Upper back pain not going away, got myself all freaked out...

[IHeartKingThistle]

Had sore upper right back for 7 weeks now. Not getting better. Feels like a sore spot above bra strap height and then aches all the way up to my neck. Might have done it in the gym but not sure.

Had a Google this afternoon and now terrified it's pancreatic cancer.

I've also had thrush for 6 weeks that I can't get rid of. Think its thrush, did the home test and its not BV. Can't imagine the two are linked?

Feeling panicky. Fed up of being in pain and now scared it's something bad.

Don't know why I'm posting, will book a GP appointment to get checked out.

Haven't been to gym since it started BTW. Heat pads and painkillers not really helping.

Sorry to hear you're in pain but you know that Dr Google is never a good move (I'm a compete hypocrite though as I'm forever googling and self diagnosing - always a very bad illness -never just a strain or pulled muscle).

Pancreatic cancer is a particularly tricky one isn't it because there are so few symptoms that you end up not being able to rule it out - (with my health anxiety I normally can find 1 symptom on a list of 10 and my DH rationally reminds me that I have 10% of possible symptoms).

However, it is very unlikely you have pancreatic cancer and its much more likely to be one of potential myriad of other issues - all of which will be easily resolvable.

Hopefully the GP appointment will put your mind (and back) at ease

Thanks so much for understanding myrtle. I've got myself in a right wobble today.

Is n't the pancreas on the left? The gallbladder is on the right - could it be that? Any pain felt below or in the region of the breast too? I had gallbladder pain, for a couple of weeks, that hurt into my back and was worse when I coughed etc but I could also feel it in my front and was relieved by bending forward. I've had a few spells, the last one was the worst but they are not taking it out for the moment because it is 'quiet' for years at a time.

The GP tested me for 'Pancreatic pain' by thumping my back hard on my left.

Your pancreas wouldn't be giving you pain above your bra strap? It's far more likely you've pulled something, but you really need to see your GP.

Thanks so much. I do have a gallstone but it's generally asymptomatic and if I do feel it it's nearer the front. Could I suddenly be getting back pain from it?

It's such an achy pain but I can't pinpoint exactly where it is. So weird. I've just folded a load of washing and now it's killing me. Not sure if an internal pain would react like that?

I'm such an idiot but I'm scared.

I had upper back pain for a good few months. I worked out it was stress related, I would spend a lot of time with my shoulders & my upper back tensed up, I didn't even realise I was doing it. Keep an eye on your posture & check you're not holding yourself in a tense position if that makes sense.

That does make sense, I probably am tensing! Just had 6 week holiday though so it would be odd to be stress! I literally woke up with it one day.

I had horrific upper back pain for 6 months last year, was so bad I was vomiting with it. It was all positional, I had got a new car so was sitting slightly differently. I had intensive physio with dry needling and swimming and one day it just went. I still feel niggles but swim 5 days a week now to stretch all my back muscles.

That's really interesting.... we did get new sofas 7 weeks ago actually but even on holiday it's been bad.

Thank you for these much more likely options! Still feeling jittery. Given myself an upset stomach through worrying now. Need to snap out of it, stop worrying, book a GP appointment and relax. Have stopped googling.

I've had 7 months of upper back pain. Which started in my left chest, and radiated into my breast.
I thought I had breast cancer, I had my breast checked twice - nothing.

It eventually spread into my shoulder, left arm, down my back, up into my neck, around my shoulder blade and into my serratus anterior.
I couldn't put my hair up without my arm going weak and couldn't put my arm behind my back without throbbing pain and aches.
I started to get numbness, pins and needles, burning sensations in my breast... was all really scary stuff tbh.

I had an MRI thinking it's a trapped nerve and all came back fine.
I realised that my anxiety and stress made it worse, I was tensing up my shoulders and my chest which was causing intense spasms in my muscles.

I still don't know what really caused the issue but, for the past few weeks I've been getting much better, mostly because the MRI showed there was nothing wrong, my stress levels suddenly decreased.

I do Yoga twice a week which keeps my muscles stretched and keeps trigger points at bay.
I think this is something I will have to do long term now as my muscle is so fatigued on that side, it needs to be strengthened which will take time.

I just wanted to comment because I felt like you at one point and was crying daily with pain, put on medication all sorts... I'm not on the medication anymore and I've stopped believing it's anything serious, simply because it makes my stress levels worse.

Please talk to your doctor and let them evaluate you properly before jumping conclusions. If you have the money see a physio, sports therapist or chiropractor.

The most obvious and simple explanation would be muscle pain.
Can you get a massage and see if that helps?
I get terrible pain between my shoulder blades from tension and stress. Massage keeps it under control.

Definitely go to an osteopath and ask them if there is anything going on. Could be trapped nerve, tension all sorts!

Thanks so much popcorn, I really appreciate the advice.

The sorest bit is just by the spine. DH tried to massage it earlier and it hurt too much. The rest is just dull achy pain. Very painful to sneeze.

Is osteopath the best person then? I don't think I know the difference between all the different people!

Sounds very much like a trigger point, find a physio who offers dry needling. Even if it's not a trigger point, a physio will more than likely be able to help

What's a trigger point?

GP as first port of call.

It could be a feedback loop; you pulled something, you're stressed about it so your hunch and tense up, it never really heals, you tense more, it hurts more...

If you have a bath have a nice soak in some warm water and relax.

All my back issues are in my upper back and it sounds similar. Yes tension can make a minor injury incredibly painful. Yes to sneezing being excruciating painful!

Trigger points are bunched up knots of muscle caused by tension and fatigue in the muscle.
Sports therapy will help get those trigger points but it's painful.

Physio does help, it will help you strength those areas and stretch them out ( though I personally gave up with physio mostly because he was rubbish haha) I did yoga instead which gets rid of trigger points and stretches the muscle at the same time so kills two birds with one stone and saves me money.

Chiropractor look at the spine and see if any discs are causing the nerves/muscles problems.
Osteopath is very similar to physio and chiropractor but they take a softer approach - sometimes that's necessary if having the area massaged causes more trigger points.

Physio would be your first port of call. Then I would suggest sports massage as a complimentary and if that still doesn't do anything, you need to go back to your doctor to rule out disc problems or anything else underlying.

If you get to where I am having everything investigated and seen every kind of therapist going, and still have pain, then it's safe to say it's your stress and anxiety.

I also had intense pain whenever DH used to massage my back, still do actually even though it's tons better.

You could ask your doctor for amytripyline it's a bit of a sedative drug but incredibly good for pain, relaxes the muscles.
I really would only recommend that if your pain is severe and keeps you awake though as they can turn you into a zombie.