Treatments for Brachial Plexus Injuries

Thousands of people suffer from different levels of disability due to brachial plexus injuries, in which the shoulder gets pressed down with force while the head is forced upward, away from that shoulder. In a brachial plexus injury, caused mostly by accidents, falls or tumors, nerves and nerve roots get damaged, leading to loss of functions of limbs and digits. For some, especially young children, healing may not require treatment. But in most other cases, patients undergo rigorous physical therapy, sometimes surgery, and even psychological treatment.

Specialist Treatment

• As soon as detected, patients of brachial plexus injuries need to see a specialist. Depending on the nature and severity of the injury, which is determined through electromyography, the doctor may order magnetic resonance imaging and maybe even a CT scan to see whether there is any leakage or damage in the spinal cord. She may consider surgical investigation for physical inspection of the injury level. A donor nerve graft from the patient's own leg, performed between three to six months after the actual, might be conducted too. Other methods of treatment might include surgeries of scar tissue removal and tendon and muscle release.

Pain Relief

• Electrical stimulation is the best treatment for the extreme crushing, pressurized pain. A "pain gate"--the patient takes up a task or activity that will keep his mind on the work or thought at hand. which jams the impulses of pain in his brain--has often worked wonders.

  Regular treatments with chiropractors and rigorous massaging have also known to be helpful for brachial plexus injuries.

  Surgeries for pain relief include those to block nerves, placing a pump to release painkillers straight to the concerned area, and ablative operations, in which endings of the nerves are singed off.

Exercise

• Regular exercise prevents muscles related to the damaged nerves from atrophying and shrinking and keeps movement capability in the affected body part. It is important for the patient to keep the limb and digits loose at all times.

Analgesic Drugs

• Many drugs treat pain right after the injury and during the recovery period afterward. Opiates and anti-inflammatory medicines fall into this category. Yet, because of the unwanted side effects and the possibility of addiction to pain pills, patients are advised to keep up other methods of treatment, especially long-term and chronic cases.

Non-Traditional Methods

• Along with conventional physical therapy methods, other non-traditional modes of treatment, such as aqua or hydro therapy in a warm water pool can help too. The temperature and hydrostatic force help loosen and stretch the affected muscle.

  As recuperation of motor functions of any muscle will require intensive therapy for a long time, post-reinnervation, patients are likely to undergo a long-term rehabilitation process.

Psychological Issues

• As the constant pain and loss of certain body control frequently results in depression and related psychological issues, patients are advised to seek counseling and group therapy. In some cases, doctors might even prescribe anti-depressants, off which the patient can be weaned at a later time, when he or she becomes more used to the life changing injury and comes to accept it and move on.