Question
Hi there I'll start by saying I'm a healthy mother of 2 and got my first spa massage about 2 months ago.  I'm pretty active and was working out frequently at the time.  I started noticing a pain in my arm about 1 week after the massage, but it didn't register that she may have irritated something.  The therapist was good however she did a technique where I was lying on my back and she lifted my left arm and in between my elbow and shoulder she applied pressure with her elbow like she was laying into me slowly  waiting to hear a "snap".. well she and I both heard it plus I felt it, it didn't hurt at the moment, but I definitely felt something in there.  Well no it really bothers me I can't do shoulder presses I can't lift my 2 year without feeling discomfort.  Some days I feel tingles and it was hard to tell where the pain was initially,  but I'm pretty sure it's in my shoulder area down into a bit of the deltoid area I guess.  Please help... can a Chiropractor fix this problem?  I don't want to wait too long or the problem may get worse.  I was at the gym again tonight and tried lifting 10 lb. dumbbells and I couldn't do it w/o pain :(
Thanks,
Jane

Answer
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Hello J.,

I抦 sorry to hear about your experience.  I would say that in a healthy person with no medical conditions or contraindications to manipulation, it initially seems to be unrelated if there was no pain felt after hearing the 搒nap.? However, I抦 unfamiliar with your health history and did not see what the therapist did, so the previous statement would be an unfair assumption.  For one, it is not advised for a massage therapist to be 損opping?joints unless he/she is a chiropractor, naturopath, osteopath, or trained to do so as a physical therapist or medical doctor.  On occasion, when a patient goes to a chiropractor or someone to have their joints adjusted or manipulated, the patient gets sore for a day or two, but by that point, the soreness should begin to resolve and should eventually feel much better than when treatment was initially sought.  It usually is not a concern if there was no pain associated with the manipulation immediately following the 搒napping/popping?sound.  In other words, I would think that no harm was done if you felt no pain when the therapist did the maneuver.  I speculate something else unrelated to the manipulation might be causing your current symptoms.  

It might be possible that your pain is not from the manipulation, but the massage itself.  If a massage is a bit too aggressive, the pain can take a day or two to manifest and linger a bit longer than a joint manipulation, especially when the manipulation was painless.  Perhaps the massage was too intense for a certain muscle.  If this is the case, it should heal up within a week or two, but you also need to be careful and let it rest when it feels vulnerable.  If you feel pain lifting at the gym or lifting your child, it抯 possible you are re-injuring yourself, inhibiting the healing and increasing the susceptibility of it becoming a chronic problem.

Please realize that the above comments and scenarios are only speculative, and an email alone is not adequate enough for me to determine if the above statements are actually true for your case.  There is no way I can know what occurred without evaluating you and taking a history myself.  In answer to your question, yes, a chiropractor should be able to better understand your situation and determine what exactly happened, and possibly determine if your symptoms are completely unrelated to your treatment.  You may want to go to a chiropractor with additional orthopedic training.  These chiropractors have the acronym 揇ABCO?or 揊ACO?following the 揇C?acronym.  In addition, seeing a chiropractor for treatment may help you get over your aches and pains a little quicker.

I hope this helps a bit, and best of luck!
Dr. JR Strecker, D.C.