A common chronic condition treated at the Back & Neck Centre is Levator Scapulae Syndrome (LSS). This condition can be due to a number of issues, sometimes out of our control, that arise from injury, postural changes, work habits and lifestyle issues. LSS is where the patient has been using the levator scapula and rhomboid muscles to control the way the shoulder blade is positioned on the rib cage, instead of using the correct muscles, being the lower trapezius and serratus anterior.

This persistent load being transferred through the levator scapula to the cervical spine, causes chronic neck pain whilst the inability of the rhomboid to keep the shoulder blade flat on the rib cage causes it to ‘wing’ off the rib cage. This may inturn lead to rotator cuff impingement under the acromial arch.

The treatment program is a motor control program that is designed to retrain the patient to use the correct musculature at the correct time. The program is relatively easy to learn and is usually performed for three months to correct the condition and to ensure the correct muscles are automatically engaged.

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