United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Hey!!

Ok I have just gotten a brace/splint done and wow this is pretty uncomfortable. After 28 years I thought I could just slap it on, no problems HA!....my arm is not happy at all.

Condition:
-Splint/brace goes up to my forearm.
-The nerves that controls the upward position of the wrist do not function so the braces makes wrist to a neutral position.
-Right Hand curves to the right instead of straight but the brace keeps it straight.
-My fingers are like "what's going on... why are we in this position...Make it stop!"

So I have a few questions.
How long does it take for the arm to get use to it?
How many times did you need to adjust it?
I am trying to play piano but its exhausting, any warm up exercises suggested?
Are there suppose to be creases in the arm of where the brace is? Kinda scary.

I am thinking of adding month or two of therpy to help with the adjustment.
If insurance cooperates. My physical therapist usually deals with athetic injuries so any additional advice from the community is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!!!!!!

Welcome!
I am a 45 yr old LOBPI and found this site about 3 years ago. Prior to that, I had only ever met one person with an injury similar to mine.
Though I had tendon transfer surgery at age 6, I still have the usual Erb's Palsy limitations as my PT stopped a few years after my surgery.

Through this site, I learned about all of the BPI Clinics scattered across the country and made an appt at the one closet to me. Through them, I received the most AMAZING therapy over the past 18 months--it REALLY makes a difference when you are being seen by therapy specialists who "think" this injury all the time. Where do you live? There are specialty clinics in so many cities: Boston, NY, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Rochester (MN), Houston, and more... Search the Web and see what you find.

Though I have not worn the specific brace you speak of, I know that when I do try a new/corrective position for my affected arm, I have to ease into it and do it for short times that progressively get longer. Think about it--for 28 years, your muscles have been used to being in one particular position--this makes some long and others short. By reversing this to "neutral" in a brace, you are stretching some chronically shortened muscles--they are going to "talk" to you...and have not nice things to say when it gets to be too much--treat them compassionately/take it slow.

I also lived a very active life despite my injury and learned to cope and manage as best I could. Unfortunately, my parents were more apt to ignore and "not see" the injured part of me--and would shame me for "seeing" it. This is not the norm, I have learned here, and was just their way of coping with their own pain. So, at 43, when I did seek care (for what needs to be taught to families is a LIFELONG injury), I found, to my surprise, that not only was I limited in my L arm, but my L neck was tight (I had started to realize that) as was my entire L torso--from years of altered biomechanics.

I wish you much luck on your new journey unraveling this very important part of yourself. Good advice is to also take great care of your unaffected side--as to preserve it and not "wear it out" earlier than might be expected with age. Not that you should not be active, but some of the compensatory mechanisms we develop can be detrimental in the long run.
Sara