Chronic middle back pain describes symptoms that are recurrent or long lasting in the mid thoracic region of the spine. Chronic back pain has become an epidemic condition in the healthcare industry with hordes of patients joining the army of (barely) walking wounded every year.
Patients with chronic back ache statistically rarely find effective cures for their torturous symptoms. The main reason for this occurrence is mistaken diagnosis of the true cause of the pain and subsequent misguided treatments which disappoint almost universally. Although it is true that mid back symptoms are the least common of all, there are still millions who suffer from ongoing torment based in the thoracic region due to injury, ischemia, degeneration and idiopathic reasons.
This report provides clues to the causes of chronic mid back discomfort, as well as pointing out the way towards a lasting cure.
Chronic Middle Back Pain Causes
Severe recurrent pain in the mid back can be a result of back injury, disease, congenital condition or degenerative process. However, most of these causes can and will be successfully treated with appropriate medical and alternative treatments.
Instances of longstanding unresolved back pain might be the result of an incorrectly diagnosed psychosomatic pain syndrome, although it is certainly possible for other scenarios to explain the eternal suffering, as well.
Some patients may have a disease process enacting their pain, while others might have different, yet to be recognized, structural issues elsewhere in the anatomy. Remember, that although symptoms may exist in the mid back, the underlying causative condition may exist higher in the upper back or even in the neck in a few instances.
Patients with these common conditions usually spend years searching for relief, using a variety of treatment modalities, but generally receive poor results. This is no surprise, since therapies designed to cure a physical cause will have little or no effect on a psychogenic back pain condition, a disease process or a yet to be diagnosed structural issue elsewhere in the spine.
Chronic Mid Back Pain Treatments
Physicians still mostly believe that even treatment resistant back pain is the direct result of a physical anatomical spinal abnormality. Medical treatments are designed to correct this abnormality or provide symptomatic relief. The former choice is great if the anatomical condition is truly and directly responsible for the symptoms, but it rarely is in patients with chronic pain. The latter choice of symptomatic treatment is less desirable option, since it does nothing to correct the actual cause of the condition, physical or otherwise.
Additionally, symptomatic care is a form of dependency, be it on chiropractic, massage or drugs. Of course, if you need relief, and do not mind purely symptom-based care, then it may be smart to stay holistic and natural, avoiding pharmaceutical products, and their many risks, as much as possible.
Chronic Middle Back Pain Solutions
The thoracic spine is not prone to injury or degeneration nearly as much as the lumbosacral or cervical regions. Unless you have a known serious traumatic injury to the mid back region, do not fall into the trap suffered by many patients with chronic pain. Many continue to pursue treatments with various doctors and therapists, but hold on tight to their original diagnoses.
If your treatments have been unsuccessful time and time again, there is a good chance that your diagnosis is incorrect. Discover the true cause of your pain and relief is far easier to find. One of the best ways to re-evaluate your diagnosis is to seek a second or third opinion and allow the doctor to do a complete exam without informing them of the prior verdict.
For patients who believe they might be suffering from psychologically-motivated pain syndromes, it may be recommended to try using knowledge therapy to come to terms with all the possibilities of why the pain just won’t go away. Many patients find relief with this alternative path to treatment.
