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.
Jake Paul Fratkin, OMD, LAc
Jake Fratkin, OMD, LAc, has been in the practice of Oriental medicine since 1978. Following undergraduate and graduate training at the University of Wisconsin in Chinese language and philosophy and pre-medicine, he pursued a seven-year apprenticeship in Japanese and Korean style acupuncture with Dr. Ineon Moon and a two-year apprenticeship in Chinese herbal medicine with Drs. Zhengan Guo and Pak-Leung Lau in Chicago. He also spent a year in Beijing hospitals interning in advanced herbal medicine, specializing in gastrointestinal and respiratory disorders, and pediatrics.
Dr. Fratkin is the author of several books, including Chinese Herbal Patent Medicines: The Clinical Desk Reference, and is the editor-organizer of Wu and Fischer's Practical Therapeutics of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In 1999, he was named the "Acupuncturist of the Year" by the American Association of Oriental Medicine.