United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Well, I am sitting here looking at my arm and laughing. It used to be smaller when I was a child, and througout the years or trying to be tough and lifting weights here and there it is actually a bit bigger. It's not a dramatic difference however, I notice it. It also has a strange indentation when I left it up now. I still wear tank tops and no one has really mentioned it so far.

My BP arm is thinner and way more toned than my non-BP arm. I'd always assumed this was because it has to work much harder than the other to complete any given task.

My injured arm has always been thinner than my other arm! But with all the running I do, my arm is starting to get some muscle!!!

Brittney, 13
LOBPI

my obpi

My Daughter's (9 yrs old) right obpi arm has always seemed chunkier than her left unaffected arm. Although it's shorter and her hand & fingers are smaller on the rt. side, it still appears to be thicker/more dense. My opinion is because of the lack of range in her rt. arm, tendons/ligaments/muscles are not being adaquatly stretched in everyday use like her left arm. Atrophy sets in to some degree. It's like working out with weights, if you don't stretch the muscles they become shorter over time, bunching up and thus appear bulkier. Her left, full range of motion side, is longer-leaner like that of a yoga/pilates kind of workout, being stretched and elongated because it can.

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