Before and After: A/C Separation

Anterior view of shoulder joint with muscles. SOURCE: Based on AMuscsk_20131017_v0_001.

This 40 year old gentleman separated his acromioclavicular joint 2 years ago, in the April of 2016. Since then, he’s had shoulder pain and a lot of crunching noise with movement.

I treated him with acupuncture and medical massage. The goal was to break up fascial adhesions (scar tissue) and his muscles working properly again.

These pictures were taken on 4/3/18 and 4/25/18. He received 4 sessions of care.

First, look at the outside curves of the shoulders. He is much more symmetrical in the after pic. His deltoid (“shoulder cap” muscle”) has filled out now that he’s using it. Secondly, the shoulder girdle is no longer being held

forward. See the difference in the shadow at Arrow 2? And the A/C joint isn’t sticking out as sharply.

Here in the side view, you can see how the shoulder has rotated back to its normal position. In the Before pic you can’t see his chest at all at the top. His scapula (shoulder blade) is also sticking out in the Before shot.

Most importantly, the patient reports less pain, less crunching, better range of motion, and generally better performance. :)