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Suggest Treatment For Soft Tissue Strain In Upper Right Back Post Injury

Posted on Thu, 19 Mar 2015

Question: I fell while skiing last Wednesday and landed hard on my upper right back. I felt/heard something pop but was able to get up and keep skiing, although my right scapula area was very stiff. I thought it was just a tight muscle, but now, 5 days later, it is still killing me. Hurts to take a deep breathe, constant pain, some swelling. No discoloration, and I have full arm mobility. Moving my arm does not hurt, however laying down is awful. I live overseas, and it is the middle of the night right now. I cannot get comfortable at all, and 800 mg of ibuprophen not touching it. I can go for an X-ray tomorrow if need be, but I am not super confident they will catch anything here. What do you suggest.

Answered by Dr. Saurabh Gupta (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Seems to be SOFT TISSUE STRAIN involving your ligaments or tendons.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for your query.

From the description, I feel that you might have sustained a SOFT TISSUE STRAIN involving your ligaments or tendons.

This will generally resolve within few weeks by the following measures -
* Rest to the injured part and do not involve in activities which puts additional strain on the injured tissues.
* Ice packing should be applied for about 20 minutes once in every 2 hours.
* Stronger prescription NSAIDS with muscle relaxants may help if simple analgesics do not help.
*Apply diclofenac gel on the affected area.

Get an Xray done to ruleout any bony injury.

I do hope that you have found something helpful and I will be glad to answer any further query.
Take care

Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar