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Upper Back Pain From Spine To Chest. X Ray Showed Shadows On Right Side. Enlarged Right Lung. Asthma History. Advice?
Hi, I have upper back pain , probably at the back of my lungs. It wakes me up at night and is excruciating as if I m being skewered all the way from my spine to my chest . I had an X-ray done some time back and the results show hilar shadows on my right side. Because I am asthmatic I often follow up with a pulmonologist , and during my last visit he mentioned that my lungs seemed a bit enlarged on the right side. I am seeing a spine specialist in a couple of days, but I am worried I may not be on the right track and that it is my lungs I should be investigating. Many thanks, Fa (46 years old)
posted on
Wed, 17 Oct 2012
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Tue, 24 Sep 2013
Answered on
Wed, 25 Sep 2013
Last reviewed on
FA
Hilar shadow in the chest is normal
If your lung looks enlarged then it means that your prolonged asthma has caused an emphysema.
But the pain as u describe it as excruciating may not be due to any lung pathology. It looks like some neuralgia or a nerve pain as it wakes u up at night. You are doing a right thing by seeing a spine surgeon as it can be some compression of the thoracic spine
Hilar shadow in the chest is normal
If your lung looks enlarged then it means that your prolonged asthma has caused an emphysema.
But the pain as u describe it as excruciating may not be due to any lung pathology. It looks like some neuralgia or a nerve pain as it wakes u up at night. You are doing a right thing by seeing a spine surgeon as it can be some compression of the thoracic spine
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