About Brachial Plexus Injury
The Brachial Plexus is a bunch of nerves which sends nerve signals from the spinal cord to the upper extremities including the arms, shoulder, and hand. An individual can have a Brachial Plexus Injury when these bunch of nerves get compressed, overstretched, or on serious occasions gets completely detached from the spinal cord.
An individual can have Brachial Plexus Injury while playing contact sports like football or rugby but the severity of this injury is relatively mild. Even newborns can have a Brachial Plexus Injury at the time of birth. In some cases, tumors around the brachial plexus region may also result in a Brachial Plexus Injury.
Severe cases of a Brachial Plexus Injury mostly occur after a severe motor vehicle crash injuring the upper extremities. Severe forms of Brachial Plexus Injury can cause paralysis of the upper extremities. The affected individual can lose partial or complete function of the upper extremities. He or she will not able to grip, grasp, or feel objects. In such cases, surgical procedures may be required to restore normal nerve function. This article gives a brief overview as to how a Brachial Plexus Injury feels like.
How Does A Brachial Plexus Injury Feel Like?
The presenting features of a Brachial Plexus Injury are significantly variable and depend on the severity of the condition and location of the injury. In majority of the cases, only one arm is affected due to Brachial Plexus Injury.
For minor injuries, the affected individual will experience an electric shock like feeling shooting down the upper extremities. There will be numbness and weakness of the upper extremities. These symptoms of Brachial Plexus Injury may last for minutes but in some cases the duration of the symptoms may be longer.
In severe cases of Brachial Plexus Injury the affected individual will experience severe weakness with inability to use the upper extremities fluently. There may also be complete loss of sensation and coordination in the upper extremities. The individual will also experience severe pain in the upper extremities as a result of Brachial Plexus Injury.
In some cases if a Brachial Plexus Injury is not treated then it may lead to permanent weakness with inability to use the upper extremities. An individual needs to visit the physician if he or she has recurrent episodes of numbness and electric shock like feeling in the upper extremities along with severe pain.
A consultation with a physician is also necessary if the individual has severe weakness of the upper extremities unilaterally or bilaterally along with severe neck pain along with pain with any attempts at moving the neck or the hands as this may be a classic case of a Brachial Plexus Injury.
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