Subluxated costovertabral joint?

[mmglobal]

The last few weeks / months, I've been getting worse and worse. Last week was as bad as ever... couldn't even attend daughter's graduation and a sitting by the pool birthday party.

I should have been posting more... we have been on the trail of seemingly false positive facet injections... now moving on to costovertebral joint diagnostics. I've had one round of injections with the mildly positive result that seems to be more of a Rorschach test... could go either way.

Following my cervical ADR surgery, I had some 'intercostal neuralgia' that responded somewhat to chiropractic. At the time (last May) it was in my sternum. I went bad in September following some PT that was aimed at remobilizing each thoracic segment. While have had some good times since September... it's been 95% bad since then. Most of that time, I've been a shut-in.

Monday I went back to the chiropractor to look into addressing the pain that is in my mid back instead of my sternum as it was last spring. We localized the pain and he adjusted those few levels. There was only one pop heard and I could feel it on the left side where the pain was. The next few hours were amazing. This was as a more dramatic change than any diagnostic or therapeutic injection I've ever had.

After a few hours I started to become sore and the muscle spasms kicked in to return me to much the same pain pattern... just a bit less. Tuesday morning was bad and I had timing of good / bad hours that I'm used to. I'm taking Oxy 20mg 3x and about 60 to 90 minutes after taking one, I feel better for a few hours. As I approach the next dose time, it gets bad again.

Having said that... on Tuesday the good times were MUCH, MUCH better than I'm used to and the bad times were not as bad.

I'm very excited about having made some progress in diagnosing and treating this problem that has been disabling most of the last 9 months. Through the years, I've seen too many of these glimmers of hope... I have to translate the excitement into guarded optimism. It's just a couple of days into this, but this is real progress!

[dshobbies]

Mark,

Nothing to say - truly distressing that you find yourself still battling disabling pain. I do hope that hope and help are just on the horizon.

Dale

[Maria]

Mark,
Was just wondering about you yesterday.. you know the wonder if he's so much better.too busy and not posting or the other...quiet because feeling worse. I was surely hoping not the latter.

Thanks for the update and glad to hear there was something that helped and hope that it continues to help (or something does).

[Jim M2]

Mark,

I'm amazed your daughter is already graduating. The years are zooming by and somehow we, all of us with pain, keep surviving. I hate to see what you are going through. It looks like you are gaining insight to the root problem. For several months after ADR I used to observe a popping in my lumbar that marked reduced pain. It could not be observed on x-ray so there was really no impressions the doctors would offer about my 'popping.' Dr. Z said it was just ligaments popping.

The next time the S.Cal spineys get together there's a good chance I can attend being that I'm now in San Diego.

As always I'm hoping the best for you,

[sahuaro]

Mark:
I am so sorry to hear of the debilitating pain you are still experiencing and hope that this new round of chiropractic continues to be helpful.
After my MVA, I had costovertebral bruising/strain which was so painful that I could not take a deep breath, so I have a slight idea of what you have been through.

Please update when you can.

Barbara

[mmglobal]

Thanks for all the kind words. I've got good news and a little bit of not so good news. It's two weeks since the chiropractic adjustment that made such a huge difference. I'm still doing so much better then I was prior to the adjustment. There's still no question in my mind about the value of this treatment; both diagnostic and therapeutic.

Lately, I've been much better about working less and varying my activities more. Today is the first day that I actually sat down at my desk and tried to do a few hours worth of work. I think I was about 2 1/2 hours in when the old pain started up again. I immediately is stopped and have been doing other things this afternoon. I know all be fine and continue with the benefit of the chiropractic treatment. However it's clear that I'll continue to have a problem sitting long periods of time.

All keep you posted. Good vibes going out in all directions. All the best,

Mark

[Aaron]

By far with my thorasic issues sitting is the worse pain I experience. I dont know if the ribs may add some pressure to discs ( supposed to support them) but once the pain comes when sitting my day is pretty much finished upright.

[mmglobal]

I started to go downhill again. Yesterday I coached Diane through 'cracking' my back. It worked! Much better again! (That's $50 saved.)

Just over a week ago I was on 60mg Oxy/day and it wasn't even close to enough. Now I'm down to 3 X 10 with half a norco in between the daytime doses. The Oxy (oxycodone) is 1.5 the strength of Norco/Vicoden (hydrocodone), so that puts me under 40mg.

I don't know if I'll make it all the way off the meds because I still have plenty of other pain generators, but I'm hoping to get all the way off the Oxy, even if that means still being on a small dose of some less powerful meds.

All the best,

Mark

[Crystal33]

I was not familiar with the condition, though now has me wondering about 12 months of disabling pain between my shoulder blades.
"With repeated episodes of subluxation, the spine accumulates an increasingly larger number of abnormal sites. In fact, some MRI studies have shown areas of soft-tissue fibrosis and calcification up to one inch thick around the spine. At the same time, long-term swelling can increase due to improper vascular supply and drainage. From here, full-blown spinal disease is the likely outcome."

[jsewell]

I too have had disabling pain between shoulder blades. I had T7-8 disk removed in Dec., but there are a few other bad ones in the same area. Also lately I've had some horrible rib pain too.

Maybe i should visit a chiropractor.

Mark, i'm glad you are getting some relief, even if a little and short , at least it is not going in the other direction.
judy

[santabarbarachiropractor]

Do you suffer from real neck pain? If you do, you're not alone. Nearly 75 percent of American adults will suffer from neck pain at some point in their lives. And, looking at our anatomy, it's no wonder so may of us do. Though having your head perched on top of your spine gives you a great view of your world, the set-up is rather like propping a bowling ball atop a tower of blocks. The price? Our necks are prone to injury of the muscles, ligaments, tendons and joints. But by paying attention to our posture, doing regular stretching and strengthening exercises, and above all, visiting our chiropractor, we can help keep our necks pain-free.

What are the causes of these neck pains? Many things can attribute to pain in our neck including poor posture during normal, everyday activities such as watching TV, using a computer, reading a book, or talking on the phone. Neck pain ranges from mild (annoying and distracting) to severe (incapacitating).
TV watching can be particularly bad for the neck if you're lying on a couch or bed, with your head propped at an awkward angle for a prolonged period of time. Holding the phone between the jaw and shoulder (rather than in your hand), reading at a desk or table with you head hung over a book, or working with a computer monitor below eye level can also be particularly stressful for the neck.
By resting and making efforts not to repeat the offending stresses on the neck, minor neck pain usually disappears on its own within a day or so.
So you wonder how a chiropractor can help. Neck pain that won't go away or keeps coming back can signal a more serious underlying problem. Subluxations or joint restrictions; injuries such as whiplash; diseases like osteoarthritis, meningitis and tumors; congenital malformation; and degeneration (such as that in arthritis) require more than rest. With several of the situations just mentioned, chiropractic services can certainly help. He or she can determine whether the cause of your neck pain is minor and easily treatable or more serious and requires more intensive treatment. To be more certain as to the cause of the neck pain, a chiropractor would need to check your spine and decide on a course of action to treat the cause of the pain. Instead of prescribing medication to treat the symptom, pain, the chiropractic profession believes it's necessary to get to the cause of the problem first-to find out why the pain is present instead of simply treating that pain.

If a subluxation is present in your spine, pain is often present. A subluxation is a term used in the field of chiropractic that describes a situation where a bone, or multiple bones, of your spine will move out of position to compensate for instability or unequal weight distribution. When a bone moves out of place, it puts pressure on the vital nerves that exit between the bones and reduces their ability to function. This nerve function is absolutely vital in the communication of your brain and body. Without proper nervous system function, you could become ill or die.

What happens when your nervous system cannot transmit all of these vital messages? The answer is that they get lost and are unable to get to their intended target. This can cause a whole laundry list of problems that can hamper your ability to be happy and healthy. Prevention is the key to avoid more neck pain and the need for treatment in the first place. By paying close attention to your posture and improving your posture is a vital first step. Avoid slouching when watching TV and choose to sit upright, in a posture-supporting chair when possible.

When studying or reading, avoid putting the book on a flat surface. Instead, consider using a book prop. If your job requires a lot of phone use, consider using a headset. And, if you notice your computer monitor is below eye level, elevate it by placing it on top of a shelf.

Above all, seek chiropractic services to have your spine evaluated to be certain that your nervous system is working at its maximum potential. Chiropractic services focuses in the neuromusculoskeletal system and are some of the most well-trained healthcare professionals to consult about neck pain.

[mmglobal]

SantaBarbaraChiropractor, welcome to the forum and thanks for the post.

Do you have any experience with t-spine pain that presents with mid-back pain that wraps around to the sternum making it laborious to breathe?

When I first experienced this pain, I did go to a chiropractor who 'reset' the rib heads front and back. That seemed to help a little, but the minor reduction in pain only lasted a few hours.

Thanks,

Mark