Upper Back Pain

I am having severe back pain in my upper back, sometimes radiating through into my chest.  This pain started about three weeks ago, and has gotten steadily worse. Muscle relaxers do not seem to be of much benefit.  Even pain medication does not relieve the pain. The only time I am at ease is while lying down.  Whenever I try to turn over or move after resting, the pain reappears. Turning my head and breathing deeply is painful. The pain is not directly over my spine, but to the side. I do not remember injuring myself, but I am active, and I suppose I could have suffered an injury without realizing it. There is no pain radiating into either arm.  The pain shows itself in different ways.  Sometimes it manifests as a burning pain, sometimes as as a sharp stabbing pain. At first, it was across one area of my back, but now it seems to be spreading.  I am not a wimp, and I can probably outlast whatever this is if I know it will go away, but if it won's, I will do what I have to do.

[midnitemoon]

If the pain increases when you take a deep breath, it could be pleurisy.  I had that once and it sucked! I got it because I was a smoker.  It is an infection in the lining of your lungs and you need antibiotics to clear it up.  It can be very painful.  It started as a dull pain on one side and moved throughout my chest and back over a few days and became very sharp and painful.  Just a guess though.  

[genji]

Hello,

I have heard that magnesium can help with sore muscles.  I don't know if you have tried it already but it could be something to look into.  Here is some info I found:  
"Magnesium's role in relaxing muscles. Another primary role of magnesium is to work with calcium to help regulate the body's nerve and muscle tone. In many nerve cells, magnesium serves as a chemical gate blocker - as long as there is enough magnesium around, calcium can't rush into the nerve cell and activate the nerve. This gate blocking by magnesium helps keep the nerve relaxed. If our diet provides us with too little magnesium, this gate blocking can fail and the nerve cell can become overactivated. When some nerve cells are overactivated, they can send too many messages to the muscles and cause the muscles to overcontract. This chain of events helps explain how magnesium deficiency can trigger muscle tension, muscle soreness, muscle spasms, muscle cramps, and muscle fatigue especially in the back and legs where some of the body's largest muscles live."
I put the link below if you want to read more.  I hope this can help you a little!

http://www.jigsawhealth.com/products/magnesium_supplement.html