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Alla
08-11-2005, 01:44 PM
Hi there

Some of you might recognise me from the "knee" section of this board, but I now have a back question.

I recently had a severe chest infection where I suspect that I have coughed so hard at some stage that I've thrown my back. In the past I have had an issue with my back in that about 10 or so years ago I was admitted to hospital with severe stomach and chest pains. Apparently after having a pethadine shot that rendered me pretty much wasted for the next 2 days, they came up with nothing.... they did suspect appendicitis, a punctured lung and a heart condition, but all came up clear. I was released from hospital and they said that I was just stressed (wsa sitting microbiology exams at the time). Anyhow, a local Physio realised that it was in fact that I was dealing with referred pain from a shoulder injury. She treated it and the pain was gone almost straight away with some manipulation.

Over the years the pain has come and gone, although never as severe as it was then, and I found an oesteopath that really does the trick. However, he was saying that it is actually 3 vertibrea in my upper back where the muscle pulls tightly around that caused all the problem. Anyway, the last few months I've been feeling the familiar tightess that is easy to cope with, but in the last 2 weeks it has developed in to the excruciating pain again... although I didnt recognise it at first. I saw my oesteopath last friday, and he said that he hadnt seen a back as messed up for quite a while, he said that the each virtebrae was facing a different direction. He did some of his tricks which felt good, but I still walked out with nagging pain, and have to see him again later this week when the muscle relaxes a bit (he says it is very inflamed). He said that it was too tight to do any more and he wanted to let it get over my back re-alignment before he tackled it further.

Anyhow, I was woken early this morning with very severe pain... it was so bad that I wanted to be sick. Every breath that I draw feels like someone is stabbing a knife into the bottom of my lungs/chest, and just about every movement causes pain in my back between the shoulder blades. It has settled as the day has gone on, first dose of anti inflams didnt seem to do anything at all, second dose some hours later did seem to help, hot packs and a hot shower also helped.

What I'd like to know is what is causing this pain, and will this sort of pain go away of its own accord?? Im not sure that I can cope with it much longer, and Im not sure that I will be able to deal with another session of oesteo work with it this bad! Are there any suggestions for relieving the pain??

Alla

injuryupdate
10-11-2005, 10:36 AM
Don't want to be too alarmist, but have you got any calf pain or swelling from your ACL reco? It is possible to get a pulmonary embolus from a DVT that can give you sharp stabbing pain on breathing (along with some shortness of breath).

NB this is probably not what you have as the condition sounds chronic, but it does highlight the danger of trying to get a diagnosis from a message board (or perhaps an osteopath). If it is simple back pain that a bit of manipulation fixes up, stick with the osteopath. If it is severe pain not going away, get a doctor to check you out.

Alla
10-11-2005, 01:29 PM
Nah, you arent being too alarmist, I had a little calf swelling in the early days of my ACLR, and had that checked out.... no clots..... there was no pain associated with it.

I actually spoke to my DR about it last week when I was there, saying that I had a little chest pain.... she suggested that everything seemed ok... I had bloodwork done for a variety of reasons, and all came back clear, and my bloodpressure and chest was also checked. I tend not to think that is it a clot as I've had this before, and although I say not as bad, I suspect that I suffered the worst of it while affected by pethadine....so I dont remember. However, I will keep your comments in mind and if it gets worse I will seek help from the Dr. I have another visit to the oesteopath tomorrow so I'll see what he has to say, it is better today then it was when I posted, but it still is not great.

Alla

Help
26-07-2006, 07:19 PM
Hi there

Some of you might recognise me from the "knee" section of this board, but I now have a back question.

I recently had a severe chest infection where I suspect that I have coughed so hard at some stage that I've thrown my back. In the past I have had an issue with my back in that about 10 or so years ago I was admitted to hospital with severe stomach and chest pains. Apparently after having a pethadine shot that rendered me pretty much wasted for the next 2 days, they came up with nothing.... they did suspect appendicitis, a punctured lung and a heart condition, but all came up clear. I was released from hospital and they said that I was just stressed (wsa sitting microbiology exams at the time). Anyhow, a local Physio realised that it was in fact that I was dealing with referred pain from a shoulder injury. She treated it and the pain was gone almost straight away with some manipulation.

Over the years the pain has come and gone, although never as severe as it was then, and I found an oesteopath that really does the trick. However, he was saying that it is actually 3 vertibrea in my upper back where the muscle pulls tightly around that caused all the problem. Anyway, the last few months I've been feeling the familiar tightess that is easy to cope with, but in the last 2 weeks it has developed in to the excruciating pain again... although I didnt recognise it at first. I saw my oesteopath last friday, and he said that he hadnt seen a back as messed up for quite a while, he said that the each virtebrae was facing a different direction. He did some of his tricks which felt good, but I still walked out with nagging pain, and have to see him again later this week when the muscle relaxes a bit (he says it is very inflamed). He said that it was too tight to do any more and he wanted to let it get over my back re-alignment before he tackled it further.

Anyhow, I was woken early this morning with very severe pain... it was so bad that I wanted to be sick. Every breath that I draw feels like someone is stabbing a knife into the bottom of my lungs/chest, and just about every movement causes pain in my back between the shoulder blades. It has settled as the day has gone on, first dose of anti inflams didnt seem to do anything at all, second dose some hours later did seem to help, hot packs and a hot shower also helped.

What I'd like to know is what is causing this pain, and will this sort of pain go away of its own accord?? Im not sure that I can cope with it much longer, and Im not sure that I will be able to deal with another session of oesteo work with it this bad! Are there any suggestions for relieving the pain??

Alla
Hi there matey,

Please, please, please go right to your GP and get them to perform a CAT/CT scan on your cervical spine - ie your neck. Pain between your shoulder blades, also known as interscapular pain, is often caused by problems with the discs in your neck. It's called 'Cervical Radiculopathy' and I suggest you Google it to learn more.

If your scan comes up showing nothing abnormal with your cervical discs then breathe a sigh of relief and rule out radiculopathy. If the discs are abnormal, proceed to a neurosurgeon who will order and MRI and take it from there.

Good luck mate.

oipa
17-08-2009, 06:06 PM
Do you have any details about radiculopathy.... perhaps radiculopathy symptoms, treatments, etc...