I am frantically searching the web for the same answers. I woke up with right wrist/finger drop 6-7 weeks ago. I have no use of my right hand. I do not recall having any injury to it the day before and it is not a result of drinking too much (Saturday Night Palsy). I have been to the ER, my primary care three times an accupuncturist and now a chiro. No one seems to know the answer and tell me it will just spontanously come back. WHEN??? I need my hand, I cant work or do most daily activities. I am desperate for answers and help.

Don't bother.

They don't care about us on this forum. I have been desperately waiting for answers for years. You would be better off phoning a doctor.

My doctors seem like they dont know what to do. I have read that an arm fracture will cause radial nerve damage. Do you have numbness in any of your fingers? What type of dr are you seeing? I was told a neurologist may be able to help.

An arm fracture will cause radial nerve damage, I assume. I wish someone with credentials could answer me but they are too "busy"., Having said that, I believe it does. My arm is healing. It has been 9 weeks since I fractured it, and now I can go swimming in the gym. My nerve isn't healed, but it's getting better. It's very weak though.

I went to my third visit to the chiro yesterday, he seems to think it is related to my neck. I woke up this morning with much less numbness but still can't extend my wrist up. I am hopeful. I agree - wish someone on here could help!!!!

2nd attempt at posting:

Hi all

I have just come back from having nerve conduction tests on my left arm after fracturing my left elbow (radial head - displaced fracture)

The results show a trapped ulnar nerve and the radial nerve is completely dead. I will be having an operation to release the ulnar nerve but there is nothing they can do for the radial nerve as they are saying its beyond repair.

Symptoms I have been experiencing:

pins and needles in little finger and ring finger which have gradually got worse and causes numbness for large amounts of time througout the day and night.
Constantly dropping things no matter if they are heavy or light.
Pain and aching at the back of my elbow which sometimes radiates down my arm.
Extreme pain between knuckles of index finger and middle finger (back of my hand)

I'm not sure if any of the above is of use to any of you - but hope it is.

Good luck

get therapy ASAP! My son just broke his upper arm and he now is experiencing radial nerve problems. The doctor says with physical therapy he may or may not get use of his hand back. There doesn't seem to be much they can do.

Hi guy's

I broke my humerus and forearm in May 2007. Straight away i new i had a problem with wrist and fingers extension.i was told i had radial nerve damage. The good news tho was that in the October i started to get my wrist back after a lot of therapy but up untill now my fingers are useless and im wearing a splint called an out rigger. doctors told me that anything i didnt get back in my hand after 2 years i would never get back again. There is hope tho i have spoken to my doctor and he said that a Tendon Transfer operation will fix the finger extention problem and he has told me the operation has a very good success rate.

From what I heard this is true. You want to go to someone who does plenty of these surgeries and has good functional results. The fact your wrist is now able to extend is great. Perhaps with more time your fingers will also come back. Have you had EMG?

Hey all i have a similar problem to a lesser extent. When and only when i do weights when doing bench press & shoulder press my left tricep goes completely numb and i lose all feeling and strength in it. Its been like this for 6 weeks now. I have seen a physio, chiro, doc, had acupuncture, sports massage and x-rays to see if bones are out of alignment (showed nothing). I get mixed opinions from everyone and it seems like they just really dont give a f***. It is very frustrating and nobody seems to be able to give me a straight answer. Is there a scan i can do which will pin point and tell me exactly where the problem lies? Cheers in advance and sorry about the long rant

Hey, did anyone go for Occupational Therapy and seek for the right treatment? hmm...

hi...i have been diagnosed w/ severe radial nerve damage after dislocating right shoulder and fracturing humerus. Had EMG last wed. The nerve, although not severed, is very badly damaged. I cant extend or raise fingers and i have a floppy wrist. the nerve pain is pretty bad, so i have switched from vicodin to lyrica (22x a day) a few days ago. i think it is taking the edge off. however, i do continue 1 vicodin a day because of periods when the pain in shoulder and arm get unbearable. today i will see a certified hand OT who will work with me on range of motion and make me a radial brace with bands around the fingers. I'll let you know more. My drs..both the hand specialist/orthoped and neurologist (Baltimore) who did the emg are excellent. It was explained to me that the radial nerve is the one they like to work with, because with the worst case scenario (completely damaged), tendon grafting can be done with good prognosis of getting movement back. With my severity of damage, the nerve repairs at one inch per month. So, I will not see any hand/wrist improvement for one year, bar any complication. PT and OT does not speed up nerve repair-it just helps with range of motion. It is important not to allow frozen joints in fingers, wrist, elbow and shoulder. I have lots of work ahead of me. I am a school counselor and professional pianist, so I am out of work and piano gigs. I hope I can play the piano again some day! I can't drive or pick up my daughter's newborn. It is difficult to do anything. This injury requires a lot of patience. Good luck. Please continue this thread because there is not much out there.

This post is being reviewed and is temporarily unavailable.

Hi! I also have radial nerve damage,have had for a month and a half. Also looking at a year. Got from sleeping on my arm the wrong way for along time, but doctor said same issue as saturday night palsy. I have been seeing improvement after going to OT for two weeks and will continue to go. I have been doing exercises and they have been using a STIM on my arm. I was not able to wash my hair before with both hands but now I can. I noticed more motion with my hand but still wrist drop. They also got a splint made, but it's not the kind with the bands, it covers my fingers to the knuckles to give me more use of my fingers. I have a little more hope.

Hi...it's 3:13 AM and I just can't sleep. The nerve pain is pretty bad even though I have been taking lyrica for more than 2 weeks. In addition, my shoulder is still sore and it is difficult to do my PT exercises at home. This sucks big time. OT for my hand 2x a week, PT for shoulder 2x a week. There have been some old posts on another health board site where people have written some positive stories. Just not much out there. I am glad you are seeing improvement. Keep feeling better.

Update-It is now November 15 and I have a lot more use out of my wrist. I can lift it against gravity now and still working on fingers/thumb. It's definitely not 100% yet but it's getting there. I no longer have to go to OT/now just taking EStim home and using myself.

So don't give up hope!

Hi ....my OT tried the Estim last week but could not get the right spot for muscle movement. OT and PT progressing slowly. Whew...this is painful and exhausting. i stopped the lyrica because it was causing swelling in knees and hands. I can lift my wrist a little, and working on making a fist, since my range of motion has also deteriorated. I am glad you have been making progress.

Hi all,

I've suffered Radial Nerve Palsy from a car accident in 2005 which i broke my left humerus, i was 18yrs old that time. Couldn't lift my fingers and my arm wont fully extend for 4-5 months. During that period i went for physhiotherapy once a week for 1 hour sessions.

First off, to gain back my arm extension ability, they hooked me up on a electrical stimulation machine(forgot what was it called, sorry) to force my arm to extend as much as possible while wearing weights. The most painful experience ever.

Next to stimulate the injured nerves, they hooked me up with another electric stimulation thingie(forgot this one too). The physiotherapist told me to flick my left arm using my right fingers, where you'll feel a numb tingling sensation to stimulate it. Do it often, it worked for me.

Today i've gained full arm extension, but my nerves have not fully recovered(not sure that it will). The area at the back of my palm is still numb.

Hope this post helps somebody..sorry for the vague details, it has been so long since the accident. And try to bear the pain if you can, painkillers are not good for your body.

Cheers,
Victor.

Hi, I have radial nerve palsy which started 4 weeks ago. No real reason the dr.s can find why. I have the typical wrist drop, of course it's my right hand that I use, I can't extend my fingers. I can now make a fist, with a lot of pain. I am on neurontin. And they fitted me for the most UGLY brace to wear. But if it will help me get some use back in my hand I will be over the top excited!! Good luck to everyone out there!!