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Acute cervical radiculopathy after anterior scalene muscle massage: A case report
1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Rationale:
Deep tissue massage (DTM) is a form of therapeutic massage therapy for muscles and is often used to treat musculoskeletal pain. This was an uncommon case of acute cervical radiculopathy that occurred after DTM.
Patient Concerns:
A 47-year-old Asian woman with low weight visited our clinic due to complaints of sudden unilateral paralysis, radiating pain in the left shoulder, and wrist weakness after undergoing a 3-minute DTM of the anterior scalene muscle. Electrodiagnostic examination indicated acute injuries in the left cervical 5 and 6 (cervical 5 and cervical 6) nerve roots.
Diagnoses:
Acute cervical radiculopathy associated with anterior scalene DTM.
Intervention:
The patient underwent ultrasound-guided cervical 5 and cervical 6 selective nerve root block twice through the injection of 0.25% lidocaine and 20 mg dexamethasone and regularly participated in a biweekly rehabilitation program and a home exercise program.
Outcome:
After a 6-month follow-up, the patient's shoulder and wrist strength had recovered, and the electrodiagnostic findings had improved.
Lessons:
DTM of the anterior scalene muscle should be carefully performed to avoid cervical nerve root injury, particularly in underweight patients.
