Rhomboid muscle pain - 10 years with little relief

[Unemployed]

I have had chronic rhomboid muscle pain on the right side for 10 years, and have seen numerous MD's(MRI with no significant problem found), Chiropractors (Adjustments & pressure point message), Physical Therapists (waste of money) and a Neurologist that is currently performing acupuncture.  I self medicate with Ibuprofen, and sleep on an ice pack every night.  In addition, I lay on a baseball and roll over the rhomboid muscle while stretching to break up the spasms for some relief, the ball hits an area that feels like a rope that is in a horizontal position across the rhomboid. Pain radiates from the rhomboid up the right side of my neck, and down my right arm which includes the right shoulder.  Headaches are almost constant.
I will try anything at this point to resolve this issue; any help with this issue would be very much appreciated.

[Stuartthehairdresser21]

Very close to your heart. I have thought about botox. That is the only thing I am concerned with. It sounds perfect. Just FREEZE THAT MUSCLE! INCREDIBLE CONSTANT PAIN!  I purchased a TENS 3000. It works fairly well most of the time. I sometimes have first degree burns on my back and neck. The burns do not hurt as bad as the muscle tension. Flexeril or Tizanidine helps in 2 mg doses. Any more of a dose and it makes me sleepy. Best of luck!, Stuartthehairdresser21

[discustedwithdrs722]

A related discussion, Wow. I'm NOT alone... was started.

[63kt]

C6 & c7 issues with pinched nerve. Lots of deep tissue work, chiropractic, and physical therapy. 6 weeks I'm better. Will need constant maintenance with stretching, water exercise, core strengthening for proper posture-yoga also seems to help. No more hunching over a computer for hours on end-EVER

[kmc1444]

S3 posture brace!!!!! They are $350 but you can get a doctor to write a prescription for it :)

[kmc1444]

Hi everyone! I have bee dealing with chronic Rhomboid Pain for 2 years now and I think I have FINALLY FOUND THE SOLUTIONS...which you need to try if everything else has FAILED, meaning these did NOT work ( rest, ice, PT, muscle relaxers, anti inflammatory medication, Cortisone injections, massage, chiropractor, acupuncture, etc)

Here are the BEST/MOST EFFECTIVE Rhomboid therapies:

1) Buy a Saddle chair -  Especially if you sit all day at work on in school. You can find them on Amazon.com. It will help with your posture by bringing your shoulders & your neck back to take pressure off your rhomboid.

2) Sleep on your BACK-  with a piece of FOAM cut out to fit underneath  your UPPER BACK to support your Rhomboid. Then elevate your legs by putting pillows or a bolster under your knees. This position will allow your rhomboid to heal at night & will be the most comfortable position to rest in.

3) Find a Sports medicine Doctor- These are the ONLY types of doctors that MIGHT have seen a Rhomboid tear in their entire career, its very rare for even sports medicine doctors to have seen or treated it, So make sure you call around and see if you can find one who has treated a Rhomboid injury before, or just specializes in soft tissue & muscle injuries)

3) S3 POSTURAL BRACE-  Ask the sports medicine doctor to prescribe you a "S3 POSTURAL BRACE" this is brace that is made to help stabilize your Scapula so your Rhomboid can stabilize and heal. The reason Rhomboid injuries take forever to heal is because they are almost impossible to immobilize, but this brace is a total break through and will help tremendously.Google it to read more about it. You can just order them online as well, but they are around $400.

4) Neural Prolotherapy-  Find a sports medicine doctor who performs "neural Prolotherapy" and or "Prolotherapy". These are new injections that will eliminate pain & induce the injury to actually heal. google Neural Prolotherapy & traditional prolotherapy and read up about what the injections do exactly. They are NOT cortisone injections, which if you do have a real Rhomboid injury, cortisone injections wont work because there is barely any inflammation when it is injured because the Rhomboid muscle lacks blood supply.

5) Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injections- If the Neural prolo injections did not work then the sports medicine doctor can do PRP injections. Google PRP and read up about it as well. PRP, along with Prolotherapy, is a break through therapy that professional athletes use all the time  and the results are amazing.

* Enjoy feeling better :)

[castle_volleyballer]

Hello everyone!

I have had a similar issue for over two years now and I just found a SOLUTION.  I have not seen anyone mention cortisone shots but I just got three in my upper right rhomboid and felt immediate relief.  I have heard that this might be short lived if I do not continue to think about my upper right rhomboid region every day.... I plan to think about it though and fix it!  It might sound weird... 'thinking about it every day' but I believe it will be the only way to permanently solve the problem... at my desk where I sit from 8-5... when I am sitting at a nice dinner and want good posture (hopefully without it aching constantly)... when I am playing volleyball.  Hopefully I'll be able to run again soon.

My doctor could tell immediately that my right shoulder leans more forward compared to my left.  He was so awesome.... finally someone who listened to me and didn't try and sell my on pain meds or months of PT... he went straight to the problem and offered immediate relief.

After traveling to Europe for work, and carrying god knows how many bags, I laid down and felt a weird ache on my right side.  It has progressed and for over two years... now here I am.  It has been a constant ache, worsens with stress, and moves up to my skull causing headaches.  My 2013 resolution was to stop complaining about it and DO SOMETHING.  I had seen two doctors previous to this guy who did not listen... I finally found the right doctor!!!

I can keep you all posted on my status with the cortisone.  I had three shots injected last night and my muscles around the area are still sore, but I also feel great relief.  You must wait three days before you do any strenuous physical activity.  I think the cortisone shots coupled with physical therapy and possibly the use of a posture shirt AND ICE will be the key to keep the pain away.  

Cortisone shots in this region do not hurt all that bad... the doctor and nurse who was there (due to me being a little nervous about it) could see my muscles spasm-ing right away.  In two lower spots my muscle was so tight, the needle was slightly vibrating because the muscle did not want to let the needle in.  IF YOU HAVE NOT TRIED CORTISONE, DO IT!

I have been reading this for about a year now, waiting for solutions.  I hope I have provided a hopefully long(er) term solution for some of you out there.

Cheers to no more pain.