Chiropractic management of chronic idiopathic meralgia paresthetica: a case study

This report describes the case of a patient with chronic idiopathic meralgia paresthetica associated with bilateral sacroiliac joint dysfunction who was managed with chiropractic care.

A 35-year-old white woman presented to a private chiropractic clinic with a complaint of numbness in the right anterolateral thigh region. Neurological assessment revealed a diminution of sensibility and discrimination on the right lateral femoral cutaneous nerve territory. Pain was rated as 8.5 on a numeric pain scale of 0 to 10. Musculoskeletal examination of the pelvic region disclosed bilateral sacroiliac joint dysfunction.

Chiropractic management included pelvic mobilizations, myofascial therapy, transverse friction massage, and stretching exercises. After 3 visits (2 weeks later), result of neurological evaluation was normal, with no residual numbness over the lateral thigh.

In the present case, chiropractic management with standard and applied kinesiology techniques resulted in recovery of meralgia paresthetica symptoms for this patient.