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Bicep and Shoulder Paralysis

Posted , 4 users are following.

bverkerke
bverkerke

Hello,

I am 29 years I am very healthy, I am a weight lifter, never had an injury or back/neck problems. 3 months ago I woke up with a kink in my neck, turning my head side to side was limited and there was a tight and sharp pain in my right trap. I decided to go to the gym to loosen it up followed by a massage. That night I began starting to loose movement in my shoulder and bicep and there was swelling in my right trap area.

The next day I completely lost contraction of my bicep and my shoulder. I lost contraction to which I could not curl my own arm or lift my arm up from my side, but I had grip strength and tricep strength. After seeing 5 different doctors and getting 5 different MRIs two spinal surgeons said that I have a pinched nerve at my c4-c6 and my only option was a spinal fusion. After seeing a few more specialists and chiropractors nothing was getting better and a month later I decided to get the c4-c6 fusion.

I'm now 1 month post op. My neck is completely healed. I'm doing all normal movements , and had a X-ray and my neck is already starting to fuse.

Bad news is I still have paralysis in my bicep and in my shoulder, from surgery it probably realistically approved by 3%. The worst part of this is as well is my right bicep and shoulder have gone through horrific muscle waisting. My right shoulder and bicep are now 50% smaller than my left side.

I've gone through a complete physical change and lifestyle change. Because of this and my paralysis caused me to not be able to lift weights or go to the gym. I have lost 50lbs and my body looks lop-sided because of the muscle waisting.

I'm young, again I'm 29, I'm healthy, I heal very fast. Because of all this my spine surgeon said physical therapy will not help you, and that this is a waiting game. Problem with that is how long do I go until I take another route, will it be too late where my nerves will die? Could it be another issue?

What can I expect here? Could it be something else causing my paralysis? Is there anything I can do to get my bicep and shoulder back? Are there any medical treatments I can look into?

I'm literally willing to do anything at this point as this is affecting my whole life and my relationships.

Thanks very much to whom ever can help!

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • Carolineq8
    Carolineq8 bverkerke

    Posted

    Hi, sorry your suffering but I was go back to GP and ask to be referred to physio ASAP, don't just take docs word for it, you need to build up the strength now but it needs to be done with a specialist.

    I would also go back and see your chiropractor just to keep you aligned while you heal, it is still early days so I wouldn't worry to much just now but you definitely need help along the way to ensure you make a full recovery, one more thing it takes along time for the fussion to heal so please don't be in a rush to go back to your normal daily work outs, take it slowly, just because you feel fine now you could end up regretting it later down the line, I know of people that started out great and thought they could go back to there "normal" routine in the early months just to end up back in hospital for another opp, take care and I hope you make a full recovery, keep us posted 😊

  • allaroundanne
    allaroundanne bverkerke

    Posted

    I am a physician, I did chronic pain management.  You have approximately 18months with nerve damage for the nerve to possibly regenerate.  It is usually in the arms a pretty painful process, I know, I went through it.  If you aren't feeling that pain, I don't think your surgeon unpinched your nerve.  He may have fused you, but that doesn't mean he got the nerve out from where it was trapped.  The fact that you are having muscle wasting tells me that your muscles aren't getting any stimulation from the nerve anymore.  I would immediately get a second surgical opinion, something isn't right.  You shouldn't be having this kind of muscle wasting this fast, it almost sounds like there was nerve damage done.  You are still in the 18 month time frame, if you can free up that nerve, then it can regenerate.  It will just take time, there isn't anything you can do to speed that part up, but physical therapy can help you maintain muscle tone while you wait for the nerve to come back.

    Lynn

    • bverkerke
      bverkerke allaroundanne

      Posted

      Hey there,

      I have never had pain in the arm or shoulder, even from the first signs of the paralysis. Are you saying that afternoon surgery I should now have arm pain??

      it's been 1month and 2 weeks since I have had surgery. I can now lift my arm over my head but it's very weak only can lift it about 5 times.... my bicep is shrinking still along with my shoulder I probably have lost 60% muscle now.. my bicep strength I can lift a water bottle and that's about it for 5 times...

      is this all normal? When will I get my muscle back? When will strength come? I can not do anything active as I have a useless arm so trying to move it won't really help..

      again in I'm not sure where to go from here.

      I had a brachial plexus MRI and a shoulder MRI and both have came back normal...

      thanks to anyone that can help.

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