Rhomboid nerve pain

Posted by lisarei @lisarei, Sep 10, 2023

I have a complex problem and I can’t get a concrete diagnosis. It’s a long history but I was a healthy woman doing a push up in an aerobics class in the year 2000 when I felt a mildly painful muscle pull in my right upper back between my spine and scapula. Almost immediately I went into a severe spasm involving my upper back, torso, chest wall and R face. My vision was obscured on the right. I had no idea what was happening. The spasm lasted 48-72 hours and after it was done I was left with R chest wall and R back pain and r face pain . After years of trying to find an answer and getting a wrong diagnosis and treatments I gave up and the pain eventually settled down in the
same spots but became like chronic low level musculoskeletal pain until last year. When all of a sudden I developed electric shocks and shooting pain from the site to both posterior shoulders and the inside on my arm and burning upper back pain. This was now bilateral but mainly on the right. I had to be put on gabapentin. I found a physiatrist who thought it was my cervical spine. Never had back or neck pain or arm pain all those years nor any medical testing. MRI showed c5-6 ddd with bilateral moderate foramina stenosis. Went through multiple bouts of PT and then injections. Suddenly last June I had shooting pain in my neck down the front of my right arm and under my right axilla with a muscle spasm occurring behind my right scap for 1.5 days. It was painless twitch. I started to get pins and needles on cervical extension and a “buzzing” sensation r neck. So I ended up having a c5-6 disc replacement. It went well. The symptoms of the pins and needles and buzzing went away but my chronic chest wall and back pain persisted. I was elated however thinking that after all these years I got a diagnosis. However in April of this year I went back into sudden nerve pain at the same site ( right back over rhomboid major) and my trapezius muscle spasms, radiating pain to chest wall, midback spasms on the right side over the ribs running into the r torso. At first I was told this may be nerve recovery but I kept getting shooting pains especially under my right axilla. I don’t know how to get a diagnosis. I know that my serratus muscle is weak and that I have Notalgia Paresthetica which gets worse when I have spasmed in the past year and 1/2. Any ideas what I should do I would appreciate

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@lisarei Hello and welcome to Connect. Have you had an evaluation with a thoracic surgeon or physical therapist? The spasms you described sound a bit like thoracic outlet syndrome which I have, and I had central canal stenosis and my C5/C6 is now fused. Cervical spine issues do also cause pain in muscles around the scapula. TOS in general causes tightness on the front of the chest and shoulders can move forward pulling the scapulas from the center of the back toward the sides of the back. I have done a lot of therapy and myofascial release which has helped a lot. I was doing that before the spine condition became apparent and continued after my recovery.

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Thanks I been to PT 4 times and starting my 5th. Tomorrow I am going to see a neurosurgeon and ask about my thoracic spine . I started with a new therapist yesterday and she thinks it may be my thoracic spine or ribs. We are still going to do a series of injections-c 5 and 6 but everything looks good at c6 per CT myelogram. I will ask about thoracic outlet syndrome

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Has neuro done brain mri to rule out ms? Sounds like ms hug and nerve pain

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yes. I could have diagnosed you in a split second for your first problem needing surgery.
I can probably help you with the second: You have an impinged nerve root exiting your cervical spine still. Scar tissue could have grown and impinging nerves or a variety of other spine levels. Get into seeing a GOOD orthopedic surgeon. You may need a revision surgery or a new surgery to stabilize your cervical spine. I had two. Many people have two. They try a smaller surgery to stabilize a small portion of your spine but they they have to fuse a little more. But it might be as simple as cleaning out the scar tissue where you DID have surgery. Don't suffer. The pills won't fix what ails you - you need medical assessment. UCSD has the BEST orthopedic spine department. They are backed up but their Ortho spine dept is well known and reliable. Get into any GOOD research/teaching hospital known for its spine surgeons and get seen. In the meantime, find a good MFR therapist to relax and align your cervical spine.

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