Suggest Treatment For Upper Back Pain

Posted on Mon, 17 Nov 2014

Question: I have had pain in the middle of my upper back for the last 2 years. I also had trouble breathing and was diagnosed with asthma a year ago. For the past 2 weeks the pain has gotten a lot worse in my back and I have had a cough. My doctor could not hear anything wrong with my lungs, but I have gotten weaker and have had dizziness. I am also tired a lot of the time. My breathing has become more difficult. I am worried about lung cancer since I am a former smoker, I had x-rays of my lungs over a year ago and they were fine. I have also become horse at times that has been off and on for 2 months. I do also suffer from severe acid reflux and have scar tissue in my esophagus.

Answered by Dr. Ronald Schubert (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
posterior chest pain and cough pleurisy

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for contacting HCM

I am sorry to hear that you have had persistent back pain. From your description this sounds like you have pleurisy. This can cause severe pain without any finding on chest x-ray or physical exam. For my patients that show with your symptoms I do recommend a chest x ray because you can miss something. In your case the chance for lung cancer is very low so that is not something I would expect on a chest x-ray.

I recommend that you start taking ibuprofen or Naprosyn routinely for 1-2 weeks, along with a cough suppressant and expectorant.

The acid reflux does not usually cause back pain.

Hope this answers your question. Please contact us again with your health care questions and concerns

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj