Cianci Chiropractic Center Success Stories

Brenda Bedea had what is graphically termed “frozen shoulder.”

Any movement of her right arm caused intense pain “I could not do anything,” she said. “I couldn’t cook. I couldn’t shop. I couldn’t even get dressed without awful pain. I had to sleep on my back,” she said. “I hate sleeping on my back.”

It all started on Thanksgiving weekend in 2015, Brenda, who is petite, 75, and otherwise sprightly, was digging a hole in the yard of her Easton home, preparing to plant a tree, when her foot slipped off the shovel and she pitched forward, landing on her right arm.

She said she knew immediately she had broken her wrist. She could tell from the way it looked. She had broken her left wrist before. She was not aware at that time of any shoulder injury. Then followed surgery in which a steel plate was implanted in the wrist, to “foster recovery,” the surgeon told her.

Some six weeks later, she recalls, “I became aware of something in my shoulder. It felt funny. It hurt.” Over those weeks of recovery, Brenda had moved the arm as little as possible.

An MRI confirmed that the muscles in the arm had atrophied, “freezing” the shoulder After nearly five months of intense physical therapy, she decided a different approach was needed.

In 2008, Brenda had been a patient of Easton chiropractor Dr. Christopher Cianci. He had treated her for a spinal disc problem in her neck. In March of this year, she decided it was time to give chiropractic care a shot at that shoulder.

“I can still picture the look on Brenda’s face,” Dr. Cianci recalled. “She was obviously distraught and in tremendous pain. She thought her once-very-active life was over. Even simple tasks were painful. Her independence was seriously compromised.”

After examining Brenda and reviewing her case, Dr. Cianci said “I just knew she was a great candidate for conservative care on her shoulder.”

The Easton chiropractor used Laser therapy to decrease inflammation and also began using a technique called “Active Release” to help Brenda’s shoulder begin to recover and regain motion.

In Brenda’s case, Dr. Cianci continued, she had to limit the motion in her right arm and shoulder because of the wrist fracture and the resulting surgery. “It is common with patients with a shoulder injury to avoid certain motions,” he said. “Maybe you change how you put on your coat or avoid any tasks, even simple ones, which would require you to
reach above your head.”

The avoidance of motion eventually becomes a pattern and it becomes worse and worse, Dr. Cianci explained.

“Often patients are awakened in the night because, in their sleep, they have unknowingly gotten into a position that aggravated the shoulder. The critical element in our approach to shoulders is that it is an active approach,” Dr. Cianci said. “Many of our patients in the past have been told to ‘just rest.’ That makes sense immediately following surgery but certainly not later on. That’s when an active approach is called for. It obviously was in Brenda’s case.”

Brenda, who retired 3 1/2 years ago after a career in administrative positions which included, for example, 16 years with IBM, threw both of her arms straight up overhead and waved with her right hand and arm, demonstrating her progress.

“Oh yes,” she said, “it still pains a bit.” Then, as if revealing the ultimate measure of improvement, she added, “I can now sleep at least a portion of the night on my side.”

She describes her care by Dr. Cianci as “inspiring.” When she challenged him with her shoulder, he simply said, “we can fix that,” she recalled.

“He has been so supportive and the inspiration for my progress, I am, so grateful.”

Cianci Chiropractic, located at 8737 Brooks Drive in the Easton Industrial Park can help keep you on a healthy path.
Contact Cianci Chiropractic at 410-820-4070. You can also find Cianci Chiropractic online at www.drcianci.com.