Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself

Good afternoon @adalwolfa, Welcome ..... to Connect. You have met a couple of great Connect members in @mlross4508, and @jenniferhunter. I may have a reference of some value in a brachial plexus surgeon and diagnostician in Houston, Texas. http://www.drnathbrachialplexus.com/ . A family member fell off her bicycle and injured her shoulder. She was seen at Mayo in 2005 where the diagnosis was excellent but the surgery options were not available at that time. She was referred to Dr. Nath in Houston. He was at the top of the heap when it comes to surgical procedures to "fix" a brachial plexus injury. The surgery went well and she was off to Europe to enter some bike runs. He has written books and has videos. I have photos of her shoulder before the surgery....pretty shocking. This may not pan out for you but may be worth comparing to other options. Knowledge is power. Be safe and free of suffering. Chris

How can we tell whether we have stressed fascias or not ? Would the MFR Therapy hurt us if we don't have it? Peggy

MFR is a special type of PT that is designed to NOT be painful in order to get relief. It’s a slow deliberate treatment that slowly releases the fascia by either pushing, pulling, or stretching the fascia. It has worked wonders for me.
When searching for relief, make sure the treatment is done by a PT that has been trained by the pioneer John Barnes. It’s a very specialized type of PT.
Good luck

@adalwolfa Welcome, Ute. Was there any surgery offered that could help you with the displaced clavicle? I know someone who had a congenital problem with the clavicle where the ligaments were small and weak and lost their connection to the sternum. She had surgery to reattach them, but it isn't a great solution because they will move more than they should even though they are attached. She can use her arm, but can't lift or raise it much. I got the impression from what she said that there are very few surgeons for that kind of problem. Do you still have compression of the brachial plexus from the clavicle? Since you have been seen at Mayo, you might want to connect with the department with Regenerative Medicine studies and see if there is anything you could participate in. I don't have any experience with that, but the are having some good results with stem cells with regeneration of the spinal cord in a patient. That was just in the news feed.

I have not had an intensive MFR treatment, but my therapist does MFR with me every week and told me about it. The cost might be a couple thousand dollars from what she said, but only the provider can answer that. They have 2 locations, one in Sedona, and another. There is a provider finder on the myofascialrelease.com website. Here is our myofascial release discussion where there is a lot of information and links. https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/myofascial-release-therapy-mfr-for-treating-compression-and-pain/

I have done MFR since about 2012 and my PT is an expert level in the John Barnes methods. I do a lot on my own at home which helps my progress with thoracic outlet syndrome. In the middle of this, I had cervical spine surgery, and I am back working on the TOS again and making progress. I have lived with this for years, and it takes a lot of work and patience to work through the layers of tight tissue. There are also workshops around the country from John Barnes and some are geared for patients. He could be there, but not always as he is older now, and has a lot of his PTs teaching his methods. It would also be a place to connect with MFR therapists. From my personal experience, MFR helps me a lot, and I keep it going by adding my efforts at home, so I have self treatments most days with only one session with my PT. If I was to stop stretching on my own, I wouldn't progress anymore. Once you get the body moving properly again, you have to keep moving to avoid developing more problems.

Good afternoon @adalwolfa, Welcome ..... to Connect. You have met a couple of great Connect members in @mlross4508, and @jenniferhunter. I may have a reference of some value in a brachial plexus surgeon and diagnostician in Houston, Texas. http://www.drnathbrachialplexus.com/ . A family member fell off her bicycle and injured her shoulder. She was seen at Mayo in 2005 where the diagnosis was excellent but the surgery options were not available at that time. She was referred to Dr. Nath in Houston. He was at the top of the heap when it comes to surgical procedures to "fix" a brachial plexus injury. The surgery went well and she was off to Europe to enter some bike runs. He has written books and has videos. I have photos of her shoulder before the surgery....pretty shocking. This may not pan out for you but may be worth comparing to other options. Knowledge is power. Be safe and free of suffering. Chris

Yes, I have heard about Dr. Nathan. However, my injury was in 2009 and scar tissue, etc. make surgery a risky option for me. To boot, I have been that route already at the Mayo Clinic and the Washington University. I am looking for pain relief, and I was glad to hear on this blog about the Myofascial Release. That I will pursue. The concept makes total sense. Thanks for your input.

@pfbacon Now you know what you have that's a relieve you can get treatment I have arthritis all through me In back ,hands and elsewhere Dr has me on Meloxicam Helps so much but I do have 2back fractures as well For me Meloxicam gives me relief Good luck .Will you keep us posted

I’m all for the cannabis in the oil form and the weed. I used to smoke for many years for pleasure, and the relaxation, feeling of well-being and good sleep would be extremely helpful to me now. However, here in Oregon, you can by cannabis in all forms on every corner. I’m too concerned about the contents. Once there is some proper oversight and regulation, I’ll be a consumer again. Definitely want to learn more about restorative stem therapies and whether it would be an option for me. Thanks for your input. Ute