Hello,
I have been struggling with pain in the upper back on the left below the shoulder blade for 2 years now. The sharp stabbing pain comes on after about 15 minutes walking or standing. It gets better and goes away when I sit or lay down. I’ve been to numerous doctors (chiro, rehab, osteopath, orthopedic surgeon, acupuncture) and found no relief. The MRI shows a bulging disc at T10/T11 and some degeneration in lower discs. However, no one is exactly convinced that my pain is caused by the disc.
I’ve tried hours of physical therapy, massage, acupuncture, chiropractic, muscle relaxers, neurontin, heat packs, and epidurals, to no relief.
I’m not sure what other kind of doctor I should try. I am 27 and in good health.
Any suggestions appreciated.
Thanks!
#1 by Charles Gaudet on February 9, 2010 - 7:34 pm
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Good question!
I understand your frustration and, chances are, you feel like you’ve tried almost everything by now … however, the good news is that there are some solutions for back pain that really work.
Believe it or not, as much as people tend to think that they’ve identified the actual ’cause’ of their pain – most of the actual ’causes’ go unnoticed.
Of course, upper back pain may be a result of an injury / illness but, more commonly upper back pain can be a result of poor posture stimulated by a rather sedentary lifestyle (aka sitting too long).
When we find ourselves in one position too long (as in the case w/ most working people), certain muscles begin to weaken while others are strengthening. This causes our body to go out of balance and makes us more prone to strains, pulls, and aches.
Other causes (not to be overlooked) are nutritional (i.e. the foods you eat or are not eating – for example, did you know that eating hydrogenated oils can cause body pain in as little as 24 hours?) and emotional (i.e. stress, worry or anxiety manifesting itself in your back).
One word to the wise, doctors are wonderful and have there place in life; however, many often rush to medicate the symptom rather than try to identify the real cause. Consider that pain is a sign that something is wrong; therefore, I would encourage you to continue trying to rectify the cause w/o simply putting a bandage on the symptom of pain – that only will better ensure longer term relief.
Hope this helps!
Good luck!
To your health,
Charliehttp://www.backandneckpainresources.comhttp://www.backandneckpainresources.com/…http://www.backandneckpainresources.com/…
#2 by mistify on February 9, 2010 - 8:04 pm
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How far below the shoulder blade? This would be a common pain pattern for someone with a Thoracic lesion…however, if its RIGHT below the shoulder blade, I would say we need to look elsewhere…probably the neck. The most important deciding factor is: Does is change with movement of either the thoracic spine or the neck…if so, that’s pretty indicative that the pain is of mechanical origin in one of these two areas.
People used to have the notion the thoracic lesions were not of any consequence…but that’s just not true.