Thoracic pain

Thoracic pain, also known as middle back pain or upper back pain, is much less common than lower back pain or neck pain. If you suffer from thoracic back pain, you’re likely looking for relief. We can help. This article discusses the most common thoracic pain causes, symptoms, risk factors, and treatments for finding relief. Frequently thoracic back pain has a benign musculoskeletal origin, but may indicate a more serious underlying problem. The word thoracic means “pertaining to the chest” hence the thoracic spine forms the back of the chest wall. With markedly less mobility than the cervical spine above and lumbar spine below, the thoracic spine’s main function is to provide protection for the vital organs in the chest, such as the heart and lungs, as well as allow stability for standing upright.

van der Hoeven et al. from Hagaziekenhuis, The Hague, and Leiden The Netherlands, present the case of a woman who developed severe nightly thoracic pain during pregnancy without neurological deficits upon examination. Spontaneously after childbirth, the pain was markedly reduced. Further investigation showed that her pain was caused by an intramedullary ependymoma in the cervicothoracic spinal cord. Gross total resection was accomplished, and the patient has been free of pain ever since. With this case, the authors want to draw attention to a rare, but possibly very disabling, cause of increasing nightly thoracic pain during pregnancy. Spontaneous improvement after childbirth could erroneously cause postponement of further investigation ¹⁾.