Chronic upper back pain answers (1599)

A: Dear Daniel, I would really suggest that you have a chiropractic physician look at this.  I sincerely doubt that you will get any answers from the VA, or any base hospitals.  I see a few army rangers in my clinic as we are very close to Eglin Air-force Base, where they complete part of their training, and they often have many of the same complaints of the heavy ruck sac runs which make their shoulders go numb, upper back and neck pain, tingling into the arms, and muscle spasms.  Not to mention that they really get beat up with their jobs. The base doesn"t ever help these guys...just a prescription of 800mg Motrin and out the door!!  We call ibuprofen "Ranger Candy"...

A: Hi Glenda. I''m sorry I don''t have an answer for you, but I will pray thatyou find out what your pain is and get over it quick. Have you talked toyour doctor yet?Cathy Do you have a gall bladdr? when I was having a lot of epigastric/ upperback pain I ended up having my gall bladder removed. i hope you are incontact with your doctor. HI, I have been having similar problems and I actually ended up in theemergency room last week. I went to go see a gastroenterologist and hesuggested that I may have pancreatitis, a tear in pouch, or something wrongwith my gallbladder. Either way it was/is excrutiating pain. I have a ctscan scheduled as well as an endoscopy and...

A: Sounds like your daughter has chronic pancreatitis, which can be very problematic because the pancreas has both an endocrine function (controlling glucose) and an exocrine function (helping with digestion). You need to ask about their working diagnosis, any more tests that need to be done, such as ERCP to confirm the diagnosis, and how they would treat the symptoms. You need to have open mind and listen to what they say. You can always ask for a second opinion....

A: Tell your doctor your symptoms so that some diagnostic evaluation can be done to determine if it is something to worry about or not. Bone mets when found early is treatable, cut not necessarily curable. Remission is the goal-- I think of it like diabetes-- a chronic condition that needs close attention and treatment. the mission is for a woman to live in harmony with her disease that has spread giving priority to quality of life. Let''s hope though that you get good news and it is a pulled muscle or something easier to treat. you have wonderful goals to live for--that''s for sure- your children....

A: Dear Christopher, Sorry, I should have been more clear in my answer.  I did understand that the muscle relaxers did not help.  "Muscle Relaxers" do not specifically target and relax the muscles.  They work by down regulating the entire Central Nervous System and slowing its function and control over the body.  This creates a feeling of reduced stress in the muscular system, and that is why you don"t seem to care about the pain when you have taken the drug, and why the pain comes back/awareness increases, when the drug wears off. This is also why drowsiness, slowed reaction time, and mental fogginess is an associated side effect.  This only offers a temporary effect on the sustained tone...

A: Dear Christopher, Sorry, I should have been more clear in my answer.  I did understand that the muscle relaxers did not help.  "Muscle Relaxers" do not specifically target and relax the muscles.  They work by down regulating the entire Central Nervous System and slowing its function and control over the body.  This creates a feeling of reduced stress in the muscular system, and that is why you don"t seem to care about the pain when you have taken the drug, and why the pain comes back/awareness increases, when the drug wears off. This is also why drowsiness, slowed reaction time, and mental fogginess is an associated side effect.  This only offers a temporary effect on the sustained tone...

A: Hi Tina. I have been dealing with this pain now for 19 years. I take any stress or pain that I am dealing with and it goes to my back. When my tmj is bad, my back hurts so bad I can barely sit up straight. I have never found a permanent help. Yes, massage therapy helps and muscle relaxers up to a point. My physical therapist would take her thumb and jam it into the knots that she found until they would release. That was always good for a day or two. So, basically, I understand what you''re going through, but have never found a real answer for myself, so am pretty much of no help to you! Hope someone has an answer for you. Good luck! Hey Tina, I believe we have spoken before? I''m...

A: 1. Take dietry suppliements such a glucosamine, and eat lots of oily fish for starters... My mum nearly had to have a fusion on her lower spine and this stopped it! stretch your muscles via pilates or yoga too.. every day it really helps. My uncle's a certified Chiropractor and my mum's an alternative therapist :) All good fun at the family get togethers :) 2. You could try a TINs unit, which electronically blocks the pain signals that your body sends to your brain. You wear it on your hip like a cell phone, there are pads you attach to your body, where the pain bothers you. I am on pain meds. They work great...BUT are practically impossible to quit on your own once you begin them. I don't necessarily...

A: I should actually call it MID back pain bc its more in my mid to upper back.< Hi R.B. Sorry to hear that your back is giving you problems again. If I remeber correctly, you were looking into having a procedure/surgery at one time? (sorry if this is incorrect) I understand your fear of medications. I feel the same way, and have a general fear of doctors, and any medical procedures actually. Sometimes though, these just can''t be avoided. Your quality of life when you have a chronic back/pain condition is hindered. I would encourage you to try to get help for this. Maybe you could start with an...

A: Hello - Lack of insurance can be a huge hurdle sometimes, but when your health is the tradeoff then you need to bit the bullet. You injured your back and now, probably due to accomodation of the original injury you''ve gotten things more out of alignment. These things rarely get better on their own, as I take it you''re now learning. Please do see a doctor and try not to anticipate the reaction due to your age. All ages of people can have painful orthopedic injuries, happens all the time. Exotic pain meds may not be required. Perhaps a local steroid injection, physical therapy, maybe even surgery, would resolve this. There''s rarely a need to resort to opiods up front. Many a patient goes into the orthopedist''s in...