Back Pain

i am experiencing sharp upper back pain when i breathe in. any suggestions?

i got hit in hockey about a week ago, and when i turn or bend the wrong way i experience a sharp, intense pain in my upper left back. It also hurts alot when i take a deep breath in? Anybody know what happened? And are there any quick remedies?

Public Comments

1. There is a chance that you subluxated a rib. This usually happens in the back from a traumatic incident, and can cause restricted and painful breathing. There is a lesser chance that you strained/bruised an intercostal muscle, and a much lesser chance you herniated a disc. It depends on how you were hit. From what you've said, my best guess would be a subluxed rib. You can either try to wait it out, or go see a doctor. I would say that if it isn't getting any better within a week that you go see a doctor, or sooner if you want. In the mean time you could rest it and apply ice as needed for pain.
2. That is really hard to say, but my guess would be that the muscles in between your ribs got tweaked a bit. The intercostal muscles are muscles located between the ribs and aid in breathing, moreso when you breath in. My guess would be that the Intercostal muscle got injured to some degree, so movement hurts; Be it physical movement or breathing, the action of that intercostal muscle is causing pain when it gets stressed. That would be my guess. As for a QUICK remedy? Well not really. You can do what you would do for a muscle strain. Rest is the biggest thing. Some Tylenol will help the pain, and possible some ice(depends on the location) if you find it helps. mainly it takes time to heal. Hope you feel better soon!
3. More information is needed for a full diagnosis, but from what you said it is likely you have subluxated a rib head. That means that the rib head is not in the right place or is moving incorrectly. The consequence of this can be felt as a sharp stabbing pain right beside the spine, but can hurt from the back all the way around to the front or even to the shoulder. It will usually be worse with a deep breath or raising your arms. It kind of feels like if you just move right it will pop back in and the pain will go away. The good news is that rib head dysfunction is a relatively quick fix for a chiropractor with patients often feeling instant relief of the worst symptoms. For more information you can look at the site I referenced. It is possible with a trauma like that in hockey that an intercostal muscle was bruised or even that a rib was "cracked." Your chiropractor will rule out these issues before diagnosing the subluxation. He should be able to take x-rays if needed and determine if the issue is more serious.