An old EDS injury leads to a miracle pop and free shoulder movement

Last week, my discomfort and frustration with my recent rib and diaphragm injury reached a tipping point.

More than anything, I was frustrated by my reactive diaphragm, which made me often feel nauseous. Physical pain I can deal with — those of us with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) are used to it — but the nausea and the feeling that I’d done the toughest abdominal workout of my life for days and weeks in a row took its toll.

Massage helps. I’ve been with the same bodyworker for about 10 years now, and she’s phenomenal. Not only does Kim know a number of different modalities, but she can change what she’s doing, depending on what she feels in any given area. And because she’s worked on me for so long, she knows my patterns and what muscles are typically easily triggered.

I usually go every other week for maintenance, but since my injury, I’ve been going every week, sometimes twice a week, to try to keep things in check.

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Pop goes the clavicle

My frustration had boiled over on my drive there that Friday and, when I arrived, Kim could see it in my face. As she started to work on me, she said it felt like I was in a full-body pain flare on top of my other injuries. That sounded about right.

She started to follow a muscle that runs under the clavicle, or collarbone. I had a bad break of my right collarbone when I was a teenager and it didn’t heal properly. It’s caused problems ever since, as it’s healed too short and, as a result, pulls my right shoulder forward. As she got closer to that spot, I felt a pop in my shoulder and a release of pressure. And suddenly, my right shoulder could move freely.

It was so incredibly bizarre. For a short while afterward, I had a full range of motion in my right arm, something I haven’t had since my shoulder injury as a teenager. Kim said what she felt in the muscle under my clavicle wouldn’t have happened since my recent fall, but was instead likely a remnant of my old original injury, one we’d never discovered before, and that the fall may have jarred something loose or torn some scar tissue that allowed her to release it for the first time.

That’s happened before. Years ago, a bad fall tore a lot of the scar tissue in my shoulder. It hurt horribly, but the tear turned out to be good because the scar tissue was causing a lot of problems and restrictions. Tearing it allowed me to make some progress. It seems like the same thing happened this time.

With it released, I’m feeling a bit better overall. I’m still only a little over halfway through healing, but I’m hoping that maybe we’ve turned a corner. And maybe we’ve even made more progress on an old injury, too. I’ll take whatever I can get right now!

Note: Ehlers-Danlos News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Ehlers-Danlos News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to Ehlers-Danlos.