II. Anatomy
III. Causes
- Shoulder Dislocation
- Upward pressure from improper crutch use
- Repetitive overuse (pitching, swimming)
- Humeral Neck Fracture
- Surgery (arthroscopy, rotator cuff repair)
IV. Symptoms
- Arm Fatigue on throwing and other overhead activities
- Posterolateral upper arm and shoulder Paresthesias
V. Signs
- Weak abduction and external rotation at the Shoulder
VI. Diagnostics
-
Nerve Conduction Studies and EMG
- Consider repeating at 3-6 months after treatment
-
Shoulder MRI
- Typically only helpful for evaluation of differential diagnosis (e.g. labral disorder)
- Compression of axillary nerve is unlikely to be visualized on MRI
VII. Management
- Shoulder Range of Motion Exercises with posterior capsule Stretching
- Avoid heavy lifting
- Sport specific biomechanical modification to prevent reinjury
- Physical therapy referral
- Surgical indications
- Nerve Conduction Studies and EMG with no improvement after 3-4 months conservative therapy
VIII. Course
- Anticipate a 3-6 month course with therapy
Images: Related links to external sites (from Bing)
Related Studies
Concepts | Injury or Poisoning (T037) |
ICD9 | 955.0 |
ICD10 | S44.3 |
SnomedCT | 157649001, 47185005 |
English | Injury to axillary nerve, Axillary nerve injury, injury of axillary nerve, injury of axillary nerve (diagnosis), Injury axillary nerve, axillary nerve injury, Axillary nerve injury (disorder), Injury of axillary nerve, Injury of axillary nerve (disorder), injury; axillary nerve, n.axillaris; injury |
Italian | Lesione traumatica del nervo ascellare, Traumatismo del nervo ascellare |
Dutch | letsel van okselzenuw, letsel; nervus axillaris, n.axillaris; letsel, Letsel van nervus axillaris, okselzenuwletsel |
Japanese | 腋窩神経損傷, エキカシンケイソンショウ |
German | Verletzung des N. axillaris, Verletzung des Achselnervs |
Czech | Poranění nervus axillaris |
Korean | 겨드랑 신경의 손상 |
Hungarian | Nervus axillaris sérülés, Axillaris ideg sérülés |
Spanish | lesión traumática del nervio axilar (trastorno), lesión traumática del nervio axilar, Lesión traumática del nervio axilar |
Portuguese | Lesão traumática do nervo axilar |
French | Lésion du nerf axillaire |
Ontology: Axillary nerve compression (C0338561)
Concepts | Pathologic Function (T046) |
SnomedCT | 230636004 |
English | Axillary nerve compression, Axillary nerve compression (disorder) |
Spanish | compresión axilar nerviosa (trastorno), compresión axilar nerviosa |
Ontology: Axillary nerve lesion (C0574903)
Concepts | Disease or Syndrome (T047) |
SnomedCT | 298117009 |
English | Axillary nerve lesion, Axillary nerve lesion (disorder) |
Spanish | lesión de nervio axilar (trastorno), lesión de nervio axilar |