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One beautiful, sunny day in late fall when the leaves were changing colors and there was a little chill in the air, my sister and I were in her jeep with our mom scouring the area for sales. Tonya, my sister, treated us to Hardees biscuits to eat while on our search. We were all excited about different items we purchased from the various sales. The day was feeling like another normal day to look for yard sales with my family. As I stared out the window, thoughts of the peaceful day flooded my…

Scoliosis is a spinal deformity which affects more than four million people in the United States alone. Scoliosis causes the spine to rotate and curve. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is a type of scoliosis with no known cause found in people over the age of ten. When patients reach skeletal maturity, they have instead idiopathic scoliosis as they are no longer adolescent. As adolescent idiopathic scoliosis has no known cause, it is the most scientifically important type. Without knowing a cause…

Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) was first identified by Sir Ashley Cooper in 1921 and was further evaluated by Rob and Standeven in 1958 (McKenzie). Thoracic outlet syndrome is a nonspecific diagnosis that refers to an array of conditions caused by compression of the neurovascular structures that pass through the thoracic outlet (Nichols). These conditions can be named based on their location of compression or the cause of symptoms (McKenzie). Factors that predispose patients to the development…

Scoliosis is an abnormal lateral curvature of the spine. While people without the condition have normal curves in their back, it should appear straight when looking from the front. However, people with the condition develop additional curves to either side of the body, and the bones of the spine twist on each other, forming a “C” or an “S” shape in the spine. The larger the curve is generally increases the risk for it to worsen overtime. S-shaped curves commonly tend to get worse overtime then…

Unit 3. Thoracic Spine Bulletin Board In the past, studies have shown that patients with musculoskeletal shoulder pain tend to lack thoracic mobility when compared to patients without shoulder dysfunction. When I treat a shoulder pain patient, I always evaluate and treated cervical, cervico-thoracic junction, and thoracic segments. The relationship between thoracic spine posture, shoulder ROM, and scap¬ular kinematics is well described in the literature. Lewis et al. (1) found that altering…

Imagine being a 12 year old child, having a life changing surgery. When I was 4 years old my pediatrician diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis. Scoliosis is when there is an abnormal curvature of the spine. Idiopathic just means there was an unknown cause. My doctor told me that when I was a child is probably when my spine started changing. When I was an infant I never crawled, I just went straight into walking. They believe that’s what caused it, because crawling puts your natural curve in…

This is a 59-year-old female with a 7/29/2009 date of injury, due to a slip and fall. DIAGNOSIS: Cervicalgia; C4-7 anterior cervical decompression and fusion 2014; Lumbar/cervical disc degeneration. 12/15/15 Progress Report described that the patient has significant neck pain radiating to he right upper extremity with weakness and increased elbow pain. She still continues to have severe back pain. She still has lower back pain and occasional lower extremity pain. She gets some pain relief…

PT 826 Reading Assignment The information given in the article by Lau, Chiu, & Lam (2010) about using thoracic manipulation for the treatment of neck pain was very new to me. There were several instances in the past where I treated patients with neck pain by giving mobilizations techniques and modalities in and around cervical area. This article was a convincing one which helped me to understand the concept of biomechanical and etiological…

Latissimus Dorsi T7 - L5 vertebrae spinous process, the iliac crest of sacrum, the thoracolumbar fascia, the inferior angle of scapula, and lower 3-4 ribs. Intertubercular groove floor. Extends and medially rotates arm. Triceps Brachii Long head: infraglenoid tubercle of scapula; Lateral head: posterolateral humerus and lateral intermuscular septum; Medial head: posteromedial surface of the inferior half of humerus. Ulna olecranon process. Extension of the forearm and long head. Deltoids…

This is a 58-year-old male with a 3/26/2003 date of injury. A specific mechanism of injury has not been described. DIAGNOSIS: Shoulder Pain 11/10/15 Progress Report described that the last urine toxicology was in July. A new UDS was done and the results are pending. The patient has right shoulder, right wrist, right thigh and lumbar spine pain. He is going to see an IME doctor on 11/13/15. Constant use of Opioids since < 6 months. The average pain level is 6/10 with 5/10-scale level at…