TABLE OF CONTENT

Introduction

Chapter 1 Brachial Nerve Injury

Chapter 2 Causes

Chapter 3 Symptoms

Chapter 4 Diagnosis

Chapter 5 Treatment

Chapter 6 Prognosis

Chapter 7 Peripheral Neuropathy

Chapter 8 Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Epilogue

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Jun 7, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386723783

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972. Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009. Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993. Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 69. However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. He first started writing free blogs on medical conditions seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com. His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiolographical account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com. This autobiolographical account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Conditions” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com. From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 550 amazon kindle books and some into Smashwords.com eBooks. He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books. He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures. Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple. For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients. The later books go into more details of medical conditions. The first chapter of all my ebooks is always taken from my blog A Simple Guide to Medical Conditions which was started in 2007 as a simple educational help to my patients on my first blog http://kennethkee.blogspot.com. The medical condition was described simply and direct to the point. Because the simple guide as taken from the blog was described as too simple, I have increased the other chapters to include more detailed description of the illness, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. As a result there are the complaints by some readers of constant repetitions of the same contents but in detail and fairly up to date.