Your brachial plexus is a network of nerves that originate near your shoulder and neck. These nerves that start at your spinal cord in your neck control your elbow, wrist, hand and shoulder.
Your nerves can be compared to an electrical cable that is wrapped in insulation. They are the electrical wiring system that transmits messages from your brain to the rest of your body.
Sensory nerves take messages to your brain from different areas of your body that have to do with pressure, temperature and pain. Motor nerves transport messages from your brain to your muscles to enable your body to move. Your brachial plexus has both sensory and motor nerves.
Your brachial plexus is very fragile and can be injured by stretching, cutting or pressure. If the injury is bad enough, these nerves can actually tear out of their roots in your neck.
A brachial plexus injury stops the messages that are going to and from your brain. The result is that your hand, arm and shoulder do not work like they should. You also have a loss of feeling in the area that is being affected by the injured nerve.
There are several different ways in which a brachial plexus injury can occur. These injuries can result from a trauma like knife or bullet wounds, accidents involving a car, boat or motorcycle and animal bites. They can happen during contact sports like hockey, wrestling or football. A brachial plexus injury can also take place during birth when there is extended labor or breech.
The signs and symptoms that you experience with a brachial plexus injury can be widely different. This depends on the location and severity of your injury. Signs and symptoms that may be an indication of a brachial plexus injury include:
§ Pain that is severe
§ Having the ability to use your fingers but having little or no control of your elbow and shoulder muscles
§ Weakness and numbness in your arm
§ A total lack of feeling and movement in your arm
§ A feeling that is like a burning sensation or shock that goes shooting down your arm
§ Having the ability to use your arm but not your fingers.
You or a loved one may have a brachial plexus injury. This injury and/or complications resulting from or other conditions along with it may be why you are disabled and need help.
You or your loved one may be considering applying for Social Security disability benefits or disability benefits from the Social Security Administration. You may have already done this and been denied.
If you or your loved one intends to appeal the denial by the Social Security Administration, remember this important fact. People who are represented by a disability attorney like the one you will find at disabilitycasereview.com are approved more often than people who do not have a disability lawyer.
Please do not wait. Contact the disability attorney at disabilitycasereview.com, today.