About Michael Boss Expertise I can help with questions such as: What is chiropractic, How can chiropractic help, Types of conditions that chiropractic can help, When chiropractic cannot help, What is acupuncture, How can acupuncture help, What therapies would be best for a condition.
Experience I have been a licensed practicing chiropractor for 14 years, acupuncturist for 5 1/2 years and practicing nutrition for 14 years.
Question Hi.
When I lay on my side, bend down to pick things up (with my knees), hiccup, laugh hard, or take a deep breath, my back hurts. Sometimes when I swallow, too.
It's my upper back, but it wraps around to my chest. A sharp piercing pain.
My doctor prescribed Vicodin for the pain, but I'd really rather not take it if I don't have to. Friends suggested a chiropractor, but I just want to know if that would help.
Thanks,
Amity
Answer Dear Amity,
Thank you for your question and I hope that my answer provides some help to your problem.
Your friends are exactly correct. What you are experiencing is pain from irritation of a thoracic nerve, which wraps around from the back to the chest, and is being irritated by a fixated or subluxed ribhead. Now what the heck does that mean you ask? Well, what it means is that the ribhead has either become stuck, not moving through normal range of motion, or it has actually subluxed, moved partially out of place. This will happen in conjuction to forward flexion or rotation fixations of the thoracic spinal bones. Sometimes it happens due to work posture or lifting or athletics, etc..
The end result is soreness in the upper or middle back, with sharp pain at times, often on head rotation. The pain will usually be knifelike and then wrap around from the spot to the chest, making some patients think they are having a heart attack. The last classic criteria is: pain on breathing. When you take a breath, you increase intrathoracic pressure and cause the ribs to rise. This causes more irritation of the ribhead attachment and the thoracic nerve itself. Thus, more pain.
When you bend, hiccup, laugh, sneeze, cough, swallow, or take a deep breath, you increase the intrathoracic pressure and cause rib expansion, thus causing pain.
The chiropractor should examine you to make sure this is what it is, and then perform chiropractic manipulation after some therapy if needed. The manipulation will restore the normal vertebrae-rib placement and eliminate the irritation of the joints and nerve and surrounding tissue. Then, no more pain or discomfort. Depending on how long the problem has been there will determine how long or how many treatments it will take.
Sometimes you are fortunate and minimal treatment is necessary, 3-6 visits. Sometimes if the problem has been present a long time, it will take longer.
There are some strengthening exercises to do once the pain is gone that will ensure the problem does not happen again.
One thing is for sure, the Vicodin will not fix the cause of this. Find a good chiropractor and go see him today. Get your health back.
I hope this helps and I know you will resolve this problem with a visit to the chiropractor.
