What Is Erb’s Palsy?

Erb’s Palsy is a condition usually occurring during labor or dystocia complications in which an infant’s head and neck are injured enough to cause nerve damage and limb paralysis, most commonly in one or both of the arms. Erb’s Palsy, also known as Erb-Duchenne Palsy or brachial plexus paralysis among medical professionals, affects nerves in any or all five of the primary nerves in the body controlling arm sensitivity, feeling and movement.

Main Causes of Erbs Palsy

While Erb’s Palsy is highly associated with complications at birth, it also can and has occurred in adults who have been the victim of an accident, injuring their head, sides of the neck or shoulder area — causing limb paralysis — and it is also apparent in victims of clavicle fractures. Erbs Palsy can be quite severe, especially among infants and children. Birth complications during breech deliveries, where an infant is born feet first and excessive pulling causes the arms to be raised, is often where nerve damage occurs. However, Erb’s Palsy can occur in any abnormal birth where the infant is pulled through the birth canal by their head and shoulder arm paralysis occurs.

Erb’s Palsy Discovered

Erb’s Palsy as it is known today among physicians was not truly discovered until 1874 when a German teacher and neurologist, Wilheim Heinrich Erb, conducted studies on labor complications and released the results of his work. Prior to 1874, obstetrician William Smellie briefly studied the link of arm paralysis in infants after difficult labor. In the mid-1700s Smellie studied midwifery and reported the first several cases of what he described as brachial paralysis. Erb would later expand on this and provide insightful details through his work, hence the name Erb’s Palsy.

Treatments for Erb’s Palsy

It is typical among Erb’s Palsy patients to recover on their own from the arm paralysis, but victims who recover on their own usually require some type of physical therapy to recondition the muscles that have been in a paralyzed state. However, individuals who suffer from Erb’s Palsy, which does not heal over time must undergo a surgical procedure to correct the brachial paralysis. Neurosurgery is usually conducted to correct the problem. To learn more about this condition, which is often preventable, it is advisable to contact an Erbs palsy attorney specializing in medical malpractice.