United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Krista
My arm is 3-1/2" shorter and my hand is smaller. Because my arm hangs people don't notice it. Due to a lack of circulation the skin color on my right hand is a little different.

I thought at first my shoulder position made my arm appear shorter but I had the PT measure it again.
Kath

My arm differences are 6 inches and my fingers are an inch shorter. Like Kath, I had the PT measure it several times to be sure. You need to measure shoulder to elbow and then elbow to hand. Most of the difference for me is in shoulder to elbow. This has made sitting in a chair with armrests difficult. My mom was always telling me to sit up straight because I tended to lean over to the side as I needed to rest the bpi arm on an arm rest. Now I prop it when I can.

To be honest, my colleagues where I worked and most of my friends never realized this. A lot of it had to do with the way that I held myself, always carrying something in my unaffected arm, keeping it bent too.

We are good adapters, and I think that this is such a positive aspect to living with this injury. It teaches such flexibility and makes us sensitive to other's needs, not getting perturbed when things don't go our way.

Nancy

Hi, I am 29 years old, I have about 7 cm (sorry I am Canadian, LOL, don't do inches well...) and most people I know never even notice it unless I point it out.

I am glad you asked this question. At almost five my daughter has not received surgery, but recently was she again evaluated for her progress. Her right BPI arm is about two inches shorter than her left. Correct me if I am wrong, but what was clarified to me is that there is such weakness in her muscles that the arm I see at five years of age will also be the arm I will see when she is 18. Even if she were to undergo surgery over these weaken muscules, the deformity would be rather intense in the difference in lengths and strengh. Does that sound typical?

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My son just turn 2 years old and I've noticed since he first learned to sit up. Doctors never noticed. I never said anything cause I figured it was just me or the doctor would of said something. Then two months ago my son stood right in front of the TV and I noticed his left arm was longer, which is his injured arm. I noticed his left shoulder was lower than his right. I found a new therapist for him and she noticed his shoulder was lower and told me that therapy will help him strengthen his muscles so he can hold up his shoulder. So I'm concern if his arm is longer or if it just look like that because of his shoulder hanging lower than right one. Also, I notice when he moves his arm his shoulder always clicks. It sounds ugly but doctors dont seem to care. The doctors also noticed a leg length discrepancy on his left leg which is the same side of injury. The doctors say it is not associated with the brachial plexus but I do think so. It' all on the same side of his body. He even has speech delays and developemental delays. I think I will ask the doctor or therapist to measure his arms to make sure if there are the same size or not. I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed the length difference. The doctors make me feel like I'm crazy and I'm just looking for anything wrong with my child. But , I see my son 24 hours a day and I know when something is not right.

evee

what kind of delays? 'cause he's a little l
young to be speaking about delays... what do u think's the problem?

I have never measured my arms. I am ROBPI. I can see that my erbs arm is skinnier than the other. I also don't have a vdeveloped wrist bone..The hands look almost the same ( although the un-Erb's has a lot more arthritis in the fingers ) The arms also feel different to the touch. The bones in the forearm feel like they lie at different angles, if that makes any sense. Shoulder area is smaller also. I can use my fingers and hand and can carry a bag "down" but lose the control of my arm if I try to lift the bag up--like groceries from the hand to the counter . I just can't seem to build that strength.
I can use either hand to get a candy bar to my mouth.!
Pat

My son Christian has been getting OT since he was 5 months for his brachial plexus palsy. Then at 14 months his therapist noticed he was not walking yet so she asked another therapist at her offfice (Easter Seals) (ECI) to examine him and that therapist decided to help him since there was a leg length discrepancy and she thought that it might be difficult for him to walk with the leg length difference. Then at 1 year his OT therapist noticed he had dev. delays so she ordered a Teacher 1st a week and a speech therapist 2 X a month for delay in speech (jargon). He had delays like not being able to hold a bottle till he was 15 months, couldn't roll over to the left till 11 months, couldn't feed himself or hold a cup, and other things that they test him in. He still has a teacher and speech therapist plus PT now at 2 years old.

Evee

Our child is 8 years old. He has a BPI from birth.
Yes, we do notice his injured arm (side) is
shorter than the other unaffected side.
I understand the Triangle Tilt surgery
can help re-position his injured side so both
arms look even in length.

Hope this helps.