Sports massage case study; headaches

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Case Study; Jamelia

After living in her new off-campus apartment for about a month, Jamelia started getting headaches that persisted throughout most of the day and were bothersome enough to distract her from her activities. She also noticed that her upper body motions were slightly limited due to pain and what she calls “restrictions.” Jamelia has been doing some self- treatments for her shoulder and upper thoracic region (e.g., heat packs, ice, rolling out) that seem to decrease the pain temporarily and increase her shoulder motions.

But after a while Jamelia went to see her athletic trainer in the clinic. The trainer did not find any discoloration or gross deformity but did note that Jamelia was experiencing neurological symptoms, such as headaches and shooting superficial pains that radiated from the base of her skull (occipital) through the posterior and sides of her head. Jamelia also presented with decreased range of motion in her right (dominant) shoulder when compared bilaterally. When palpated, the soft tissue in the paraspinal and upper trapezius muscles was “tight” and elicited some feelings of discomfort, with the right side having more restrictions that were also felt down into the right shoulder. The use of manual cervical traction provided relief of symptoms.

Based on this scenario, what differential diagnosis would you consider for Jamelia?
What are several anatomical soft tissues in the area of pain that could be contributing to Jamelia's problem?
Why would Jamelia experience headaches?

Use the Trail Guide to the Body (pages below) to help formulate your ideas on this question.