The most common cause of thoracic back pain is inflammation of the muscles or soft tissues of the thoracic spine. See Upper Back Pain from Intercostal Muscle Strain. Herniated Disc Abutting the Spinal Cord - Herniated Disc This might include one to two days of bed rest, since lying on your back can take pressure off sore discs and nerves. Therapy treatments focus on relieving pain, improving back movement, and fostering healthy posture. Data sources include IBM Watson Micromedex (updated 5 Feb 2023), Cerner Multum (updated 22 Feb 2023), ASHP (updated 12 Feb 2023) and others. Herniated Thoracic Disc | Barrow Neurological Institute At first, therapists may use treatments such as heat or ice, electrical stimulation, massage, and ultrasound to calm pain and muscle spasm. They should be cautious about overdoing activities in the first few weeks after surgery. Since I found out about the herniation, I feel as if everything has heightened. I recently found out I have a bulging small herniation at T7-8 with slight cord flattening. Disc Extrusion- Causes, Symptoms, Treatment - The Pain Center Your doctor will also want to know what positions or activities make your symptoms worse or better. Sections T9 - T12 are known as transitional vertebrae because of their proximity and similarity to the lumbar vertebrae. Find a Physiotherapist in your local area who can treat a bulging thoracic disc. . The herniated disc may press on your nerves or spinal cord. Thoracic disc herniation occurs when a thoracic disc bulges out from between your vertebrae. About 8 weeks ago, I noticed a twinge in my mid-back but did not modifiy my exercise routine. This T5-T6 slip disc generally diagnosed in same way. sorry its been a while since i last posted . no your not alone .and unless you have these symptoms people ( and doctors ) dont understand, essentially each disc has a nerve coming from it and these come from the brain via the spinal cord however this is were it gets interesting each nerve from each disc goes ( and affects ) specific organs and area,s of the body for example T5/T6 affects the stomach,solar plexis and liver .and these can include dypepsia ( stomach pain ) and indegestion .. they can even ( when undiagnosed ) cause stomach ulcers ( allthough this is rare ). Much like cervical spine injuries, damage to the thoracic spine may be characterized as complete or incomplete, and . In rare cases when symptoms do arise, the main concern is whether the herniated disc is affecting the spinal cord. Patients with a thoracic disc bulge often experience pain that is worse first thing in the morning. This could indicate a bulging disc in the cervical area. Overtime or suddenly, this may tear several layers of connective tissue at the back of the disc resulting in a disc bulge. There was a significant reduction in the ODI at T4, T5, and T6 compared to T2 (p < 0.05). T6, T7 and T8 - These lead into your chest and abdomen. The top and bottom layers of pastry represent the vertebra (bones), the custard represents the jelly-like substance of the disc and the sandwich wrap represents the connective tissue around the disc. Non-dermatomal pains or aches in the forearm or arm. When a loss of bowel or bladder control is present due to the disc bulge, this is considered a medical emergency and immediate surgical intervention is usually required. However, only one vessel, the anterior spinal artery, goes to the front of the spinal cord in the area between T4 and T9. This has led some doctors to suggest that thoracic disc herniations not causing symptoms are normal. After about 3 weeks, the levels between T5-T8 were sensitive to the touch so I sought consultation from an orthopod where he ordered an MRI. The most rare symptom is myelopathy, the dysfunction of the spinal cord. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Because the smart and safe manipulation cannot be done without Yoga Asanas. Hello Dr. Corenman, The main thing in this level is- if there will be some problem in this place, pain and discomfort will radiate in the lower middle back. They see a therapist for one to three months, depending on the type of surgery. The intervertebral disc is a specialized connective tissue structure that separates the vertebral bodies. It's almost as if the pain just travels to random spotsit's the weirdest thing! the bulge at T5-6 creates a tightness around the chest ( just under the nipple ) and in some cases can feel like indigestion or even a heart attack,but the difficulty breathing is due to the intercostal muscles being pulled due to the disc herniation, another cause is the nerves in the intercostal muscle which can radiate the discomfort/pain more widespread than the actual problem.. its a bit like a toothache which hurts all one side of your face allthough the actual problem nerve is less than 1mm, i was prescribed "pregablin" which has worked wonders granted i still feel some discomfort but its 80% less than i was and i can now have a better quality of life, pregablin are nerve painkillers than simply shutdown the part of the brain that deals with nerve signals they also have a marked "anti-anxiety" property thats helpful when dealing with any anxiety thats associated with these conditions and as your anxious then pregablin may be ideal to A) cure the anxiety and b) stop any nerve pain, physio is also helpful but not ideal for everyone and surgery is also a option but after everything else has failed. Many put feeling s down to anxiety cause that's an easy answer they then don't need to look for anything else. All the data are shown in Table 3. I had my TLIF surgery on 6/24/2020 by Dr. Corenman, I can not say enough good things about the Dr or his staff. Occasionally, thoracic disc bulges may occur following a trivial movement involving bending forward such as picking up a small object or sneezing. Patient does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Fusion surgery is not usually needed if only a small amount of bone and disc material was removed during surgery to fix a herniated thoracic disc. T6-T7 Thoracic cause burning pain in Upper back? - HealthBoards !he read all of my issue and details and his replies really helped me in decidingi am now confident about my decision and i now totally understand the procedure thanks to the in-depth information providedthank you ever so much ! Muscle Weakness/Numbness: There is a good chance that the nerves affected by a bulging disc innervate muscles elsewhere in the body. Rather, the term herniation means that the material in the center of the disc has squeezed out of the normal space. After about 3 weeks, the levels between T5-T8 were sensitive to the touch so I sought consultation from an orthopod where he ordered an MRI. Once the disc is in, the patient should be pain free and have full movement. Heavy feeling in the upper extremities. They typically get affected when the disc is directly impinging on the spinal cord itself, and are usually indications for more serious treatment, such as surgery. To understand the mechanism of a thoracic disc bulge, it is useful to liken the disc to a vanilla slice. I agree sometimes are aniexty heightens due to ill health but it not the main problem. I tend to think I have some muscular issues but my physician does not want to discuss those and says it is all due to the disc bulge. The main section of each vertebra is a round block of bone, called the vertebral body. T3, T4, and T5 feed into the chest wall and aid in breathing. T9, T10, . Imagine a vanilla slice wrapped in five layers of sandwich wrap. Mid-back pain can radiate to the ribs due to a herniated thoracic disc. Many surgical patients need physical therapy outside of the hospital. A crushing or tight band like pain. However, they may use myelography and CT scans when preparing to do surgery to fix a herniated thoracic disc. Coccyx, the tailbone. Neurological Symptoms: Bulging discs are also known to cause tingling or "pins and needles" sensations in one or both legs. When this happens, the muscles served by these nerves may weaken and lose sensation. Because these are the Doshas, which are responsible for all the diseases according to Ayurveda. The spinal cord and nerves' correlation to these levels . Keeping the back still for a short time can calm inflammation and pain. The spinal cord is the main bundle of nerves that runs from the base of the brain all the way down through the cervical spine and thoracic spine before splitting into a bundle of nerve roots (cauda equina) in the lumbar spine. The thoracic spine is made up of the middle 12 vertebrae. These symptoms may vary from individual to individual. Herniated or disk in the neck (herniated cervical disk) Symptoms of a herniated disk in your neck include: Pain near or between your shoulder blades. Most disc herniations in the thoracic spine squeeze straight back, rather than deflecting off to either side. Low back pain. What Is A Herniated Disc And What Are The Treatments? Repeat 4 5 times daily. T4 Syndrome|Signs|Symptoms|Causes|Treatment|Recovery - Epainassist Thoracic Disc Bulge - Thoracic Disc Herniation - PhysioAdvisor Wood II GW. Our experienced physiotherapists are updating PhysioAdvisors injury articles to include the most important information to help users take control of their injury and hasten their recovery. I was always treated with respect and explained everything throughly, that made it easy for everyone to understand. Thoracic Compression Fractures | University of Maryland Medical Center Unlike a standard herniated or bulging disc that expands frontward or to either side, a central disc protrusion or herniation expands backward (posterior .