Here is the back story. Mary spent several years chasing her mid back pain. Muscle relaxers, pain pills, and anti-inflammatory medications only eased the pain temporarily. Like an irritating little sibling, it just wouldn’t go away! The X-ray report said everything was normal. With the pain still there, she started to doubt her sanity. Maybe it was all in her head. Mary didn’t realize she was suffering from an undiagnosed rib misalignment.
Rib misalignments, also known as rib subluxations, are a common cause of back pain. The mid-back is known as the thoracic spine. It is made up of 12 spinal bones known as vertebrae. What makes these 12 vertebrae so special is that your ribs attach to them. This union is called a costovertebral joint. Like any joint, your ribs can subluxate. This is a chiropractic term that describes where the joint misaligns and fixates (gets stuck) causing pain, irritation, and muscle spasms.
Ribs not only attach to the spine in the back, they also wrap around to the front of the body to protect all the vital organs. As the ribs wrap around to the front they meet up with the sternum (front center of the chest) and this joint is known as the costosternal joint. A subluxated rib can also occur here, too. This type of rib subluxation is often poorly understood and confused with heart conditions, pleurisy, or heartburn.
The most common cause of rib subluxations is from excessive pushing or pulling movements or a combination of bending, twisting, and lifting something heavy. It can also start from heavy coughing, a powerful sneeze, a motor vehicle accident, or a fall where you catch yourself with your hands.
The early symptoms most commonly associated with a back (costovertebral) rib subluxation is stabbing sharp back pain. The pain is typically made worse with deep breaths, coughing, sneezing, or repeating what caused the problem in the beginning. The same is true with a rib subluxation at the sternum, although the pain can feel like you’re having a heart attack. As you breathe, your ribs also need to have free movement to rise and expand. Rib subluxations can also create pain upon deep breathing.
So how do we fix a subluxated (misaligned) rib joint? First, due diligence needs to be done to rule out every other possible diagnosis including possible heart conditions or lung issues. Once the correct diagnosis has been made, the next step is to address it. Rib subluxations can be very finicky. After they have been corrected through a chiropractic adjustment, appropriate stretching and exercises should be prescribed to help stabilize the joint. Arm movements and activities can easily cause the condition to reoccur. Healing takes time. The quicker it is addressed the faster it will be corrected and stabilized. Sometimes the issue is corrected in just a few visits but sometimes it can take several weeks.
If you think you have an undiagnosed rib subluxation, please see your doctor to rule out any other conditions and then see your family chiropractor to address the rib subluxation. Rib subluxations can be horrible and can affect you at work, play, and even while you’re laying in bed trying to sleep. They will most often stick around until they are addressed. Don’t let your pain turn into a chronic life-long issue. Get your spine checked soon so you can breathe easy again.
-by Dr. Brandon Crouch
About the author: Dr. Brandon Crouch is a Chiropractor with Crouch Family Chiropractic. He is an advocate for being proactive when it comes to your health and encourages people to make healthy, informed decisions. For more information you can contact him online at: www.crouchfamilychiro.com.
