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Suggest Treatment For Thoracic Pain
Posted on
Thu, 4 Sep 2014
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Thu, 4 Sep 2014
Answered on
Thu, 25 Sep 2014
Last reviewed on
Question : To whom it may concern, I have now had on-going thoracic pain since the Feb-March 2014 timeframe. I have had upper/lower abdominal MRI, CAT Scan, ultrasound, chest X-rays front & back, lower lumbar & mid thoracic MRI's, multiple blood tests....and still no definitive diagnosis. The spinal surgeon whom I was referred to and met with on 3 occasions said that he thinks it may be "myalgia's" that could take up to a year or longer to recover from. I do not doubt his opinion or expertise. He informed me that there was nothing surgically that he could do to help me, and recommended that I stick with the physical therapy. Have been going to PT now for 5 months. Definitely showing improvement in strength & mobility, but still having some really bad days as well. I've been on Norco-10-325, Amytriptilene, Robaxin, and Venlafaxin since the March-April timeframe as well. Have cut down use of the pain med's from 3-4/day to 1-2/day, but concerned about how long this is taking to receover from. Started seeing a Massage Therapist as well, and she said that there is a very notable assymmetrical lump on the right side of my back when I'm laying in a prone position. I had a motorycle accident 7 years ago and broke all of the ribs on the right side. Is it possible that the lump is due to the ribs on my right side being slightly longer than one the left as part of the bone healing process and that this is causing/exacerbating my current circumstances?
Brief Answer:
Likely to be fibrosis.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
I have gone through the detailed history. Since all the investigation reports are normal a soft tissue inflammation like myalgias seem to be the most likely cause.
The lump on the right side of the back is not likely to be due to longer ribs as a result of injury. Due to the healing of broken ribs and the damaged soft tissue, there can be some fibrosis in the area and the elasticity is usually reduced in such areas due to the fibrosis. This can give a firm lump like feeling and the asymmetry. This loss of elasticity can also cause pain when doing an extensive exercise involving those muscles.
It is best to do a hot fomentation in the area and see if it helps with the pain.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal
Likely to be fibrosis.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
I have gone through the detailed history. Since all the investigation reports are normal a soft tissue inflammation like myalgias seem to be the most likely cause.
The lump on the right side of the back is not likely to be due to longer ribs as a result of injury. Due to the healing of broken ribs and the damaged soft tissue, there can be some fibrosis in the area and the elasticity is usually reduced in such areas due to the fibrosis. This can give a firm lump like feeling and the asymmetry. This loss of elasticity can also cause pain when doing an extensive exercise involving those muscles.
It is best to do a hot fomentation in the area and see if it helps with the pain.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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