Mid Back Pain Due to Rib Misalignment

Many patients presenting to chiropractic offices are suffering from upper back or mid back area pain that is not only destroying their ability to live fulfilling lives but may also be ruining their posture. Most other types of doctors other than Doctors of Chiropractic do not even consider that such pain can be emanating from the small joints where ribs meet the vertebra in the upper and mid back areas. The same can be said when rib misalignments (also referred to as rib subluxations) are causing pain in the front of the chest where ribs join the breast bone (sternum).

Ribs are designed to protect the vital organs such as the heart, lungs, liver, spleen, stomach, etc. found in your thoracic (chest) area  so they perform a crucial function essential to life. Because the 12 pairs of ribs have so many attachment points forming the thoracic cage area there is significant stability of the rib cage itself and the thoracic spine to which it attaches.

The top seven pairs of ribs are considered to be true ribs with the eighth, ninth, and tenth pairs of ribs being referred to as false ribs. The 11^th and 12^th pairs of ribs are called floating ribs because they do not attach to a bony structure on the front. This leads to them being described as “floating” in the soft tissues of the thoracic area.

Any of these ribs can subluxate (misalign) causing excruciating pain that is sometimes accompanied by an inability to take a deep breath.  Each pair of ribs extends from the thoracic spine in back, around the sides of your chest wall, and attach to the breast bone in the middle of the front of your chest. When you breathe, each of these pairs of ribs must rise freely in a fashion and movement pattern similar to a bucket handle rising on each side of your chest. Any subluxation of a rib disrupts the smooth movement pattern causing pain and an inability to breathe deeply. When the subluxation occurs at the rib/sternum junction the inability to take a deep breath combined with excruciating pain in the chest area lead many people to think they are suffering a heart attack.

It is common for patients to present to their chiropractor’s office after leaving the hospital emergency room where they first presented in the belief they were in the midst of a heart attack.

This is OK. And in all truthfulness, it is the way this type of situation should be handled.

It is always a smart move to first take care of the condition that may kill you then work on the less severe health conditions. It is always best to rule out heart attack before seeking care for other problems you may be experiencing. Never assume that a serious health condition that may be life threatening is a less serious non-life threatening condition. It is always best to first rule out any condition that may kill you. The doctors at the hospital will not be able to find the cause of your pain and may offer a diagnosis such as “heartburn” or similar plausible explanation for what is affecting you. That’s OK, at least you will have had heart attack ruled out, which is very important.

In such situations the pain may feel like a knife or sword passing through your chest from front to back. At other times you may experience a dull, achy pain in your upper or mid back regions accompanied by a desire to not move your arm. Arm movement will increase rib movement leading to increased pain so you simply do not move your arm any more than necessary to carry out the tasks you must accomplish. Sleep may be impossible due to pain regardless of whether the pain is sharp and stabbing or dull and achy.

The good news is that the correction is usually not complicated and good results are often rapid. So don’t wait, contact your local Doctor of Chiropractic as soon as possible so you can begin your journey to health and pain free function.