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Neck Pain Case Study

Client presented to clinic with left-sided neck pain that radiated down into her left shoulder blade and up into her head. Her symptoms began at the beginning of the summer with no mechanism of injury, and gradually got worse with repeated lifting of her young child. Her only prior injury history was a left shoulder blade fracture which she sustained 8 years before the onset of her neck pain. She had no history of neck pain, vertigo, headaches, concussions, or visual disturbances. She has tried multiple treatments including Physiotherapy, Osteopathy, and acupuncture, all with short-term changes.

 On the first of day of treatment at Evolve Physiotherapy, she presented with:

8/10 pain in left upper trap, referring to medial shoulder blade

Left shoulder Internal rotation

Limited neck rotation to the right, normal to the left

Hypersensitivity along left upper trap vs right

Significant underbite, and symptoms reduced 4/10 with jaw protrusion

Significantly improved right neck rotation with jaw protrusion

Limited left thoracic rotation 

Significant left-sided sway with balance test (Romberg)

Protocol:

Right-sided thoracic spine/mid-back drills (reduced pain to 3/10 and full rotation to left)

Nerve dynamic drills with spinal accessory nerve

Manual therapy of suboccipital, lymphatic stimulation drills for jaw and diaphragm

Eye/neck movement dissociation drills to retrain neck muscles to relax and not to over engage

Dynamic breathing exercises with full body movement 

 After session 1, symptoms reduced to 2/10 pain with full range of movement

Client returned for 2 more sessions. Additional treatment consisting of electro-dry needling was administered at session 2. Client returned for 3rdsession with 0/10 pain and full, pain-free range of movement.