Abstract
Background
Shoulder pain (SP) may originate from both musculoskeletal and visceral conditions. Physiotherapists (PT) may encounter patients with life-threatening pathologies that mimic musculoskeletal pain such as Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI). A trained PT should be able to distinguish between signs and symptoms of musculoskeletal or visceral origin aimed at performing proper medical referral.
Case presentation
A 46-y-old male with acute SP lasting from a week was diagnosed with right painful musculoskeletal shoulder syndrome, in two successive examinations by the emergency department physicians. However, after having experienced a shift of the pain on the left side, the patient presented to a PT. The PT recognized the signs and symptoms of visceral pain and referred him to the general practitioner, which identified a cardiac disease. The final diagnosis was acute myocardial infarction.
Conclusion
This case report highlights the importance of a thorough patient screening examination, especially for patients treated in an outpatient setting, which allow distinguishing between signs and symptoms of musculoskeletal from visceral diseases.
Surgical treatment of a ventricular aneurysm in a patient with essential thrombocythemia complicated by acute myocardial infarction: A case report
