If you have pain in your mid back or chest and you aren’t sure what your next steps should be, then read on.
If you have been following this blog recently you will know that previously I have written about what causes rib pain as well as some ways to know if your mid back or rib pain might be something more worrisome that you shouldn’t miss. If you have missed it, read that post here.
However, during the last week I had a client who hadn’t been able to get into the practice for an extended period after their mid back pain had started and to make matters worse, not only did they not know what to do to try manage their issue, they had spent the best part of a week getting anxious about what was causing their issues.
This situation got me thinking;
“How do people what sort of chest/mid back pain they have and how do they know what to do for it?”
This thought inspired me to write these blog posts, the top 5 ‘Do’s’ and ‘Don’ts’ of how to manage chest/mid back pain.
The top 5 Do’s of mid back pain:
Get informed!
It is important to know your enemy. By far the most likely cause of your mid back/chest pain is something mundane and mechanical, but it is important to be aware of problems not to be missed that can cause your chest pain.
To read about some of the ways to screen to know if your mid back or chest pain is of more…immediate concern, read the “So how do I know if I need…to go the emergency room?” section of my previous post about rib pain.
Use ice and/or heat to calm down your inflammation and pain.
Yes, you CAN take an immediate active role in helping to calm down the discomfort you feel, even if you don’t wish to take pain killers or anti-inflammatories.
The correct use of heat or ice on your area of injury can help to decrease the level of pain you feel while still allowing you to take it easy while you have the injury.
There is a lot more to this topic but to make it as simple as possible; the general consensus is to try ice (frozen water…not the other type…that has too many side effects) if the injury is “acute”, that is, under 48 hours old.
Put the ice/icepack/peas on the effected area wrapped in a damp tea towel, 20 minutes on, then taking the cold off the area for 20 minutes. Repeat this for 1 hour and 40 minutes.
Beyond the first 48 hours the research suggests trying heat and Ice alternatively, or just heat.
To be completely honest with you, in my opinion, the research is not as conclusive as it was once thought to have been. As a result, although I recommend you try the guidelines, your only goal is to help ease inflammation and make the area feel better, if you find that one works better than the other, the goal is to make you feel better so that you can heal, so I would recommend that you use the modality that works best for you.
For a full run down of when you use, check out my previous post “Ice Ice Maybe”.
Keep moving.
If you have mechanical mid back or chest pain you’re likely to find that sitting is your worst enemy. Keep moving but don’t over do it.
When I say move I do NOT mean “take up squash”, “weed your garden” or “help your friend move house”, rather I mean that movement within your pain tolerance, at a relaxed and easy pace like walking, will help your body dissipate inflammation as well as start injured soft tissues to heal.
Listen to your body however, do not over do it! If you have decided not to take pain killers your body will be able to tell you if you’re doing too much. If you have taken pain killers, the absence of pain is NOT a signal that you have had the opportunity to heal and fix the underlying issue, the last thing that you want is for the pain killers to wear off only for you to discover that you are now in worse shape than you were before you took them.
Frequently in practice I will tell my clients to avoid sitting but don’t over do it, and if you ARE settling down to watch TV or a movie later in the day, commandeer the couch to lie down, preferably with ice or heat on the area, lying down doesn’t place as much strain on the affected tissues and so should give your body a chance to heal.
Watch your posture.
Specifically for mid back and chest pain, I am referring to Forward Head Posture (FHP). This one goes hand in hand with number 3, if your head is sitting forward compared to your shoulders it places an immense amount of extra pressure on your neck, upper and mid back, as well as promoting closing in and seizing up of your anterior chest structures.
In fact, I believe that FHP is a major contributor to mid back and rib pain, especially when its the “this came out of no where” type.
For discussion on posture, click here.
Get Help!
There is not prize for having the most pain in your mid back and chest. No one is helped by you waiting to see if it calms down only to arise again out of the blue down the track.
The faster you deal with issues like this the easier it generally is to get positive change. Not to mention, given how important it is to make sure you aren’t missing any of the more pressing reasons you might have mid back and chest pain, it is important that a health professional check you over and make sure you’re OK.
For more info about what you can do for your mid back, rib pain or chest pain, do not hesitate to get in contact with us.
The top 5 Don’ts of mid back pain.
DON’T have your partner or friend “crack” your back or stand on your back for you.
I know this might sound like I am being funny but it’s real. Believe me, I understand the temptation, especially when you feel like “getting it to crack” is all you need for it to feel like it will let go, but trust me when I say, that sort of thing is best left to the experts.
Chiropractors go to university for 5 years to learn how to adjust people be as specific as possible and minimise risk as well. Most importantly, we know when NOT to manually adjust someones mid back pain.
Your partner or friend might have good intentions but it is not worth putting that responsibility on them.
At the very least, you wouldn’t want someone to accidentally re-enforce the negative behaviour your mid back, rib or chest is exhibiting.
DON’T Panic!
Even if you are concerned that your chest pain IS something you will need to visit an emergency room for, panicking about a possible diagnosis will make things worse.
As I said before, the most likely cause of your mid back, rob or chest pain is mechanical and non life threatening, so be alert but not alarmed.
If you feel OK but are in pain and you want to do something about it, get in contact with us quickly so we can help you get on track ASAP.
However, if you are genuinely concerned about your chest pain, rib pain or mid back pain, and think it might possibly be a heart attack or stroke, DO NOT HESITATE to call 000.
There is no point worrying about what would happen if it turns out you didn’t need to go to hospital. I have spoken to several medical doctors and ambulance officers about this and all of them say the same thing, they would much prefer to see someone who didn’t have a heart attack than not at all when they did.
Again, if you think you’re having a stroke or a heart attack, do not wait for confirmation, call an ambulance immediately.
DON’T put off managing the problem or hope it will go away.
This sort of magical thinking does NOT lead to good health outcomes.
Imagine applying this type of approach to a car, if it’s not running properly and you haven’t gotten it serviced, you probably shouldn’t drive it to Queensland (assuming one day we can again).
Waiting to see if an issue like this calms down and “fixes itself” is in my opinion one of the best ways to create a chronic recurrent injury.
Commonly in practice we will see client’s who are on their 4th or 5th relapse of the same problem “only this time it’s just not calming down like it normally would.”
Typically injuries, even ones that come out of no where and can come and go will get worse over time. They get more frequent, take longer to calm down, get more painful and eventually, they become all 3.
The sooner you get onto your injury is generally the fastest way to recover and in my experience involves the least risk of recurrence.
DON’T work through it.
This one obviously goes with our last point as well as the “keep moving” point from before. Do not overdo it.
Your body is in pain for a reason, even if that reason isn’t always immediately evident.
If you have chest pain, rib pain or mid back pain, there is an underlying cause to it, and if that cause is mechanical, pushing through the pain and acting as you would normally runs the risk of injuring you further or exacerbating your pain.
DON’T go it alone.
This is potentially the most important point and yes, I am aware that this is literally the same as the “Get Help” section above.
Again, there is not prize for having the most pain in your mid back, ribs or chest.
Health care professionals are here for you to use when you need us. Living your life at half speed because you are in pain isn’t noble, it just limits your quality of life and no matter how good your intentions of not looking after yourself first and focusing on those around you, none of them want to see you suffer and all of them appreciate you the most when you are at full strength and not in pain.
For more info about what you can do for your mid back, rib pain or chest pain, do not hesitate to get in contact with us.