Further measures
In physiotherapy, in addition to active exercises, other measures can be used to treat pain in the thoracic spine. Means from physical therapy are for example the use of heat (fango, red light) or cold.Electrotherapy can also be helpful for pain in the thoracic spine. Massages can relieve acute complaints.
Joints with limited mobility can be passively mobilized by manual therapy. Fascial techniques, trigger point therapy and other soft tissue techniques can also relieve pain. Tape systems can help the patient to assume an upright position (memory tape) or support the muscles in everyday life. For acute complaints, certain positioning techniques (step positioning, package positioning) can help the patient with chest spine pain. The doctor can intervene with medication in the case of severe pain or, in the case of inflammation or severe degeneration, possibly alleviate symptoms with injections.
Symptoms
Most complaints in the thoracic spine first manifest themselves through tension in the surrounding musculature. These often manifest themselves locally near the spinal column, but also in the area of the shoulder blade or in the transition to the shoulder-neck region. Acute complaints can be accompanied by a punctual pain during a certain movement.
If the rib joints are affected, breathing can be painfully restricted. In the case of chronic complaints in the thoracic spine, there may be a significant loss of mobility. The musculature is shortened and tense and usually has trigger points (pain points). There may also be clearly visible malpositions, such as a hunchback, a flat back or, in the case of scoliosis, a one-sided rib hump. The articles “Trigger point therapy” and “Pain when inhaling – physiotherapy” may also be of interest to you in this regard.
Causes
Pain in the thoracic spine can have various causes. Mostly they are postural. If we remain in one and the same posture for a long time, our muscles are no longer dynamically demanded, they become cramped.
The blood circulation of the tissue becomes poorer and pain can occur. If we repeatedly assume the same position over a long period of time, a loss of mobility and a structural remodelling of the structures involved can occur. In the beginning it is more a matter of tense muscles, later on overstrain or changes in the tissue can cause pain.
Since we usually assume one-sided postures in our everyday life or during our work, pain in the thoracic spine can be caused by tension in the muscles that are constantly under equal strain. Our 12 ribs are also attached to the thoracic spine. They ensure that our thoracic organs are more secure due to the bony sheathing and make the thorax more stable.
The joints through which the ribs are attached to the thorax can become blocked and then cause pain. In physiotherapy, on the one hand, attempts are made to treat the pain symptomatically. This can be done through heat application, electrotherapy or massages.
More important, however, is the causal therapy, which tries to find and eliminate the cause of the pain. This area of physiotherapeutic treatment for chest spine pain includes posture training, advice on setting up the workplace, long-term stretching of shortened muscles and strengthening of weak muscles, as well as joint mobilization. Usually, specific gymnastics are performed to straighten the spine.
The bony and joint structures can also be the cause of pain in the thoracic spine. Our spine is constantly being challenged and stressed in everyday life, while carrying our body weight and at the same time being responsible for mobility. With increasing age, the risk of degenerative changes in the spine increases.
Bony projections form on the vertebral bodies and joints, the cartilage wears out and the intervertebral discs lose height. All this can lead to pain. This pain is also often initially expressed by reactively tense muscles.
Slipped discs in the thoracic spine are very rare, since the BWS is relatively stable due to the contact of the ribs and is not as susceptible to mechanical overload as, for example, the more mobile lumbar spine. Malpositions of the thoracic spine, such as a hunchback or scoliosis, can also cause pain in the thoracic spine. The costal joints can also be the starting point for pain in the thoracic spine.
The 12 pairs of ribs are connected to the right and left of the spine and to the front of the sternum in a joint/cartilaginous manner. The joints in the thoracic spine can “jam” due to acute severe overload or chronic overuse.Reactive tension of the surrounding muscles, local and radiating pain and breathing difficulties may occur. The causes of thoracic spine pain should be identified and determined before the start of physiotherapy in order to enable targeted, causal therapy.
