08/24/2026
Sometimes the source of the pain isn't where you'd expect.
A patient came to us after months of care and imaging for pain radiating down his left arm but his cervical spine showed very little to explain it. On evaluation, we found tightness and inflammation in the anterior and middle scalene muscles of the neck.
Here's why that matters!
The brachial plexus, the bundle of nerves that powers the arm, passes directly between these two muscles. When they get tight and inflamed, they can irritate those nerves and send pain down the arm, mimicking a disc problem.
Using Active Release Techniques (ART) to address the scalenes directly, this patient found relief in just two treatments after months of searching for answers.
The takeaway: a thorough hands-on exam can reveal what imaging alone sometimes misses.