Thoracalgia - what is it? Causes and treatment of thoracology

Severe pain in the chest is one of the most common reasons for people to seek medical help. They can be associated with cardiovascular pathology or with spinal problems. Thoracalgia - what is it? What is its cause and how to protect yourself from these pains, we learn in more detail.

Types of pain in the chest

Thoracalgia syndrome, manifested by severe, sometimes intolerable pain in the chest, is closely related to the defeat of peripheral nerves. The reason for this may be compression of their muscles and ligaments surrounding them. It should be noted that this can occur not only in the body of a mature person, but also in teenagers during active growth, as well as in pregnant women, when the load on the spine increases due to the growth of the fetus. Typically, the type of disease varies:

• Thoracalgia vertebrogenic, that is, associated with the pathology of the spine;
• Non-malignant thoracalgia - in this case, chest pain can be associated with various diseases of the internal organs: the heart (most often coronary pathologies), the gastrointestinal tract (gastroduodenal reflux), respiratory system diseases, musculoskeletal disorders;
• Psychogenic thoracalgia - most often it is organ neuroses and panic attacks.

Causes of chest pain

Pain in the chest area can be the result of a variety of reasons. The peculiarity of such a syndrome as thoracalgia is that this disease can result from completely different pathological processes. Most often its causes are:

• Osteochondrosis;
• Hernia and protrusion of intervertebral discs of the thoracic spine;
• Muscle spasm;
• Trauma of the spine;
• Lifting weights, physical overload;
• Infectious and non-infectious diseases of the nervous system;
• Allergies, viral diseases;
• osteoporosis;
• Stress, decreased immunity.

Symptoms of Thoracalgia

The symptomatology of this disease is not very diverse. As a rule, it boils down to the following symptoms:

• Permanent or paroxysmal pains in the chest, burning sensations in the intercostal spaces;
• Pain can focus in one half of the body or be shrouded in nature;
• Painful areas are well palpated (muscular-tonic thoracalgia), usually they are located along the course of the affected nerve, in addition, there is often a numbness of the skin in the area of its innervation;
• Intensification of pain during sudden movements, coughing, sneezing, deep breaths;
• Crunch vertebrae when moving;
• The patient's condition worsens after exposure to cold or long stay in a static position.

Since the thoracology on the left with its symptoms is very similar to the pains characteristic of the pathology of the heart, then a thorough diagnosis is necessary, because an erroneous diagnosis will come to ineffective treatment.

Differences in pain in coronary heart disease (ischemic heart disease) and vertebrogenic thoracalgia

Clinical picture

Today, doctors identify four clinical options for the development of such a pathological phenomenon as thoracalgia. That this disease is directly related to the functional state of the spine, explains this classification:

1. Thoracalgia, the cause of which were violations in the lower cervical spine. It is characterized by pain in the upper chest (over- and subclavian area), radiating to the neck, shoulder, arm. On examination, tenderness is noted in the joints on the affected side, zones of soreness and increased tone of the trapezius and intercostal muscles.
2. Thoracalgia vertebrogenic, associated with pathological processes in the upper thoracic spine. In this case, there are constant diffuse pains of the aching, pulling character, often having a pectoral or interlopacial localization. Usually, pain is not associated with movement or physical activity.
3. Spade-rib version of thoracology. This syndrome is characterized by a variety of pains that are localized most often to the left in the interscapular, near-sucked region or along the lateral line of the thorax, below the axillary basin. The pain can be long-lasting or paroxysmal. Often it is associated with an act of breathing. Another characteristic feature is the migration of pain along the ribs with pressure.
4. The syndrome of the anterior thoracic wall, characterized by blunt, aching, prolonged pains, often aggravated by movement and localized in the peritometric and anteroposterior areas.

Diagnostics

Pain in the chest can be caused by many causes, and therefore the diagnosis of "thoracology" is made only after the exclusion of cardiac and pulmonary pathologies, that is, after consulting a cardiologist and pulmonologist. If from the side of these specialists there are no deviations from the norm, then, in addition to laboratory studies, a detailed survey is carried out, ideally including:

• Magnetic resonance imaging;
• Radiography;
• Densitometry (examination of the structure of bone tissue);
• Scintigraphy (study with radioisotopes);
• Electroneuromyography (examination, which allows to evaluate the functioning of the peripheral nervous system).

And already on the basis of these examinations, a diagnosis like thoracalgia is made. Symptoms and treatment of the disease will also have their own characteristics in each case. This stage is also important because an incorrectly diagnosed diagnosis often leads to a long, often expensive and completely useless treatment.

Thoracalgia: treatment

Treatment of this pathology can not consist in any one action. To achieve the optimal result, a whole complex of medical measures is needed, including physiotherapy, massage, manual therapy, medication, and physiotherapy. If necessary, this list includes spinal traction (traction) and reflexology.

Medication in this case is used in the acute period of the disease. Its purpose is to relieve acute pain and inflammation. For this, preparations of the following pharmacological groups are used:

• Anti-inflammatory - "Diclofenac", "Meloksikam", "Aertal";
• Muscle relaxants - "Midokalm", "Sirdalud";
• Neuroprotectors - B vitamins, "Mexidol";
• Chondroprotectors - "Chondrohard", "Hondrolon".

However, it should be remembered that only drug treatment can not radically solve the problem. In order to restore the functions of the spine and ensure the decompression of nerve endings, it is necessary immediately after the pain relief to do massage and exercise therapy.

Physiotherapy

With a disease such as thoracalgia, the symptoms and treatment of which often depend on many factors, physiotherapy is a real magical tool. This method is based on the use of physical phenomena, such as ultrasound, magnetic fields, laser, low frequency currents. Along with medicamental treatment, they allow you to quickly and effectively remove pain symptoms and neutralize inflammation. Another advantage of these procedures is, with rare exceptions, the absence of contraindications.

Manual therapy

Today, manual therapy has gained wide popularity in the treatment of diseases of the spine . It is a whole complex of therapeutic techniques, which allows, with the help of the hands, to correct violations in the work of the spine, joints, muscles and ligament apparatus. Outwardly, these actions resemble massage, but the difference consists in limiting the localization of sites and the force of impact.

In the case of vertebrogenic thoracalgia, the influence of the chiropractor is aimed at improving the volume of movement in the intervertebral joints and increasing the elasticity of muscles and ligaments. Together, this reduces the compression of the affected nerve, and as a result, the condition improves. It should be noted that very often professional manual manipulation allows solving problems that could not be cured by other methods.

Chronic form

As a rule, if you do not start timely treatment or do not complete it in full, then the process is chronical. It is necessary to remember, if a disease such as thoracalgia is established, that this can threaten the appearance of an intervertebral hernia and subsequently lead to disability.

Yes, the chronic form is characterized by a weaker pain syndrome, and it is often "tolerated". However, even if the pain does not bother for a long time, then, returning, it will become even more intense, which means - its cause is not defeated, but continues to destroy the body. To avoid this, it is necessary, as soon as the first signs of the disease appeared, not to engage in self-medication and not wait for "it will pass by itself", but seek qualified help. After all, the sooner the measures are taken, the more chances to completely get rid of the disease.