Chest muscle pain?

[dbranden]

After several months of pain, a pain specialist recently diagnosed my back pain as being due to injury to my trapezius muscle. I have had trigger point injections on my shoulders, which releived the pain only for about 2 days. The pain I have varies from my neck to upper back, mid back, shoulders and even in the front of my chest near my collarbone. I am also having some pain in the center of my chest--just a dull ache that comes and goes but doesn't seem to be related to exertion. I have had an echo stress test to rule out heart issues, but the pain in my chest really scares me. Does anyone here know if the trapezius muscle can cause pain in the chest? This has caused me a lot of anxiety. I am a 37 year old female with no cardiac risk factors and good cholesterol levels. I have had 2 cardiac ablations for IST in 2003, and since then I worry a lot about my heart. Any advice would be appreciated!

[anacyde]

Yes, I did have chest pain with the muscle injury.  Incidentally, I also get chest pains with stress - but they are not cardiac.

[dbranden]

Thank you so much for the advice! I really do appreciate it. I keep hoping I will feel better soon, but the pain is still pretty intense. I will be starting PT next week, so I am hoping it helps. So you had chest pain with it as well? That is the part I don't handle well. It really frightens me even though I have had a full workup of blood tests (including cardiac enzyme), echo stress test, EKG. And I think the anxiety I have also adds to the pain. Anyway, thanks so much for responding to my question!

[anacyde]

Mine still gives me trouble from time to time, and my injury happened 16 years ago.  Oh my goodness does that make me feel old.  I remember the pain like it was yesterday though.  I was injured at the beginning of summer and I remember still needing muscle relaxers occasionally even into the winter.  That is a very unpleasant injury.  Do your best to use heat directly on it when possible, and avoid straining it - though be sure to keep it moving regularly.  I got to where the pain was so bad I quit moving it...and man did that cause problems.

Have you asked about any kind of physical therapy?  I would.

[dbranden]

Can you tell me how long it took to heal from your injury? This has been going on for several months, and I am so tired of the pain.

[anacyde]

OMG I had a trapezius muscle injury when I was a teenager and the pain (chest, back, shoulder) were so severe I thought I ruptured something internally.  It can be quite excruciating.  To date, the only things that hurt worse were childbirth and a kidney stone...and not by much.