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Chronic pain in Neck, shoulder and arm
Chronic Pain | Last Active: Sep 15 12:28pm | Replies (18)Comment receiving replies
Hello Jennifer and thank you for your reply.
Doctors suspected TOS two years ago. Thus she had XRays and MRI (with contrast) to check their suspicions, and luckily there was no indication for that.
As for MFR, we heard of a pain management doctor which patients were calling him “the miracle doctor” where he diagnosed her with MFR. he injected her RT shoulder with 4 injections that contained “Dextrose”, and what happened then, she was almost semi paralyzed for almost 2 weeks with dizziness, muscle weakness and many more symptoms, while she couldnt even walk properly. A month later, her LT shoulder (which was perfectly fine), got the same symptoms as the RT out of the sudden.
I have no idea what was the cause but doctors think that her body couldnt handle a new inflammation that caused by dextrose while her body was trying to fight the inflammations that were already in her shoulder before the injection.
Any idea if those symptoms are common while MFR?
Replies to "Hello Jennifer and thank you for your reply. Doctors suspected TOS two years ago. Thus she..."
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@jack993 TOS (Thoracic Outlet Syndrome) patients can have normal muscle strength, normal nerve tests, and there may not be anything showing up on an x-ray or MRI as it is a muscular problem and issues of tightness in the fascia and possible scar tissue within the fascia and muscle. MFR (Myofascial Release) isn't a diagnosis. It is a hands on manual therapy technique to treat tight restrictive tissue and it has helped ease my symptoms of TOS. Myofascial release is like a massage, or more specifically, the therapist pushes against the barrier in the tissue (like kneading bread) and they just hold that pressure and wait for the fascia to unwind. They have to get a sideways shearing motion. The tissue will release and start to slide in about 5 minutes.
You can find out more at https://myofascialrelease.com/
The tests to diagnose TOS are listening to the pulse in the neck or arm, then the patient turns their head and/or raised the arm. If that pulse stops, as mine does, it confirms TOS. They also test blood flow with either Doppler imaging with the arms in various raised positions, or at Mayo, they put tiny blood pressure cuffs on my fingers and measured changes with my arms in various positions. TOS causes blood circulation to be cut off.
Sometimes doctors inject Botox into muscle trigger points. That is not MFR. MFR is manual physical therapy done by a physical therapist or massage therapist. There is also dry needling where an electrode needle is placed in muscle to dissipate the electrical charge it is holding with a muscle spasm. That's also not MFR, but my PT also does that.
Many doctors misunderstand TOS. You might want to find a doctor who treats it for another opinion. Many doctors think it's rare, but it's rare to find a doctor who can diagnose it properly. They are often thoracic vascular surgeons.