Diagnosing the Cause of Rhomboid Muscle Pain: What Genetic Tests Are Available?

Rhabdomyolysis is a condition that can be caused by an injury or any other condition that damages skeletal muscle. The rhomboids are a collective group of muscles formed by the rhomboid major and minor, which are important for the movement of the upper limbs and the stability of both the shoulder girdle and the scapula. Both rhomboids receive innervation from the dorsal scapular nerve and their vascular supply from the dorsal scapular artery. Variants have been found in the rhomboid musculature, but they are very rare.

Although rhomboid muscle surgeries are rare, winged scapula and rhomboid paralysis are clinical conditions associated with rhomboids.When diagnosing the cause of rhomboid muscle pain, an electromyogram (EMG) is often used. During an EMG, a needle electrode is inserted through the skin and into the affected muscle. This record shows how well a muscle responds to nerves and can determine if muscle weakness is caused by the muscle itself or by the nerves that control that muscle. Needle electromyography may be useful in detecting affected nerves in Hereditary Neuralgic Amyotrophy (HNA).

However, since the 50 muscles of the arm are not routinely examined, the test can also give a falsely negative result when examining muscles that are not clinically affected.Pain in the rhomboid muscle or upper back and shoulders can be caused by many things, such as injury, strain, or overuse. In most cases, the pain may persist for a few hours or a few weeks and is followed by muscle atrophy and weakness (amyotrophy) in the affected areas. These symptoms may indicate that you have a more serious problem, such as a broken bone or a severe muscle tear.The rhomboids are important for movement of the upper limb and stabilization of the shoulder by articulating with the trunk. It runs deep through the trapezius and is inserted into the insertions of the rhomboid major and minor muscles at the level of the vertebral column of the scapula.

The dorsal scapular nerve originates in the ventral branch of spinal nerve root C5 and runs through the lower back through the middle scalene muscles and between posterior scalene muscles. In most patients, muscle strengthening exercises cannot be used during acute phase of disorder because they worsen pain and because strength training is generally ineffective on muscles below that figure and cannot reach 75% of their maximum contraction force (that is, serrata anterior, trapezius, and rhomboid major and minor work with rhomboids to anchor scapula and prevent wings from moving).The origin of rhomboid muscles comes from spinous apophyses of T2-T5 vertebrae and is inserted into medial edge of scapula, just below rhomboid minor. This muscle is responsible for keeping shoulder blade close to chest when someone is in upright position or tries to lift their arm. Hereditary Neuralgic Amyotrophy (HNA) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of severe shoulder and arm pain.

You'll usually feel pain in the rhomboid muscle, such as aches or tension in upper back, between shoulder and spine.Rhomboid muscle flaps can be used in treatment of head and neck cancers, esophageal reconstruction, mandibular defects, and Sprengel disease (Sprengel deformity), which is congenital elevation of scapula. Although not specifically surgical, ultrasound-guided injections in rhomboids have also been shown to be more effective than superficial trapezoid injections for pain, disability, and quality of life in patients with myofascial pain syndrome.