Question

FairyGrl79 · 05-10-2005, 12:09 PM

Since Saturday I have had a stiffness in my right middle back, right about at the bottom of my rib cage. It is more on my side than my actual back, but kind of goes into my back as well. If I lay still in bed it is fine, but if I get up and try to move around a lot it hurts. It hurts most if I try to sit up in a chair. Does anyone know what this could be? Probably a pulled muscle, but what can I do to make this better? I have tried heat which helps a little. Medicine doesn't seem to help much (Bayer Back and Body) what muscles are there and how could I have pulled something without even knowing it? Hope someone can help, I haven't been able to go to work because I sit in a chair at a computer all day and right now sitting in a chair is the worst. I thought about visiting my doctor but the last time I went to the doctor for back pain they told me to do situps, which is I can tell you right now is not a possibility. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

perfik · 05-10-2005, 12:28 PM

Sounds like a pulled muscle to me or should I say a strained muscle. It is amazingly easy to overtax a muscle without noticing especially if it is warm at the time. Without knowing what you were doing the previous day or two it is hard to say what caused it but bear in mind that it is very common for people to pull back muscles gardening this time of year. The best medication for it in my opinion is advil or some generic ibuprofen and rest as much as possible. If you can get to a massage therapist, a gentle massage would help a lot. However... Back problems are notoriosly difficult to diagnose and if the pain persists for more than 4 to 6 days I would see a doctor. The good news is that typically pain off to the side of the middle back is 90% likely to be a sore muscle.
Good luck and take care.

FairyGrl79 · 05-10-2005, 12:35 PM

Thanks for your reply. No I wasn't gardening...unfortunately my husband takes care of that as I usually end up killing most plants!

Actually I was at my computer and when I got up I noticed that my back was really stiff and sore. I will try the ibuprofen and see if that helps any better than the Bayer. Thanks again for your help!

Tirzah · 05-10-2005, 05:24 PM

I have compression fractures (t5,t6,t9,t11) and most of my pain is in my ribs. I have a hard time sitting for more then 10 minutes at a time.
What kind of a doctor did you go to that told you to do sit ups for your back pain? I certainly would look for a ortho spine doctor if I were you.
Tirzah