Physical therapy for post coronary artery bypass grafting complications -A Case Report

Background:This case report describes about the female patient who came with cough, breathlessness and neck pain after one month following coronary artery bypass grafting to the cardiology department. Chest radiograph was taken and diagnosed it as pleural effusion with atelectasis of left lower lobe. Later therapeutic thoracentesis was done to aspirate the fluid and referred the case to physiotherapy. Thorough physical examination showed reduced neck mobility due to trigger points and spasm of the neck muscles which are causing pain, and also breathlessness on walking, on percussion dull note on left lower lobe, on auscultation crackles are heard with diminished breath sounds over the left lower lobe, altered chest symmetry reduced chest expansion of the lower chest. To reduce neck pain and improve neck mobility she was treated with cryostretches,trigger point release technique, myofascial release and muscle energy techniques. She was treated with positioning, chest percussion, vibration and shaking, deep breathing exercises, thoracic expansion exercises, segmental breathing to lower lobes, incentive spirometry every one hour ten times, trunk and thoracic mobilityexercises were done twice in a day to reduce breathlessness. After 15 days again x-ray was taken where lung was re-expanded and also there are free movements of the neck without pain.