Chest - Thorax

IMPORTANT

If you suspect someone or yourself is having a heart attack, you should call 999. Symptoms of a heart attack include;

• Chest pain with a sensation of squeezing, tightness or pressure in your chest.
• Arm pain (especially left) neck, jaw or back pain
• Lightheaded or dizzy feelings, nausea or sickness
• Sweating
• Shortness of Breath, coughing or wheezing
• Symptoms of anxiety attack like an overwhelming feeling of anxiety

Rib Strain

Rib Strains though not particularly common can be extremely painful. The pain is often aching and nagging, with sharp catches on sudden or unguarded like breathing (especially deep breaths in), coughing and sneezing, which can make them worrying. Pain usually involves the area of strain beside the spine but can radiate around the ribcage and even come through to the sternum (breast bone) at the front of the chest.

Rib Strains respond well to chiropractic treatment and soft tissue techniques. We use manipulation, mobilisation and soft tissue release techniques to address restriction and relieve painful tissues. Where appropriate we can also use taping techniques to relieve painful regions.

If you would like more information or require a treatment then please contact our clinic.

T4 Syndrome

T4 or “Upper Thoracic Syndrome” is something that is not uncommon for us to see in clinic. Irritation of the upper back (between the shoulder blades) can cause symptoms to the arms and hands.

Common symptoms include:

Glove like distribution of pins and needles and tingling of both hands.

Upper back pain, aching or stiffness

Aching or heaviness into the arms.

T4 syndrome is usually more common if you have experienced chronic (long term) and recurrent upper back problems. It is also associated with poor posture or weakness of the upper back and will be aggravated by prolonged or sustained postures. Usually lying flat on your back can give relief although it is not uncommon to wake up with the tingling in the hands.

Chiropractic is very effective in addressing T4 Syndrome. This requires a combination of hands on treatment to relieve the involved spinal segments with appropriate exercises designed to address postural dysfunction, weakness or muscle imbalance.

If you are suffering with T4 Syndrome and would like to book an appointment or find out more, call us now.

Costochondritis/Tietze’s Syndrome 

The joints between the ribs and the sternum (breastbone) where they attach at the front of your chest are called the costochondral joints. Inflammation of these is called costochondritis. This common problem causes sharp chest pain and tenderness. The pain will be worse when deep breathing, coughing or sneezing. 

If you are also experience swelling, redness and heat over the affected joints then you are suffering from the far more rare Tietze Syndrome which is a separate entity.

Tietze Syndrome is not appropriate for manual therapy treatment where as costochondritis can be. Tietze Syndrome is usually self limiting and can be treated with Anti-Inflammatory medication.

If you are suffering from chest pain, and would like treatment or for more information please call the clinic.

Golfer’s Elbow/Medial Epicondylopathy

Symptoms

You will experience pain at the inside aspect of the elbow which may radiate down the forearm. The pain will be exacerbated by gripping especially if you then use the arm, i.e. pouring hot water from a kettle, using secateurs in the garden or using power tools. The movement however doesn't have to be strenuous, turning the key in the lock of a door can elicit sharp pain too. Despite the name, you don’t have to be a golfers to get it, just as you don't have to play tennis to get tennis elbow.

What is Medial Epicondylopathy?

As an overuse injury of the tendon, this is still often referred to as an “Epicondylitis”. However we know through recent research that there is primarily a degenerative rather than inflammatory condition of the tendon. As such it is very important to treat and manage it appropriately .

Treatment

Most people respond well to conservative treatment consisting of soft tissue and manual therapies and exercise strengthening.

Manipulation has also been shown to be useful in pain modulation. These are all techniques that we use as standard in our clinics.

If you are suffering from Medial Epicondylopathy then call us at our clinics today. 

Tennis Elbow/Lateral Epicondylopathy

Symptoms

If you have Tennis Elbow you will experience pain at the lateral aspect (outside) of the elbow, classically with a point tenderness of pain over the bony prominence (lateral epicondyle). Your pain will increase with gripping activities, especially those that involve wrist extension (bending backwards) such as sweeping, lifting when the palm is facing down or pouring the kettle. The pain can also radiate down to the forearm even to the wrist. The pain is similar to Golfer’s Elbow but occurs at the other side of the elbow. Sometimes you may experience both Golfers and Tennis elbow if you have had symptoms for a long time.

What is Lateral Epicondylopathy?

It is injury to the tendons of the muscles in the forearm that are responsible for movement of the wrist and fingers.

This condition responds well to conservative care when managed appropriately. With chronic cases that are non-responsive to conservative care we will refer to the appropriate consultant.

Treatment

Treatment normally consists of manual and soft tissue including

• Dry Needling
• Deep tissue massage
• Tissue and joint Mobilisation
• Instrument Assisted Techniques (Graston)
• Kinesio Taping.

These are all techniques that we use as standard at our clinic.

Most importantly we will diagnose and therefore treat your epicondylosis appropriately to achieve the best results for you.

If you are suffering from tennis elbow/ Medial Epicondylopathy then call us at our clinics

Olecranon Bursitis

bursitis is the inflammation of a bursa. Bursa’s are fluid filled sacs providing cushioning - classically of the tendons over the bones.The olecranon is essentially your elbow. If you cup your hand under your elbow, the olecranon will be in the palm. Both bone and bursa are quite superficial which means there are no big muscles over the top of them. Therefore when inflamed the back of the elbow will be visibly swollen - usually quite significantly - and hot and painful.

However with overuse and faulty upper arm mechanics they can become irritated and inflamed.

Treatment usually involves manual and soft tissue therapies, rest/avoidance of aggravating factors compression and ice. Topical or oral anti-inflammatories and/or pain killers can also be used. If the pain is persistent or recurrent, injections of steroids or aspiration can help. In rare cases surgery may be required.

If your suffering from elbow and require information or treatment then please call our clinics today.

Ulnar Nerve Entrapment

Entrapment of the Ulnar nerve will cause pain and numbness and/or tingling into the little finger and the side of the hand and palm. Pain in the elbow and forearm is also common. Where the entrapment is severe or has been there for a while, weakness of hand, grip strength and loss of dexterity can also occur.

Ulnar Nerve Entrapment most commonly occurs with overuse injury or trauma to the elbow. Also leaning your on elbows for a prolonged period of time or repetitively can cause this.

If you are suffering from Nerve Entrapment, from the Ulnar Nerve or anywhere else, call our clinic to book an appointment or for more information.