Tenderness over Thoracic Spine

Hi,

Im a student Nurse and In September 2009 lifted a patient using the drag lift. The patient was heavy and as I twisted I felt a kind of pop in my back. It was only the next day when it started to hurt and I became aware that my spine was tender to the touch around T8. In addition I had pain in the muscle to the right of my spine . After 2 months of sleepless nights due to pain, I went to my GP who was very dismissive and stated almost immediately that it was muscular. I was not convinced, however the pain subsided around January 2010. Even although the ache type pain had gone I have always had this bruised feeling on my spine.

Then in June 2010 during some lifting in the garden the pain returned to my back. It feels like a band of tightness radiating from the midline of the spine out towards the sides of my back. Again the sleepless night have returned and on occassion especially after running or swimming I seem to get what I would call, refered pain into the inside of my chest, level with the corresponding area of pain in my back. This is not severe but comes on without warning and catches me off guard. It feels like being stabbed with a blunt instrument.

Strangely enough my range of motion is excellent. I can touch my toes and rotate fully, however I have read that Prolapsed discs can cause no symptoms in the Thoracic spine due to the stabilising effect of the ribcage. this is what I believe is wrong. The only things that make this worse is prolonged poor posture (sitting at computer), and sport. Sleeping on the floor means a less painfull nights sleep.

Does anyone know what is causing
A. This bruised feeling on my spine.
B. Band of tightness in back around T8
C. Referred pain into chest.

I cannot go back to my GP as I do not want back problems on my health record when applying for jobs.
Thanks in advance for the advice.

[GettingOlder]

I'd see an ortho specialist, get an MRI, and really find out what is causing it. Just my personal opinion and best wishes to you!

[Kalvin]

What you read about prolapse discs not causing any symptoms in the T-Spine is not accurate. Disc prolapses do not occur that often in the Thoracic spine due to the stabilizing effect of the rib cage however, it can be one of the worse and most painful areas to have spinal problems.

A. The bruised feeling is typical, it's probably from inflammation.

B. The band feeling is the from the dermatome, each spinal level has a dermatome or
     band. Do a search on the net for a "Dermatome Map"  

C. Probably the upper 2/3 of the T-spine refers to the chest, its typical.

At this point, this is something that you might be able treat with P.T. ,NSAIDS or maybe injections. You need to do something about it before it gets worse.


Take care