Intercostal neuralgia treatment of pain between the ribs

Many people have repeatedly complained to therapists about discomfort between the ribs. Anyone can suffer from this - adults, children, the elderly. If you have such a problem, you should not delay consulting a doctor, because this will significantly help in preventing more serious health problems.

Pain between the ribs: causes and treatment

The article will discuss what pain between the ribs is: causes and treatment. We will also highlight diagnostic methods for detecting this disease.

About the rib

Before you understand exactly how unpleasant pain between the ribs appears, it is worth finding out more about the structure of the costal bones.

A rib is a flat bone that has an arched shape. It runs from the spinal column all the way to the sternum, where it joins with another rib, forming a pair that becomes the base of the rib cage. A person has a total of twelve pairs of ribs, which are adjacent to the vertebral column with the spherical end of the bone (the so-called condyle). Of these pairs, the first seven are extremely tightly connected to the sternum, which is why they are called “real” ribs. The remaining five pairs are “false”. Note that the last two pairs have a connection only with the spine. For this reason they are considered "free".

Ribs - the basis of the chest

Some people have an anomaly in the form of the absence of the last or last two pairs of ribs. There is another anomaly, which is the discovery of an extra thirteenth pair.

Sometimes the eleventh and twelfth pairs of ribs are removed through surgery. There are different reasons for this. This effect is most often explained by cosmetic purposes (women's desire to narrow their waist) or therapeutic (improving well-being).

Description of pain

“It hurts between the ribs” - this is how people usually talk about the unpleasant sensations that appear in the chest. The epicenter of this discomfort is in the following places:

• muscles;
• fascia;
• intercostal nerve;
• bone or cartilage.

Discomfort in the intercostal space prevents a person from living fully

Pain in the ribs can be prolonged, sharp, pulling, aching, or stabbing. This ailment worries either constantly or in specific situations, for example, when being in the same position or when doing work that requires serious physical exertion.

Right back pain

Often the causes of back pain on the right are poor posture, which is caused by systematically incorrect body position. In this case, the back muscles receive an uneven load. However, a more serious disease may also occur—displaced intervertebral discs.

Another common reason for back pain on the right side is various kidney diseases, for example, kidney stones or a disorder in the outflow of urine. Cause of back pain on the right

Women may develop diseases of the reproductive system. Such referred pains are very dangerous, as a person thinks that they arose due to back problems as a result of heavy lifting, sedentary work, etc. Thus, the real disease remains undetected until other symptoms appear.

If your back hurts on the upper right side, then the cause of the pain may be diseases of the respiratory system. In this case, discomfort is also felt in the chest.

Like many diseases of the musculoskeletal system, back pain on the right side can be caused by excess weight. The pain goes away as soon as the weight returns to normal.

First aid

Only a doctor can determine the exact cause of the pain. If you have any problems with going to the doctor, you can do the following:

1. As soon as pain appears between the ribs, you need to immediately take a position in which there will be no discomfort. Discomfort tends to increase with sudden movements, such as bending and turning. Changing positions helps normalize your well-being. Lying on a hard surface can alleviate the condition.
2. To relieve pain, you need to take painkillers. These include “Analgin”, “Ketonov” and others. However, if the pain remains as severe, it is better to wait for an ambulance to arrive.
3. If pain is felt on the left (which is a clear sign of angina), you should cancel any work that requires physical activity. Instead, it is better to lie down and drink Nitroglycerin.
4. If you feel discomfort in the stomach, extending into the intercostal space, you need to drink more water and temporarily not eat.

When to see a doctor?

You should consult a doctor if you have the following complaints:

• prolonged pain;
• limited movement;
• chest injury.

It is important to know that the lack of treatment will sooner or later provoke various kinds of complications.

Seeing a doctor about pain between the ribs means taking the first step towards recovery.

For example, angina pectoris leads to a heart attack, pleurisy leads to pneumonia or lung abscess, cancer leads to internal bleeding or even death.

Pathological processes that were not given timely attention lead to long and difficult treatment, which is rarely successful. In the most complex and advanced cases, the disease progresses so quickly and severely that it can be fatal for the patient.

Left back pain

The origin of back pain on the left is similar to back pain on the right , but there are also distinctive points.

For example, back pain on the left may indicate diseases of the heart and vascular system - myocardial infarction of the posterior wall and angina pectoris, aortic aneurysm, pericarditis. Such diseases are also accompanied by lumbago in the chest and pain in the left shoulder.

If you experience back pain on the left side, you should immediately consult a doctor - self-medication will not help, and the problem can be very serious, especially if it is accompanied directly by pain in the heart, neck and dizziness.

Just like with back pain on the right , back pain on the left can be caused by diseases of the urinary tract, respiratory system, spine, and digestive system.

Diagnosis of pain between ribs

The symptoms of pain between the ribs make it clear that you need to see a doctor as soon as possible.

Important! It's best to make an appointment with a therapist first.

Diagnosis begins with examining the patient and collecting anamnesis, but this is not enough to make an accurate diagnosis. The doctor will be able to indicate recommendations for treatment and the choice of appropriate therapy after the patient undergoes the following diagnostic procedures.

These examinations will help the doctor identify the root cause of pain between the ribs and make a final diagnosis.

Diagnosis of pain in the intercostal space helps to find a treatment method as quickly as possible

The patient usually needs help in the form of consultation with the following doctors:

• neurologist;
• traumatologist;
• gastroenterologist;
• cardiologist.

They assess the patient’s health status, the severity of the disease and the speed of its development.

Diagnostics

The diagnosis of intercostal neuralgia is made by a doctor based on the patient’s complaints, medical history, after a thorough examination and clarification of the etiology of chest pain. The disease is characterized by possible redness or blanching of the skin in the affected nerve area, and upon palpation there is pain along the affected nerve. With this disease, a mandatory examination of the chest organs is necessary in order to exclude pneumonia, pleurisy, and pneumothorax. An additional examination of the heart and an ECG is necessary if the pain is localized on the left side of the body, to exclude a number of severe heart diseases.

In order to exclude pathologies of the spine, the doctor may prescribe radiography, MRI, CT and myelography, which determines the condition of the nerve roots, and ultrasound.

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Treatment

After diagnostic procedures, the doctor prescribes a course of treatment, which is aimed at eliminating the symptoms and the root cause of pain between the ribs.

For example, with severe pain symptoms, doctors recommend symptomatic therapy. It involves the use of anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs. If the cause is disease, then the patient should undergo procedures based on heat treatment and the use of warming ointments.

If pain appears due to muscle spasms, then medications are prescribed to relax the muscles, i.e. antispasmodics and muscle relaxants.

Timely treatment helps to forget about the disease as soon as possible

Physical and psychological stress often causes pain and discomfort between the ribs. In this case, the patient will be helped by antacids and antidepressants.

For some patients, doctors prescribe patches that have anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects (for example, Voltaren). They also use products based on lidocaine (for example, Versatis).

"Versatis"

Other treatments

Physiotherapy, manual therapy, massage - these methods are aimed at relieving discomfort due to problems with the ribs and overstrain of the chest muscles. When the pain becomes less acute, the patient needs to begin performing exercises from the exercise therapy course.

In some cases, patients are asked to limit physical activity in order to avoid worsening the situation. He will carry out a procedure for correcting muscles whose imbalance is associated with taking a certain posture.

Physiotherapy and massage can help relieve pain between the ribs.

Physiotherapeutic devices

In addition, doctors recommend magnetic therapy because it helps cope with swelling and inflammation.

At an “advanced” stage of the disease, conservative treatment may not be effective; in this case, it is necessary to resort to surgical intervention. The type of surgery depends on the root cause of such sensations.

In general, treating pain between the ribs is a complex task that requires careful diagnosis and a responsible approach on the part of the patient.

Symptoms and signs of the disease

The main manifestation of intercostal neuralgia is acute and burning pain along the intercostal nerves, sometimes intensifying in paroxysms, especially with movement, with turns of the body, with deep breathing, coughing and sneezing. When feeling and during palpation of the spine and intercostal spaces, their sharply increased sensitivity and pain are recorded, corresponding to the affected segment. The pain that occurs with intercostal neuralgia is constant, encircling in nature, forcing the patient to take a forced position, in which the patient bends the body in the healthy direction, trying to maintain it. The pain syndrome lasts from several hours to several days. Sometimes there is a feeling of numbness and a sensation of “pins and needles” in the affected area.

How to distinguish intercostal neuralgia from heart pathologies?

Symptoms of intercostal neuralgia, often simulating lesions of the cardiovascular system, can be mistakenly regarded as a heart attack. For example, pain in the heart area radiating to the left shoulder blade is a sign that can only be associated with the presence of wide branches of nerves in the intercostal space.

You need to know that with pain felt in the retrosternal region associated with a disturbance in the functioning of the heart, there are necessarily changes in blood pressure and pulse rhythm. Such a connection is absent with intercostal neuralgia, and the pain is of a girdling nature. Neuralgia pain is not relieved by nitroglycerin. In addition, changes in body position during heart disease will not affect the nature of the pain. But if the intercostal nerves are pinched, the pain will worsen with sudden movement, coughing, sneezing, or deep breathing.

At the same time, you need to know that myocardial infarction with extensive damage to the heart muscle can cause pain, which increases with movement and does not decrease when taking heart medications, which makes it difficult to diagnose the disease.

In some cases, the nature of the pain resembles the pain associated with renal colic. This occurs when the nerves of the lower ribs are affected, when there is a sudden sharp, cramping pain in the lumbar region, which radiates to the leg or groin area.

If chest pain occurs, which can be one of the symptoms of a number of life-threatening, serious diseases, it is certainly necessary to consult a doctor. Therefore, in no case should you prescribe treatment for yourself; you should not hesitate, but you should immediately seek medical help.

Prevention

Pain between the ribs is often caused by physical activity. To prevent this, a person needs to prepare in advance for an increase in load. For example, if a person knows that he will have to carry heavy weights, then he should properly stretch his shoulders and muscles and only then lift weights.

Sometimes acute pain is associated with hypothermia. In this case, you should try to dress warmer and not be under air conditioning to avoid getting cold and “cold” muscles.

People often have to spend a lot of time sitting at work. This negatively affects the condition of the bones of the shoulders and neck and creates additional stress on the thoracic spine. To minimize pain, you need to take the correct posture in which your back is straight and without distortion.

Results

Pain between the ribs is a serious and dangerous symptom of all kinds of diseases, which negatively affects a person’s general condition. There are many reasons for its appearance, but the main one among them is various bone injuries.

Treatment requires timely measures and correctly prescribed medications. If a person regularly exercises, his health improves, his body muscles become stronger, which means the body becomes less susceptible to various negative factors.