All posts in Clinical Case of the Week

Recently, I have had 3 physical therapy patients in the clinic with a complicated clinical presentation.  All 3 patients have a different cluster of symptoms and impairments. What they each have in common is that they have upper extremity symptoms that are not of cervical spine (radiculopathy) origin.  Instead, their pathology is a result of tight chest and neck musculature, compressing the bundle of nerves that control the movement and sensation of the arm.  Clinically, this is known as Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, or, TOS.

What is Thoracic Outlet Syndrome?

• Compression of the artery, vein and/or nerves that pass through the thoracic outlet.
• There are 3 possible locations for the compression to occur:
  • In between your scalene (neck muscles)
  • In between the clavicle and first rib
  • Under the peck minor (chest muscle)

The most common compression is of the nerves.  This results in vague pain of the arm as well as various sensations: itchy, hot, cold, pins and needles, etc.It may be painful to the touch for any of the muscles involved with the compression. Poor posture as well as decreased flexibility of the thoracic spine are also associated with TOS. Rarely, an extra rib (cervical rib) is the cause.

Physical Therapy Treatment for TOS

• Physical therapy is the first line of treatment for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS).
• A therapist will teach you how to stretch what needs to be lengthened as well as how to strengthen muscles that will improve posture.
• Physical therapists also have manual techniques to help you progress your treatment
• Most people diagnosed with TOS  have a good prognosis and will have complete resolution of symptoms with conservative treatment only.

Lateral epicondylitis, more commonly known as “tennis elbow,” is a pathology that is familiar to physical therapists and the general public. What is lesser known is “pseudo tennis elbow,” a mechanical problem with a very simple solution! Unfortunately, therapists whom are not familiar with the utilization of mechanical diagnosis may unknowingly miss this common elbow derangement. As a therapist practicing the McKenzie method of mechanical diagnosis, I have diagnosed BOTH of my current elbow pain patients as derangements (or pseudo tennis elbow).

SYMPTOMS

Portland area patient presented to physical therapy with intermittent right elbow pain, worsening over the last 3 months. Patient reported difficulty with gripping, lifting, carrying and global limited function of the right arm. Patient described symptoms as “variable” meaning he could perform a task that produced his elbow pain. Then, perform the same task or movement again without experiencing any pain at all! This variability of pain is the hallmark of a derangement and should not be misdiagnosed as a tendonitis (also called tendinitis), which would indicate inflammation (in which case pain would be constant). Patient rated worst elbow pain as a 6/10.

THERAPIST’S EVALUATION AND FINDINGS

Objective findings included pain with passive elbow flexion and extension as well as pain with active wrist extension and with gripping a tennis ball. Because of my experience as a mechanical therapist, I am familiar with a technique called a mobilization with movement (MWM), developed by Brian Mulligan (a colleague of Robin McKenzie). The mobilization provides a lateral force over the ulna at the elbow joint. While the patient applied this force, he was able to grip the tennis ball PAIN FREE! This same technique was applied for other painful baselines and achieved the same results of ABOLITION OF ALL PAIN! This ability to turn symptoms off with a mobilization indicates an elbow derangement and the MWM is used as the treatment strategy.

PATIENT HOMEWORK and OUTCOMES

The patient was asked to perform the MWM utilizing the lateral glide while gripping a tennis ball to be performed 10-20 times every hour. The theory is that this mobilization is re-positioning the joint in order for it to articulate correctly, resulting in improved range of motion and strength after. The patient returned to the clinic the next day with reports of at least 25% improvement! Objective findings were retested and nearly all baselines had improved in less than 24 hours! The patient returned 1 week later and reported an 85% overall improvement with symptoms.

GET YOURSELF EVALUATED

Don’t be misdiagnosed! Straightforward pathologies which require one exercise to treat are commonly missed with standard treatment. This results in extra physical therapy visits, and more of your time and money. It is worth your time to see if your pain has a MECHANICAL component, otherwise a simple solution may otherwise be missed.

If you are experiencing elbow pain and are living in the Portland/Vancouver metro area, get the best results by calling us today at 503-244-6232 to schedule a physical therapy evaluation.

I recently had a follow up appointment with a patient of mine.  “Sam” came to our clinic after having failed attempts of treatment from standard Physical Therapy and chiropractic care.  His past physical therapist had given him generalized stretching with little to no benefit, and by the time I evaluated him, Sam admitted that, “(he) was not impressed with his therapy treatment.”  He had heard about Nick Rinard Physical Therapy, and he was hoping to get the results he desired with us.

During his initial evaluation, Sam presented with limited, painful movements in several motions of the shoulder. The most painful motion was the motion of putting the arm behind him (like he was going to scratch in between his shoulder blades).  Incidentally, this was also the motion which initially caused his pain three months ago.

I had Sam passively stretch into the painful motion. This was not a random decision. It was a clinical decision based off of his baselines and has been clearly documented and researched by the works of Mark Laslett.  As Sam repeated this movement, the pain dissipated and all of his baselines improved.  Sam continued to perform this exercise until his next visit, at which, he reported 95% improvement.

Sometimes the exercise required to fix the mechanical problem is counterintuitive (moving into the pain).  A trained mechanical therapist is able to recognize these pain patterns and can make a clinical decision as to what exercise should be performed and interpret the results.

The most common cause of vertigo (dizziness) is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) and it is a mechanical disorder. A trained clinician can evaluate and treat this condition based off of the patient’s symptoms. The evaluation consists of moving the head into specific positions. Symptoms of BPPV include vertigo with change in head position, nausea with or without vomiting and disequilibrium (poor balance).

Curable

Vestibular System

BPPV is a curable condition affecting the vestibular system (inner ear). Your inner ear is comprised of 3 semicircular canals (SCC) and 2 otolith organs. These structures detect head movements (acceleration). Crystals called otoconia are embedded in the otolith organs. Sometimes, the crystals can become dislodged and misplace into the semicircular canals. The misplaced crystals result in increased sensitivity to head movements.

Hopes for a Positive Response

I was treating a patient for low back pain when she mentioned that she was experiencing severe episodes of dizziness. I informed her about BPPV and mentioned that the treatment was very simple and effective. She agreed to have an evaluation in hopes for a positive response.

My patient tested positive for BPPV utilizing the Hallpike-Dix test for the left semicircular canals. I also performed a few other tests and exercises to rule out other potential causes for symptoms. Once we had our diagnosis of BPPV, the treatment was very simple.

Improvement in just one week

I took my patient through a series of head movements that reposition the crystals back into the otolith organs (the saccule and ultricule). After performing the repositioning maneuver, baseline symptoms were decreased and she returned the next week without having any severe episodes of vertigo.

BPPV – A Common Vertigo that is Easily Treated

BPPV is the most common cause for vertigo. Luckily, it is very easy to diagnose and treat with a trained therapist. If you or someone you know has vertigo as a result from head movements, have a physical therapist evaluation so that you may start feeling better today!

By MiKayla Sanocki, SPT

Did you know a back problem can cause symptoms such as pain, decreased strength and decreased sensations into the thigh, calf, ankle or foot? Physical therapists trained in Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) here at Nick Rinard Physical Therapy can determine during the evaluation if any of these lower leg symptoms are coming from your back.

Check out this bizarre clinical presentation we treated at Nick Rinard Physical Therapy:

She did not remember any trauma to the ankle

The patient came to physical therapy for an “ankle sprain” that occurred 3-months earlier.  She stated she woke up unable to put any weight on her right foot. The pain had remained constant in her ankle, so bad at times that she couldn’t walk!  Upon further questioning, the patient revealed what she had been doing the day before: She had driven 2 hours, on her way home from helping clean a house. During the drive she had discomfort in her buttock and hamstring that made her want to pull the car over to stretch.  She did not remember any trauma to the ankle, however, but the ankle pain was the only pain she was experiencing now.

Her ankle pain has caused her to quit running and yoga — two of her favorite activities.

Mechanical Evaluation finds cause in spine

During the mechanical evaluation we found that certain directions of low back movements decreased the pain in her ankle.  After being sent home with 1 simple exercise to perform every waking hour – which she did perfectly – she returned within 24 hours reporting 90% recovery in pain! Over the next week we were able to progress her exercises and now the patient reports no ankle pain at all. In only 4 visits we were able to abolish her ankle pain, and she is now getting back to running and yoga!

The patient reports, “I now have the tools to prevent the return of my back and ankle pain”.

Treatment at Nick Rinard Physical Therapy vs Traditional PT

In contrast to MDT, traditional PT would not have uncovered the spinal cause of the patient’s ankle pain.  Treatment would have been ineffective since it would have focused only on trying to treat the symptom.

Do you know if your pain in the legs or arms could be coming from the spine?  Come see us at Nick Rinard Physical Therapy and find out! 

Very interesting clinical presentation today!  The patient had been treated for neck pain here (Nick Rinard Physical Therapy) in the past with good results.  Later, she developed shoulder pain and consulted her MD, who referred her to an orthopedic surgeon.  There were “findings” on MRI and she ended up getting arthroscopic surgery.  She returned to us for physical therapy to rehabilitate after surgery.

No Surgery Needed

Interestingly, she reported that her surgeon was surprised that her rotator cuff tendons were in “good condition” and did not require a repair – he had noticed that during the surgery procedure itself, apparently.  So, physical therapy should be easy in such cases, right?  No big surgical repair to worry about.  

However, 6 weeks after the operation, her shoulder pain was not subsiding as it should have.  Inflammation normally resolves in that amount of time and she should have been strong enough to resume normal office work duties consisting of keyboard and filing.

Finding the True Cause of the Pain

We had to take a closer look at her neck.  It turned out that her neck was referring pain to the shoulder!  In one neck treatment, the shoulder pain was abolished!  The patient probably had had a recurrence of her old neck problem, it referred pain to her shoulder, and neither she, her MD, nor the orthopedic surgeon considered the true cause of the pain…

This is a frequent occurrence here at Nick Rinard Physical Therapy, where we use the Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) system of evaluation and treatment.  Robin McKenzie started this method and it is the best method – and most supported by research – at getting to the true cause of pain.

Save time, money, and maybe avoid surgery!

If you or someone you know is having any problems that could be mechanical, a thorough mechanical assessment should be performed.  In as little as one visit the problem might be identified and solved, saving a lot of time, money, and suffering!  Plus, the patient might avoid unnecessary surgery!

Lateral epicondylitis, more commonly known as “tennis elbow,” is a pathology that is familiar to physical therapists and the general public.  What is lesser known is “pseudo tennis elbow,” a mechanical problem with a very simple solution!  Unfortunately, therapists whom are not familiar with the utilization of mechanical diagnosis may unknowingly miss this common elbow derangement.  As a therapist practicing the McKenzie method of mechanical diagnosis, I have diagnosed BOTH of my current elbow pain patients as derangements (or pseudo tennis elbow).

Symptoms

Our patient, “Jane” presented to therapy with intermittent right elbow pain, worsening over the last 3 months. Jane reported difficulty with gripping, lifting, carrying and global limited function of the right arm.  Jane described symptoms as “variable” meaning she could perform a task that produced his elbow pain. Then, perform the same task or movement again without experiencing any pain at all!  This variability of pain is the hallmark of a derangement and should not be misdiagnosed as a tendonitis, which would indicate inflammation (in which case pain would be constant).  Jane rated worst elbow pain as a 6/10.

Physical Therapist Evaluation & Findings

Objective findings included pain with passive elbow flexion and extension as well as pain with active wrist extension and with gripping a tennis ball.  Because of my experience as a mechanical therapist, I am familiar with a technique called a mobilization with movement (MWM), developed by Brian Mulligan (a colleague of Robin McKenzie).  The mobilization provides a lateral force over the ulna at the elbow joint. While the patient applied this force, she was able to grip the tennis ball PAIN FREE!  This same technique was applied for other painful baselines and achieved the same results of ABOLITION OF ALL PAIN!  This ability to turn symptoms off with a mobilization indicates an elbow derangement and the MWM is used as the treatment strategy.

Patient Homework and Outcomes

Jane was asked to perform the MWM utilizing the lateral glide while gripping a tennis ball to be performed 10-20 times every hour.  The theory is that this mobilization is repositioning the joint in order for it to articulate correctly, resulting in improved range of motion and strength after.  Jane returned to the clinic the next day with reports of at least 25% improvement! Objective findings were retested and nearly all baselines had improved in less than 24 hours!  Jane returned 1 week later and reported an 85% overall improvement with symptoms.

Get Your Own Mechanical Assessment

Don’t be misdiagnosed! Straightforward pathologies which require one exercise to treat are commonly missed with standard treatment.  This results in extra therapy visits, and more of your time and money.  It is worth your time to see if your pain has a MECHANICAL component.  A simple solution may otherwise be missed.

The case study I would like to share with you today is only the second hip derangement of this type that I have seen in 18 years of practice.  “Jim” was a 55 year old male who presented with right hip pain that started for no apparent reason 5-6 months prior to coming to physical therapy.  He said the pain was provoked only when he was walking, but it occurred consistently at a distance of about 50 to 100 yards.  Often it was so painful he could not continue walking.  Jim figured out that changing his right foot position enabled him to walk a little further, albeit slowly, and then he could resume normal walking for another 50 yards or so.  He would change the foot position by stepping partway onto a curb or raised ground such that the outer edge of his foot was tilted up (eversion, as we therapists call it), and then he would angle his right knee inwardly.  That was the only way he had found to improve walking, but the hip just would not stay better.

In desperation, Jim said he had looked online and tried numerous “hip exercises” without any relief.  He consulted his doctor, who recommended MDT, which we do here at Nick Rinard Physical Therapy.

Assessment

The mechanical assessment was positive for only two findings:  limited and painful hip motion into flexion (folding the knee to chest), and weak and painful testing of hamstring resistance.  The protocol for ruling out a joint derangement is to repeat motions to determine if the baselines change.  The question is which motion to repeat.  One can move either into the most painful direction, go the opposite direction, or check rotations.  I chose to go into the most painful direction, in this case, flexion.  But before testing I wanted to establish how far Jim could walk in the clinic before his pain started.  By the time he walked one length of the hallway and back, he reported pain.  I then instructed Jim to bend his knee to chest (compressing the groin) repeatedly and after 20 to 30 times.  It produced his familiar pain initially, then the pain abolished and his motion increased.  I tested walking after that and Jim said there was no pain even after walking 3 lengths up and back through the hallway!  I gave Jim his exercises and scheduled him for 2 days later.

Progress

When Jim returned he reported that he could walk longer distances without the pain starting, however, he still got to the point where he had to modify his foot position in order to continue.  I knew we were on the right track, and the next step in treating a joint derangement is to progress forces.  I did this manually by applying over-pressure, and instructed Jim to do it in standing by folding his chest down to his knee with it supported on a bench or chair.  By the next visit, Jim reported that this had worked very well and he had not experienced any pain at all!  So, the derangement was reduced and I needed to wean him off the home exercises to see if it would return or not.  I gave him the weaning program and asked to see him back in 2 weeks.

Pain Free

After 2 weeks, Jim came back reporting that he had been able to walk unlimited distances!  He resumed walking his dog, going on walks for exercise, and walking wherever, and whenever he wanted.  He reported his longest walk lasted 4.5 hours.  He said there was no return of the original hip pain from which he had suffered for months.  However, on his last two walks, he had started noticing a new hip pain, this time in the front, not on the sides.  I re-checked his baselines and neither flexion motion nor resisted hamstrings were painful.  That meant it could not be a re-derangement.  Resisted hip flexion was painful, and that was new.  I concluded that his sudden ability to walk pain-free resulted in his over-doing it.  Jim had increased walking too fast and gotten a minor tendonitis.  That was easy to treat, and by his next visit, Jim was pain-free again and able to progress walking, though this time more gradually, which was safer.

Successful Treatment

Jim’s hip treatment was obviously a success.  It took only 4 visits.  This hip derangement was unique because the direction that reduced it (flexion); I have only seen one other hip derangement require flexion to reduce it.  The fact that Jim resumed normal activity too fast is typical of reduced derangements – the patient feels so good that they over do it.  Luckily in Jim’s case, we found the new problem and fixed it just as fast as we found and fixed his chronic hip pain.