What is Erbs Palsy?

There are many different medical conditions out there that people do not really understand. Erbs Palsy is one of those medical conditions that leave people a bit bewildered. Erbs palsy is actually a paralysis or immobilization of the arm. This paralysis actually occurs when an injury is sustained to the brachial plexus which is a system of nerves that run along your arm.

Believe it or not, but this injury can actually be quite common during child birth an it will affect the newborn child. Often during the birthing of the baby, its head and neck can be pushed to the side so that it must pass through the birthing canal at the same time as the shoulders do.

The other instance of injury on the brachial plexus occurs when the babies shoulders are repeatedly pulled on during the birth. Within both of these circumstances there can be a variety of injuries that can affect the brachial plexus. Regardless of what the specific injury is, it can put the child at significant risk for Erbs Palsy.

However, Erbs Palsy is not something to be hopeless about. The truth is that Erbs Palsy can vary in terms of severity. Sometimes it will only be a temporary condition, while for other more serious cases it may be a permanent condition.

Though sometimes the condition will clear itself up there are treatment options to be explored. Nerve transfers are usually recommended for children younger than 9 months. The reason that this is suggested for young babies is because they are developing faster than older babies so they will be able to regenerate nerves more quickly.

Subscapularis releases are another treatment for Erbs Palsy. These can be done on a patient of any age, and basically what it allows for is for a surgeon to make an incision in the patients arm. This incision is in the shape of a 'Z' and it is made into the subscapularis muscle in the arm. This incision will actually facilitate the patient’s ability to stretch their arm.

Lastly, Erbs Palsy can be treated with the Latissimus Dorsi tendon transfers. Within this treatment a physician needs to actually cut the Latissimus Dorsi muscle horizontally. After the incision is made the muscle is actually pulled around and physically attached to the patients bicep.

The best way to determine which Erbs Palsy treatment option is best is to asses the patient at the earliest moment. Unfortunately, Erbs Palsy is not something that you can always prevent, but with a good medical team behind your childbirth the risks can definitely be reduced. If an injury does occur to the new baby during child birth, the good news is that there are treatment options that have proven to be quite effective.

You may want to check out my other guide on divorce law firms and minnesota lawyer

Erbs Palsy

erbs palsy lawyer

What is Erbs Palsy?

Related Articles: