Intercostal Muscle

[Hubert Cumberdale]

Hi
I have been seeing a Chiropractor for persistent back pain problems and she says that I have a knot in my Intercostal muscle. I do suffer with anxiety and stress and I know that I need to relax more. But I would like to know if this is a common problem, can it be caused by anything else other than stress, and is it easily cured. I should add that I have seen my GP and had various tests which found nothing.

Many Thanks for any help

 

[JoshuaEvanss]

Hi

Are you sure she said 'Intercostal muscle'? I'm not an anatomy expert but my understanding is that these muscles are involved with expiration and inhalation by moving your ribs, so I'm not sure how they would give you back pain?

There is a group of muscles known as the Iliocostalis Group, that might sound similar and controls extension and hyperextension of the spine. They are attached to your ribs and cervical vertebrae so they are deep.

If your GP has found nothing wrong I guess they have just termed your condition as non specific back pain or something similar? This is extremely common with around 80% of the population suffering at some stage in their lives. Most of us have lifestyles that encourage bad backs and there are several muscles that commonly spasm and cause back pain.

I don't personally believe muscle spasms in the back are directly related to stress and lack of relaxation. Indirectly I can see the link, if your stressed and holding yourself in a poor posture, muscles can spasm. Taking a few minutes every hour to gently stretch, twist and move can help prevent the muscles from going into spasm. Taking a some time to improve the strength and endurance of your core muscles will also help.

Pete

 

[>:] The tangerine]

Sounds like a reasonable diagnosis from your chiro. Your intercostal muscles span the gap between each rib. Each rib attaches to your sternum at the front of the body and to your thoracic vertebra at the back of the body. So if you have a knot or a triggerpoint (put simply, a hyper-irritable knot) in one of your intercostals then it could mimic back pain if the knot is located towards the back of the body.

Hope this makes sense.

Henry

 

[Saksham]

That is a good point and it does make sense, but i thought there would be other symptoms like a tightness or discomfort when breathing deeply?

 

[icrxfxnh]

Hi there,

Often we cave in when stressed or anxious..and loose a good erect posture, under stressful time..

Over a period of time, this can cause imbalance in your postural muscles:your back muscles and your counter balancing stomach muscles..

If you have recently neglected these..I recommend that you begin not only strengthening them, but also make sure they are of equal strength..so you are able to hold and maintain your upright posture..at will..

Basic abdominal work out.., classess, or videos will focus on conditioning both your abs and back..They always include the benefits of stretches and flexibility too.

Regular exercise and maintanance will also flash out the unwanted lactic acid accumulation in your muscle groups..that cause spams, pain and uncomfortable sensations in your rib cage area.

Hope that helps!

Stay well

with warm wishes

Vathani

 

[JoleenBexague]

hey
reading your post about intercostal muscle i just wanna ask you if you know what the best treatment is. my doc told me that i had pulled my intercostal muscle on my back on the leftside that was about 5weeks ago, ive been resting and not working out at all but it still hurts

 

[Hubby Dubby]

I had on set of pain in my back left side that felt like kidney stone pain because it would wax and wan. It got worse over time I ended up in ER. Cat scan showed no stone, 8 DR.s later, 2 MRI and many other tests l no help just pain med. 3 massage therapist and finally help from this one guy that said he believed I suffered from Intercostal pain and he started doing deep tissue massage on the rib cage, very painful like breaking up scar tissue but it has helped the back pain! Good luck!

 

[Brzy]

Hi CJacktn
Intercostal strain is a valid diagnosis, but it shouldn't be the end of the enquiry. That discussion was made over two years ago, so if they haven't found help for an intercostal muscle strain by now they really have been asking the wrong practitioners!

Importantly, the muscle becomes tense and knotted for a reason. Just like any other muscle, intercostals rely on good levers to function well, and become strained when the various anatomical relationships become distorted due to postural changes.

So a massage may offer relief, but the cause remains. If so, you can expect the problem to return, or else pop up somewhere else in a different guise. Which is great for repeat business, of course.

I would suspect in your case, that your lower ribs, usually 12th, are part of the problem. This can follow changes to the spinal arch profile, usually following a period of exhaustion.

Typically the joint of the rib to the spine is strained, and this causes the most pain. The muscle tends to be what is diagnosed, simply because more people are trained in massage than in correction of alignment.