Sherlock Holmes and a case of irregular shoulder pain - a case study with Nick Kendrick

Shoulder pain can result from irritation or overload of local structures, along with referral from the cervical and thoracic spine. Occasionally though, you will have shoulder pain patients with a different source and pattern of symptoms, and you have to hunt for another diagnosis. This case study will put you in the detective hotseat, like Sherlock Holmes, uncovering the mystery of a lesser known cause of shoulder pain. Will you solve the mystery and uncover the diagnosis?

Nick Kendrick, an APA Titled Musculoskeletal and Sports Physiotherapist, will help you explore subjective questioning with likely diagnoses, objective assessment and clinical reasoning, through to imaging and treatment pathways for a patient with an “irregular case of shoulder pain”.

Part 1

• Case study introduction
• Start reasoning Sherlock
• What questions will you ask the victim? Time for the Subjective history
• Suspicions - Likely and unlikely diagnosis after the subjective history
• Missing pieces of the puzzle
• Putting the objective assessment under the magnifying glass

Part 2

• Other suspects & potential diagnoses
• Evidence & mugshots - what do the investigations and imaging reveal?
• Vital clues to the mystery
• The culprit is revealed
• Features of the culprit
• Common victims - who suffers with this condition
• Identifying the anatomical area
• The evidence is brought to bear - what does the evidence base tell us about this condition
• References