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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Stabbing Pain On Upper Back?

I am 22 year old male who has been experiencing mid to upper back pain over the past year. Over the last month and a half I have noticed an increase in the occurrence and severity of the pain. I can best describe it as someone constantly stabbing me on my left side of my mid to upper back, closer to the spine. Whenever I position my left arm as to throw a football and perform the motion of throwing a football I begin to feel the pain. The stabbing pain is also accompanied by a feeling of running out of breath. I wake up constantly in the middle of the night and feel the left part of my back numb and moments later in pain. I have noticed that placing a heating pad in this area relieves some of the pain, but not for long. It seems as if any movement that draws my left shoulder blade closer to the spine causes this pain. This is not the case with my right shoulder blade/mid back area. This is something that is now causing me a lot of stress and lack of focus because of the intensity and common occurrence of the pain.
Tue, 26 Aug 2014
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Orthopaedic Surgeon, Joint Replacement 's  Response
Hello,
Thanks for your query.

From description it seems you might be suffering Mechanical back pain.     
It is a common medical problem.Mechanical back pain implies the source of pain is in the spine and/or its supporting structure. The surrounding muscles and ligaments may develop reactive spasm and pain.
1. Lie on hard bed
2. Taking muscle relaxants in combination with mild pain killers will help you.
3. Hot water fomentation to back 2-3 times a day and applying a local analgesic gel on the affected area will also help in providing a relief.
4. Physiotherapy - Interferential therapy (IFT) to your back will help you relieve the pain
5. Avoid driving, leaning forward, sitting for prolonged time or lifting heavy weights. These activities can increase your back pain.
You can start with swimming and mild aerobic exercises. These do help a lot in the back pain. Do adequate warming up before starting the exercises daily.
Taking calcium and vitamin D 3 supplements will also help in early recovery. You can get these prescribed from your orthopedician.

I do hope that you have found something helpful and I will be glad to answer any further query.
Take care
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What Causes Stabbing Pain On Upper Back?

Hello, Thanks for your query. From description it seems you might be suffering Mechanical back pain. It is a common medical problem.Mechanical back pain implies the source of pain is in the spine and/or its supporting structure. The surrounding muscles and ligaments may develop reactive spasm and pain. 1. Lie on hard bed 2. Taking muscle relaxants in combination with mild pain killers will help you. 3. Hot water fomentation to back 2-3 times a day and applying a local analgesic gel on the affected area will also help in providing a relief. 4. Physiotherapy - Interferential therapy (IFT) to your back will help you relieve the pain 5. Avoid driving, leaning forward, sitting for prolonged time or lifting heavy weights. These activities can increase your back pain. You can start with swimming and mild aerobic exercises. These do help a lot in the back pain. Do adequate warming up before starting the exercises daily. Taking calcium and vitamin D 3 supplements will also help in early recovery. You can get these prescribed from your orthopedician. I do hope that you have found something helpful and I will be glad to answer any further query. Take care