Lower back pain is a popular form of back pain that you often hear people are dealing with. In fact, half of all the 1.7 billion people suffering from musculoskeletal conditions are lower back pain cases which put it on the top cause of disability worldwide. But aside from that, upper back pain is also one that a lot of individuals struggle with.
Given this fact, whether you belong in that statistic or not, chiropractic care should be a part of your health regimen. Not only because it treats the condition but also because it can prevent it from happening in the first place. Upper back pain is serious, don’t take it for granted if there’s an available help that you can get. Although some cases only require you to take a couple of days rest, there are those that are serious and needs professional help. Here are the signs to know it’s time to visit your doctor or chiropractor for your upper back pain.
The Pain Isn’t Going Away
If you’re suffering from chronic upper back pain for quite a while, painkillers are not going to solve your problem. It will simply numb the pain but will never treat the root cause of the pain. In cases like these, a consultation from a chiropractor is what you need. They will conduct comprehensive tests to figure out the cause of pain, discuss treatment that they see fit with your condition, and then proceed with providing pain relief and manual adjustments or instrument-based techniques to treat your chronic pain.
You Were In A Car Accident
There are times where symptoms of underlying damage only show a couple of months after the accident. This is why it’s best to consult a chiropractor right away for early diagnosis and treatment.
You Feel The Pain On The Side Too
If your upper back pain is accompanied by a severe painful spot on the side of your body and back below your ribs, don’t ignore it! Especially if you also noticed that the color of your pee has become red or brown hued. This may be a sign if kidney stone, so make sure you go get a checkup right away! Don’t endure it.
You’ve Been Having Fever Lately
Back pain that you’ve been dealing with for quite a while usually come with good days and bad days. Good days meaning the pain can be tolerable while bad days slows your day or even prevents you from doing your daily routine. If those bad days also comes with fever, don’t just call in sick at work, get an appointment to your doctor too! It could be a form of spinal infection.
It Feels Like The Pain Is Shooting Through Your Chest
Numbness or weakness in your arms can be one sign of a stroke—or it may also be an indication of a tear in the wall of the aorta, the largest blood vessel in your body that runs in the back of your chest. This may even be highly possible if you have uncontrolled high blood pressure over a long period of time.
You’re Unbelievably Fatigued All The Time
Masking your symptoms will put you in an endless cycle of sick-tired-numb. It’s hard to live like you have to constantly drag yourself every day. Chiropractic care holistic approach on wellness will break you out of that routine.
You Feel Weakness In Your Legs
If you feel upper back pain along with numbness or weakness in your arms or legs, it may be a sign of a neurologic injury from a slipped disc. This usually happens during improper lifting where people use their back to lift instead of their legs. If this sounds like you, time to pay your doctor a visit. Plus make sure to bend your hips and knees to squat down to your load, keep it close to your body and straighten your legs to lift. Do not twist or turn when holding or lifting heavy objects. Learning how to lift and handle heavy loads can help prevent injury and avoid back pain.
It Hurts When You Take A Deep Breath
An upper back pain that’s only due to stress shouldn’t cause you to be in a lot of pain when taking a deep breath. If this is your case, get it checked immediately because you may be experiencing pulmonary embolism. This condition can be life-threatening when left untreated for an extended period of time. So at the first time you experience the pain upon deep breaths, consult your doctor right away.
Pain Intensifies When You Move
Did you slip or fall and you landed on your back and hit an edge of a step or something similar? Now you’re having upper back pains that get worse when moving? That may be a sign of broken vertebral bone or rib! It doesn’t matter if the pain is tolerable, talk to your doctor right away otherwise the injury will only get worse.