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What Causes Radiating Pain In Upper Left Chest, Back And Shoulder When Moving?
Question: i have chest and back pain in my upper left side almost to my shoulder and around my shoulder blade. it hurts when i move or when i breath.
Brief Answer:
urgent assessment is required
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
although the symptom may be related to muscular problems (like inflammation or injury of the shoulder girdle), an urgent assessment is required to exclude more serious conditions like acute coronary syndrome (ACS), pulmonary embolism (PE), pericarditis, pneumothorax, etc. The diagnosis of soft-tissue pain is reinforced by the worsening when moving.
A chest X-ray, an ECG, and various blood tests like d-dimers, troponin assay, etc may distinguish between them or exclude all of them. Since the potential implications of such diagnoses are very important, urgent assessment is required. You'd better visit the ER as soon as possible. If the serious diagnoses are excluded then a drug like the one you've used is usually sufficient to control the pain.
Kind Regards!
urgent assessment is required
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
although the symptom may be related to muscular problems (like inflammation or injury of the shoulder girdle), an urgent assessment is required to exclude more serious conditions like acute coronary syndrome (ACS), pulmonary embolism (PE), pericarditis, pneumothorax, etc. The diagnosis of soft-tissue pain is reinforced by the worsening when moving.
A chest X-ray, an ECG, and various blood tests like d-dimers, troponin assay, etc may distinguish between them or exclude all of them. Since the potential implications of such diagnoses are very important, urgent assessment is required. You'd better visit the ER as soon as possible. If the serious diagnoses are excluded then a drug like the one you've used is usually sufficient to control the pain.
Kind Regards!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
i cannot go to er now. can it wait until am. then i will call my heart doctor.
Brief Answer:
if it's any of the diagnoses I've mentioned then it can't wait...
Detailed Answer:
Although I believe that you only have a muscular problem (which by no means represents a life-threat obviously), the more serious diagnoses have to be excluded. If any of aforementioned diagnoses applies to your case then it can't wait. It should be diagnosed and managed as soon as possible...
I'm sorry that I can't provide an "easy" answer for this. Clinical examination would have made me far more certain about certain diagnoses but this is not possible during this kind of discussion. I can only comment on your symptoms as you present them and your symptoms leave some room for serious diagnoses despite being less likely than the "innocent" ones.
Kind Regards!
if it's any of the diagnoses I've mentioned then it can't wait...
Detailed Answer:
Although I believe that you only have a muscular problem (which by no means represents a life-threat obviously), the more serious diagnoses have to be excluded. If any of aforementioned diagnoses applies to your case then it can't wait. It should be diagnosed and managed as soon as possible...
I'm sorry that I can't provide an "easy" answer for this. Clinical examination would have made me far more certain about certain diagnoses but this is not possible during this kind of discussion. I can only comment on your symptoms as you present them and your symptoms leave some room for serious diagnoses despite being less likely than the "innocent" ones.
Kind Regards!
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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