Case Study 1
Mr. J. Y., a man in his 60's, had suffered a shoulder strain when bowling at a cricket game some 35 years ago. The injury, which had never been treated, prevented him from fully extending his right arm overhead or to the side beyond 90 degrees. Over the last three years, Mr. Y. had been experiencing increasing pain in the right shoulder, with shooting pains down the arm and in the ribs.
On examination, I found that Mr. Y's shoulder and neck muscles were contracted, especially on the right, resulting in the right shoulder being higher than the left and the joint rotated forward. The trapezius muscles were very tight and sore, as were the muscles of the neck (levator scapuli and splenius capitis). The rhomboids were tight and the pectoralis muscles hypercontracted. The right deltoid was sore with tension knots at the insertion point. It was clear that his incorrect posture had exacerbated the effects of the original injury, leading to tight and painful muscles around the whole of the shoulders and upper arms.
Mr. Y. began coming for regular (once per month) remedial massage appointments, where I worked on the tight muscle groups with various massage techniques. Over seven months, there was a marked improvement. The pain became at first less intense, then intermittent and finally disappeared completely. After the eighth session, Mr. Y. had full range of movement in both arms for the first time in 35 years; and his shoulders were level and less contracted. As Mr. Y. still has a tendency to hunch his shoulders, he is now coming for treatments every eight weeks to prevent a recurrence of the original problems.
Case Study 2
Mr. J. G. is an ex SAS officer in his thirties. He is above average height with powerful musculature. Having been extremely active during his army career, he is now mainly desk-bound.
Mr G. presented with an existing problem resulting from having carried an injured colleague to safety over a considerable distance whilst on active service in Iraq. His neck and shoulders were treated for strain at the time but this had not been maintained and he was suffering with pain and tightness in the trapezius and rhomboid muscles.
During a neck, back and shoulder massage, I found the whole upper back to be very tight and compacted, with a large area of scar tissue in the right upper trapezius. I used deep tissue massage techniques over the whole of the affected area. The density of the muscles required deep pressure using the point of the elbow in order to reach the scar tissue.
Mr G. has now been coming for regular monthly treatments for four months and the scar tissue is greatly reduced; there is no pain and Mr. G.'s range of movement in his neck and shoulders is much improved.
On his last visit, he was suffering from very tight calf-muscles as a result of taking up running again. The gastrocnemius muscles were tight and very painful on both legs, requiring extensive soft-tissue release and frictions. The soleus muscle was especially painful on the medial right leg and the left ankle tendons were very painful. After treatment, Mr. G. had improved range of movement through both ankles and was feeling more comfortable.