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November 12, 2005

Auto Accident Case--Part 1

A new client came to see me this week. They were in an automobile accident six months ago and are seeking relief from pain. They suffered injuries beyond whiplash which include the ribs separating from sternum. Under a doctors care, they have received pain medicine, physical therapy and a battery of tests but they don't seem to be healing. They expressed a great deal of frustration with their standard medical care.

Upon palpation, the client reports being very sensitive (an 8 on a scale of one to 10) with light touch. As a result, for this first session, my intention focuses on calming hypersensitive tissue.

I attempted craniosacral therapy, but the attachment site where the levator scapula attaches to the scapula is too tender for the client to lay upon my hand. So, I worked with them laying on their side with the afflicted side up.

With hands placed on the front and back of the chest, I used a craniosacral touch consisting of a pressure approximately the weight of a nickle. This helps calm the clients' fear that I might hurt them. Under my hands the tissue along the sternum at the chest felt inflamed, the rhomboid muscles in the back felt inflamed, pectoralis minor was extremely tender and hard.

Finally, after gentle holding and hooking up connections front to back, the tissue began to soften. The ridge along the sternum softened most. In the back an area just medial to the scapula where rhomboid major and minor meet was an area of such intense discomfort that the client reported nausea and was afraid they would vomit. Hmmmm. Another area that induced nausea was a spot just under the central portion of the clavicle (which when I view the picture corresponds with the position of the second rib).

I also worked the pectoralis minor gently and got some softening. I ran out of time before I could address any of the tension present in the neck. None of this work was comfortable for the client, and they reported no noticeable improvement in their pain after leaving the table. I called the next day to check their progress and reported some small relief but that the pain seemed to be moving and running down the arm.

I have several concerns about this case. Their disillusionment with their medical care means they may have stopped going in for periodic scans to monitor their healing. They stopped wearing their sling so I encouraged them to wear it again so their motions would not undo any improvement they got from massage. I strongly encourage this client to continue with their doctor's care even if it means they change physicians. My concern is that there may be muscles torn away from bone that will not heal and may require surgery.

This an involved case which take some time to resolve so I will be reporting more in future posts.

Posted by linda at November 12, 2005 7:27 AM