What would be the result of damage to the upper trunk of the brachial plexus?
Brachial Plexus Rupture Ruptures can cause weakness in the shoulder, arm or hand and can even make certain muscles unusable. These injuries can also be associated with severe pain. Depending on the severity and location of the rupture, these injuries can often be repaired with surgery.
What is upper brachial plexus injury?
The brachial plexus is the network of nerves that sends signals from the spinal cord to the shoulder, arm and hand. A brachial plexus injury occurs when these nerves are stretched, compressed, or in the most serious cases, ripped apart or torn away from the spinal cord.
What mechanisms can lead to injury of the brachial plexus?
The main causes of brachial plexus palsies are traction, due to extreme movements, and heavy impact. In downward traction of the arm and forcible widening of the shoulder-neck angle the lesion will occur in the upper roots and trunk. Forcible upward traction will cause avulsion of T1 and C8.
What is the difference between an upper and lower brachial plexus injury?
Injuries to the upper brachial plexus (C5, C6) affect muscles of the shoulder and elbow. Injuries to the lower brachial plexus (C7, C8, and T1) can affect muscles of the forearm and hand.
What is the difference between an upper and lower plexus injury?
Upper brachial plexus injury occurs when the head and neck are moved away from the ipsilateral shoulder violently. Lower brachial plexus injury occurs when the upper limp is abducted above the level of head with considerable force.
How is brachial plexus injury diagnosed?
To help diagnose the extent and severity of a brachial plexus injury, you may have one or more of the following tests:
- X-ray.
- Electromyography (EMG).
- Nerve conduction studies.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
- Computerized tomography (CT) myelography.
Does brachial plexus injury cause shoulder pain?
Brachial plexus neuropathy (BPN) occurs when nerves in your upper shoulder area become damaged. This can cause severe pain in your shoulders or arms. BPN may also limit movement and cause decreased sensation in these areas.
What is a trunk injury?
Lower-trunk palsy occurs when the angle between the arm and the chest wall forcibly widens. This may damage the lower nerves and the lower trunks. Patients with a lower-trunk palsy will typically maintain shoulder and elbow strength, but will lose hand function.
What is Erb’s and Klumpke’s paralysis?
Erb’s palsy results from neuronal damage to the upper C5 and C6 nerves. The clinical presentation includes partial or full paralysis of the arm and often accompanied by loss of sensation. Klumpke’s palsy causes paralysis of the forearm and hand muscles as a result of mechanical damage to the lower C8 and T1 nerves.
What is upper trunk?
The upper (superior) trunk is part of the brachial plexus. It is formed by joining of the ventral rami of the fifth (C5) and sixth (C6) cervical nerves. The upper trunk divides into an anterior and posterior division.
Can brachial plexus injury be fixed?
Mild brachial plexus injuries may heal without treatment. More severe injuries may require surgery to regain function of the arm or hand.
Will MRI show brachial plexus injury?
Different imaging modalities can be used to study the brachial plexus, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound (US) 1, however MRI is the imaging modality of choice for the evaluation of the brachial plexus due to its superior soft tissue resolution and multiplanar …
How do you test for brachial plexus injury?
Can brachial plexus injury heal on its own?
Many injuries to the brachial plexus will recover spontaneously without surgery over a period of weeks to months, especially if they are mild. Nerve injuries that heal on their own tend to have better functional outcomes.