Case study - successful treatment of a mysterious shoulder problem

The complexity of the human body inspired me to write down this treatment story. A woman in her fifties approached me with the complaint that she had for about two years: the range of motion in her left shoulder had been gradually decreasing. There was no specific accident; her shoulder just started "acting up," as she put it, gradually from one day to the next. She noticed that her symptoms—tightness and pain—appeared in waves, with periods of improvement and worsening, but she couldn't pinpoint the cause. Naturally, she also sought medical help for the issue: she was diagnosed with a frozen shoulder in orthopedics and underwent various treatments, such as ultrasound, other electrotherapy treatments, and physical therapy. These treatments helped improve her symptoms, but the overall pattern of fluctuating symptoms, with improvements and setbacks, persisted, so she continued looking for solutions, and that's how we met.

During the assessment, in addition to the restricted shoulder movements, we found that her neck and middle back were also tight. It also turned out that due to high levels of stress and a job change a few years ago, she had been suffering from severe reflux issues (she had even undergone an endoscopy and had to take acid-reducing medication intermittently). Because of this, we started addressing the shoulder problem from the perspective of visceral therapy, as stomach irritation can create tension in the left shoulder. Her esophageal irritation showed in the tightness in the chest and upper back area. Persistent irritation from an organ can lead to tension in the innervation areas between the organ and the spine over time. It's similar to pulling on a shirt or a spiderweb from one end; with a stronger pull, we can eventually notice the tension even at the farthest end, or the shape of the shirt or web changes. In this case, the web is the fascia, also known as the "connective tissue membrane," which is a watery, elastic connective tissue network found both superficially, in deeper layers, and surrounding our internal organs. We began to release the tension in these connections with visceral therapy. Once full range of motion was restored in the shoulder, we placed greater emphasis on strengthening the muscles around the shoulder, shoulder girdle, neck, and back. We worked together for 12 weeks with weekly or biweekly sessions, and the woman's dream came true: with the improvement of her shoulder, she started going to the gym for personal training.

I would also like to highlight that this success is the result of our joint effort, as she also did everything possible: she diligently completed her home exercises and began actively dealing with stress management. It is uplifting to see people recognize and start using the resources within themselves and be able to change their lives in a positive direction! :)

(Photo source: Simply Health Chiropractic)