Sapho syndrome and a painful arm

by faraz
(Melbourne )

Hi I'm writing on behalf of my wife ....she is in lot of pain. ...it started with a bit of pain in the left shoulder n arm.....we been through all type of doctors no body is very helpful . She is only 27.....it breaks my heart when i see her in pain n lot of pain. ...the best sleep she had in last few weeks is only for 3 hours. ....we went to orthopedic. ...looks like he was not ingested. ...her main issue way we got from doc is the her first rib is misplaced n pinching the nerve which is giving her lot of pain. ....she have auto immune problem n also she have safo apparently. ... don't know ways going on we just need right direction.

Thanks
Kind regards
Faraz

Hello Faraz,
I'd never heard of Sapho to be quite honest until now, and reading up on it, it could certainly be causing your wife's problems. Does she have blisters on the palms of her hands, or soles of her feet?

The question is whether this is a so called 'incidental finding'. True, she has the condition, but it's not causing her pain.

Does she have any neck pain, and does turning her head cause pain in the arm or shoulder?

The first rib condition is called a Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and is characterised by tingling in the hand, most usually in the ring finger and pinkie, and a reduced pulse in her wrist when she turns her head to the side of pain, looks up and takes in a deep breath. Has that test been done? It's known as Adson's test. Also the tingling usually increases when raising the arm above the head, whereas a pinched nerve root gives relief when raising the arm.

If Sapho syndrome is the cause of her pain, then I'm afraid chiropractic is unlikely to help. It never does any harm to go to an experienced chiropractor and ask for an opinion.

I hope this contributes.

Dr B

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