After a thorough examination to rule out the cervical and thoracic spine, what you have left is sharp, localized qi stagnation of the soft tissues causing the “rhomboid pain.” If it’s not the C or T spine causing the problem, then what could be causing this tissue issue? It can be a bunch of different reasons such as dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, poor posture, muscle imbalances, trauma, deconditioning, overuse, etc.
Claudia Citkovitz, PhD, MS, LAc
Dr. Claudia Citkovitz began her acupuncture studies in a New York kung fu studio in the 1990s, and has been licensed in acupuncture and herbal medicine since 2002. Since 2004 she has led the Acupuncture Service at NYU Langone Hospital – Brooklyn, providing inpatient acupuncture instruction and conducting practice-based research in labor and delivery and acute stroke rehabilitation. In addition to private practice, she is an active educator online and at colleges in the U.S. and abroad, and recently published a book on acupressure and acupuncture during birth. She is an associate editor for the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine; a commissioner on the board of ACAOM, the accrediting body for U.S. acupuncture schools; and a Society for Acupuncture Research board member.