Plexopathy Sentence Examples

Brachial plexopathy is any injury to the brachial plexus-the nerve bundles located on each side of the neck that give rise to the individual nerves controlling the muscles of the shoulders, arms, and hands.

Brachial plexopathy occurs most often during birth, when an infant's neck and shoulders are stretched apart during passage through the birth canal.

There are four general types of injury, and an individual brachial plexopathy may include any or all of these injury types, on one or both (bilateral) sides of the body.

It is estimated that in North America between one and three of every 1,000 newborns are affected to some extent by brachial plexopathy.

However, some physicians are concerned that the late 1990s and early 2000s trend toward decreasing elective c-section deliveries will result in more cases of brachial plexopathy among newborns.

Erb's palsy is the most common type of obstetric brachial plexopathy.

Brachial plexopathy can result when the following events occur.

An individual brachial plexopathy may include any or all of these injury types, on one or both (bilateral) sides of the body.

Premature and underdeveloped newborns are at a decreased risk for brachial plexopathy.

Breech deliveries increase the risk of brachial plexopathy by 175-fold, often causing bilateral injuries to the lower nerve roots of the brachial plexus.

A mother who has had previous brachial-plexus-injured infants is at a 14-fold-increased risk of having another infant with brachial plexopathy.

The symptoms of brachial plexopathy vary greatly depending on the extent and severity of the damage.

Symptoms of such fractures and dislocations may be similar to those of brachial plexopathy and can cause infants to not move their arms.

Those at risk for obstetric brachial plexopathy are also at risk for fractures and dislocations during birth.

Gentle massage and range-of-motion (ROM) exercises usually are initiated immediately, even in infants with very mild brachial plexopathy.

Treatment for brachial plexopathy may include a combination of exercises and focused physical, occupational, and aquatic therapies.

Play therapies are used to extend ROM from six months of age on in children with brachial plexopathy.

Other treatments for brachial plexopathy can be used.

About 85 percent of infants with brachial plexopathy make a complete neurological recovery within three to six years.

However, the prognosis for an individual brachial plexopathy depends on the location, severity, and extent of the damage and may be difficult to predict.

Complete recovery from brachial plexopathy may be difficult to define.

The delay in normal functioning caused by brachial plexopathy and any muscle imbalances across a joint can have a major impact on the child's growing skeleton and can result in permanent muscular-skeletal abnormalities.

The primary prevention for obstetrical brachial plexopathy is the avoidance of a potentially difficult delivery by choosing cesarean section.

Although exercises required to treat brachial plexopathy in infants may be painful, they are essential for preventing much more serious pain and suffering as the child grows.