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Brachial Plexus Injury

What is a Brachial Plexus Injury?

Brachial plexus injuries occur when the nerves that connect a person's arm and spinal cord get torn or stretched. This usually occurs when the head is forced downward, while the head is pushed up and away from the shoulder. The result is trauma to the brachial plexus, which is the network of nerves that travel from the neck, under the collar bone, to the sensory nerves in the arm and hand. The outcome of this brachial plexus injury trauma can very, from mild pain and temporary numbness, to severe pain and complete loss of feeling or control of the arm.

Causes of a Brachial Plexus Injury

Minor brachial plexus injuries can be common in contact sports, especially football, but they can also result from auto accidents and falls. More tragically, newborn babies can sometimes sustain a serious brachial plexus injury during birth. This type of brachial plexus injury can result from a circumstance known as shoulder dystocia. In an incidence of shoulder dystocia, after delivery of the newborn baby's head, one of the shoulders gets stuck behind the mother's pubic bone. In some such cases, the delivering physician will attempt to force the baby past the pubic bone, with the unfortunate result being a brachial plexus injury.

Such an injury is known as Erb's palsy, a condition that results when the brachial plexus nerves in the side of the baby's neck are torn during delivery, either by the birth itself or too much pulling by the doctor. The nerve damage causes partial or complete paralysis of the arm on the same side of the baby's body.

Can a Shoulder Dystocia Brachial Plexus Injury Be Prevented?

Any incidence of shoulder dystocia is an obstetric emergency that requires careful action from the doctor delivering the baby to avoid serious complication or injury. Shoulder dystocia can occur in approximately one percent of live births each year in the United States, with a much higher percentage among babies with large birth weights.

For many families, shoulder dystocia results in no major complications. The shoulder dystocia will requirr only some additional maneuvers by the doctors attending the birth. Unfortunately in some cases, shoulder dystocia can have severe, life-changing consequences, including Erb's Palsy and other shoulder dystocia brachial plexus injuries.

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