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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Prevention
By Mayo Clinic staffAlthough damage to your brachial plexus often can't be prevented, you can take steps to reduce the risk of complications once an injury has occurred:
- For yourself. If you temporarily lose the use of your hand or arm, daily range-of-motion exercises and physical therapy can help prevent joint stiffness.
- For your child. If you're the parent of a child with Erb's palsy, it's vitally important that you exercise your child's joints and functioning muscles every day, beginning when your baby is about 3 weeks old. This helps prevent the joints from becoming permanently stiff and keeps your child's working muscles strong and healthy.
References
- Brachial plexus injury (Erb's palsy). American Society for Surgery of the Hand. http://www.assh.org/Content/NavigationMenu/PatientsPublic/HandConditions/BrachialPlexusInjury/Brachial_Plexus_Inj.htm. Accessed Oct. 24, 2008.
- Burners and stingers. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/fact/thr_report.cfm?Thread_ID=226&topcategory=Shoulder. Accessed Oct. 24, 2008.
- NINDS brachial plexus information page. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/brachial_plexus/brachial_plexus.htm. Accessed Oct. 24, 2008.
- Erb's palsy (brachial plexus birth injury). American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/fact/thr_report.cfm?Thread_ID=314&topcategory=Shoulder. Accessed Oct. 24, 2008.
- Shin AY, et al. Adult traumatic brachial plexus injuries. Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. 2005;13(6):382-396.
- Uehara DT et al. Injuries to the Shoulder Complex and Humerus. In: Tintinalli JE et al. Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide. 6th ed. Chapel Hill, N.C.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2004. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=612543&searchStr=injury+of+brachial+plexus. Accessed Nov. 11, 2008.
- McMahon PJ et al. Sports Medicine: Shoulder Neurovascular Injury. In: Skinner HB. Current Diagnosis & Treatment in Orthopedics. 4th ed. Irvine, Calif.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2006. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2319261&searchStr=injury+of+brachial+plexus. Accessed Nov. 11, 2008.
