[grace]

#7046

First time use the forum. Sent to the wrong category. So send it again.

Dr. Corenman, almost 4 months ago, I had an injury in the middle of the thoracic spine due to an improper spine manipulation by a PT. The PT said it is joint sprain. Since then, I have had pain in that area. It even caused the pain in the chest area since the manipulation was applied from the front in the middle of two breasts. At some point, I felt better. But later, it seemed to flare up again. It has been this kind of cycle for months. I am asking if this situation should be further checked. I am worrying that the injury may have got worse and start to hurt other part of the spine. Will that be possible? Thanks.

[Donald Corenman, MD, DC]

#7099

Pain in the thoracic spine that has not improved after four months should be looked into. The potential structures that can cause pain are the disc, facet, rib-vertebra junction and the nerve root. There are other structures that are not spine related and although very rare, should be differentially considered such as the heart and aorta.

Whatever the injured structure is, it is unlikely that this will lead to adjacent structure failure. A good workup by a spine surgeon or knowledgeable PM&R doctor will be helpful. You might need an MRI.

Dr. Corenman

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