Chiropractic And Rib Pain

Rib 1-7 form 3 joints – 2 with the vertebrae at the back and one with the sternum at the front. Ribs 8-12 still form 2 posterior joints at the spine but instead of directly attaching to the sternum they attach to the cartilage of the rib above at the front. Like all joints in our body the rib joints are surrounded by a collection of ligaments which help the joints stay where they should be. In Between each rib are the intercostal muscles, nerve, artery and vein. There are many other muscles that attach to the rib cage including the pectorals, scalenes and serratus anterior. The diaphragm also attaches to the inferior ribs and is an important muscle to assess for anyone with mid back pain, rib pain or even low back pain.

Symptoms Of Rib Pain

Due to the location of your ribs a lot of people confuse their rib pain for mid back pain or chest pain. While these can definitely be the cause of your pain I find a lot in clinic that ribs are the main culprits. As they attache to the spine at the back and the sternum at the front I find rib dysfunction also causes a wide range of other issues such as spinal dysfunction, a tight diaphragm and shoulder blade dysfunction. 

Symptoms of rib pain can be quite varied and hard to self diagnose. That is why a thorough examination is needed to determine if and what ribs are causing your pain and to rule out other more serious causes. 

Common symptoms of rib pain include:

• Pain in the back (often underneath the scapula, or shoulderblade)
• Pain in the neck/shoulder region
• Pain slightly lateral to the spine
• Pain when breathing, either in the chest, side or back
• Pain that wraps around from the chest to the back, or vice versa
• Pain with breathing or the feeling of having difficulty breathing
• Tingling or burning type pain in the back or chest
• Tingling/pain down one, or both of the upper extremities (arms/hands).
• Pain that increases when coughing, sneezing or straining

If you are experiencing severe cough or breathing difficulties accompanied by frontal chest pain you should consult a medical practitioner.

What Causes Rib Pain?

Rib pain is usually caused by the restriction of either the costosternal Joints (joint between the rib and sternum) or the costovertebral joints (joint between the rib and spine). If any of these joints become restricted it may cause pain in the chest or back and quite often can refer to different places along the rib cage. When one of these joints become restricted it can cause the intercostal muscle to tighten which can also cause radiating pain and tightness through the rib cage.

Are you experiencing Pain in the mid back or ribs? Want to do something about it? Call to see if Chiropractic Care is for you!

Rib pain can be quite varied in its presentation and therefore can be difficult to identify. It can be a dull ache all the way to a sharp shooting pain. Due to the ribs attaching to the sternum some people may mistake rib pain for a heart attack.

Rib pain can be caused by obvious reasons such as whiplash injuries, a fall or a direct hit. However, a lot of the time rib pain is caused by everyday actions such as prolonged positions (sitting at the computer or driving a car), gardening, sneezing, coughing, twisting and other activities. Every so often it can just comes without warning and this tells me that something hasn’t been moving properly in the spine and/or rib cage for some time.