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. 2023 Aug;67(2):175-185.

Chiropractic management of bilateral meralgia paresthetica: a case report

Christopher B Roecker  1   2 , Sachien R Hewawasam  3 , Matthew R Skalski  4
Affiliations

Chiropractic management of bilateral meralgia paresthetica: a case report

Christopher B Roecker et al. J Can Chiropr Assoc. 2023 Aug.

Abstract
in English, French

Objective: The purpose of this report is to describe the course of chiropractic care for an adult male experiencing persistent anterolateral thigh pain due to bilateral meralgia paresthetica.

Clinical features: A 40-year-old male U.S. Veteran was referred to chiropractic care for a two-year history of bilateral anterolateral thigh pain and paresthesia that worsened with inguinal pressure and hip extension activities.

Intervention and outcomes: A total of six chiropractic visits, including a combination of telehealth and in-person appointments, took place over a period of 10 weeks. Treatments included patient education, soft-tissue therapy, therapeutic exercise prescription, and spinal manipulation directed toward the lumbar spine. The patient's pain was reduced from a 6/10 rating to a 0/10, he was able to reengage in recreational activities without discomfort, and sustained improvement was reported.

Summary: In this case, a trial of chiropractic care was associated with a resolution of the patient's bilateral meralgia paresthetica symptoms.

Objectif: Le but de ce rapport est de décrire l’évolution des soins chiropratiques pour un homme adulte souffrant d’une douleur persistante à la cuisse antérolatérale due à une méralgie paresthésique bilatérale.

Caractéristiques cliniques: Un vétéran américain de 40 ans a été recommandé à la chiropratique pour une histoire de deux ans de douleur et de paresthésie antérolatérale bilatérale à la cuisse qui s’aggravait avec la pression inguinale et les activités d’extension de la hanche.

Intervention et résultats: Un total de six visites chiropratiques, comprenant une combinaison de rendez-vous par télémédecine et en personne, ont eu lieu sur une période de 10 semaines. Les traitements comprenaient l’éducation du patient, la thérapie des tissus mous, la prescription d’exercices thérapeutiques et la manipulation de la colonne vertébrale lombaire. La douleur du patient est passée de 6/10 à 0/10, il a pu reprendre ses activités récréatives sans gêne et une amélioration durable a été constatée.

Résumé: Dans ce cas, un essai de soins chiropratiques a été associé à une résolution des symptômes de la méralgie paresthésique bilatérale du patient.

Keywords: case report; chiropractic; manipulation; manual therapies; meralgia paresthetica; telerehabilitation; therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no competing interests, financial sources of support, or grant funding to report related to the preparation of this manuscript. Each of the authors provided substantial input into this report to justify authorship. CBR provided the clinical care, recorded outcomes, and developed the study design. CBR, SRH, and MRS contributed to the literature review, drafting and editing of the manuscript, and final review of the submission. MRS contributed the medical illustrations.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Course of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve
Figure 2
Figure 2
Sensory distribution of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve
Figure 3
Figure 3
Recommended home exercises
Figure 3
Figure 3
Recommended home exercises
Figure 3
Figure 3
Recommended home exercises
Figure 4
Figure 4
Lumbosacral spinal manipulative therapy technique (this image is for demonstration purposes and does not include the patient involved in this report).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Pin and stretch technique used in this case (these images are for demonstration purposes and do not include the patient involved in this report).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Soft-tissue roller applied to the vastus lateralis iliotibial tract region (this image is for demonstration purposes and does not include the patient involved in this report).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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