S: Shoulder Pain
Patient came into the clinic presenting with right shoulder pain. The pain was at a moderate to severe pain level at a 7/10 on the pain scale. She had limited range of motion and the pain was constant throughout the day and worse with movement.
Upon observation and palpation, the patient had about 30% less range of motion in her shoulder than she should. There was no obvious swelling or inflammation, but the muscles around her shoulder were very tight.
The goal of her acupuncture treatment was to calm the affected Large Intestine channel.
The patient came in twice per week for three weeks. After the sixth treatment, her pain level was down from a 7/10 to a 3/10. She considered a 3/10 tolerable for her. We had her come in two more times the following week and by the eighth treatment, her pain level was down to a 2/10. She was also almost back to full range of motion in her shoulder.
We encouraged her to continue with acupuncture once per week or every other week until the pain completely went away. We also encouraged her to get regular massage as she tends to have even better results when she combines acupuncture with massage.