Intercostal neuralgia: causes, symptoms

Chest pain can occur due to intercostal neuralgia. This happens when the intercostal nerve is irritated or pinched. As a result, the person experiences acute pain. The ailment occurs mainly in the elderly, but young people who lead a sedentary and sedentary lifestyle or are engaged in swimming may also experience this problem. Even children are no exception in this case. In childhood, intercostal neuralgia can be diagnosed at the time of intensive growth.

Causes of intercostal neuralgia

Intercostal neuralgia is not isolated as a separate disease, since it develops against the background of another ailment. There can be many reasons for pinching or irritating peripheral nerves. To finally get rid of the disease, it is necessary to identify and eliminate the root cause.

Among the main factors affecting the development of intercostal neuralgia, the following reasons can be identified:

1. A tumor process in the spinal cord, a tumor can be single or multiple.
2. Poisoning with chronic harmful substances.
3. Inflammatory processes in the chest area.
4. Demyelination is a pathological process in which selective damage to the myelin sheath occurs in the peripheral nervous system.
5. Lack of B vitamins in the body, this can happen due to digestive disorders.
6. Spine diseases such as osteochondrosis, spondylitis, ankylosing spondylitis, intervertebral hernia.
7. Diabetes.
8. Infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, flu, shingles, or herpes.
9. Diseases of the ribs or pathologies in which the chest is deformed.
10. Aortic aneurysm in the thoracic region.
11. Inflammatory process in the pleura of the lungs.
12. Allergy.
13. Multiple sclerosis.

A person can live with these diseases for a long time, unaware of their existence, despite the fact that most of them pose a serious danger to life. Therefore, it is very important to diagnose the root cause of intercostal neuralgia and eliminate it in a timely manner.

The following circumstances can serve as an immediate impetus to the disease:

1. Hypothermia of the body, especially the neck and chest.
2. Thoracic spine injuries.
3. Toxic effects on the body, including alcoholic ones.
4. Errors in nutrition, lack of vitamin B.
5. Hormonal disruptions.
6. Changes in the body of the age plan.
7. Overstrain of the back muscles, as a result of physical exertion, carrying weights, being in one position for a long time, etc.
8. Stressful situations.
9. Infections that can affect the nerves.
10. Long-term use of drugs, as a result of which toxic substances accumulate in the body.
11. Menopause in women and a change in hormonal levels.

Intercostal neuralgia symptoms

The main symptom of the disease is chest pain between the ribs. It can manifest itself in different ways - be sharp and shooting, or, conversely, prolonged and aching. The pain gets worse when you cough or sneeze. A person has to choose a special position of the body in order to relieve pain.

At the doctor's appointment, with palpation of the painful area, the pain may intensify and the doctor can easily determine its direction. Many patients say that they do not feel pain, but a burning sensation, tingling, and in the later stages of neuralgia, numbness in this area.

If intercostal neuralgia occurs on the left, then patients often confuse the disease with angina pectoris. Since the pain is in this place of the baking plan, it radiates to the left shoulder and arm. The main difference between angina pectoris and intercostal neuralgia is that the pain does not intensify during coughing, sneezing and breathing and disappears after a person takes nitroglycerin or its substitute.

But in any case, the doctor's task is to determine the correct cause of pain, therefore, in order to prevent a person, an ECG is still prescribed. This is also due to the fact that myocardial infarction can be confused with neuralgia, in which nitroglycerin also does not help.

With neuralgia in the lower part of the ribs, a sensation of pain in the kidneys is created, reminiscent of renal colic. They are manifested by the suddenness of the condition in the lumbar region, reminiscent of contractions, which are given in the groin and lower extremities.

In this case, it is also not worth delaying, it is better to conduct an examination in a timely manner and start the correct treatment. Sometimes this condition in its symptoms resembles such pathologies as pleurisy, aortic stenosis, tumors in the mediastinal region.

Intercostal neuralgia treatment

The treatment process has two main goals:

1. Relief of a person's condition by eliminating pain syndrome.
2. Therapy of the underlying disease, against which neuralgia developed.

Most often, the patient is treated on an outpatient basis. Depending on the severity of neuralgia, in the first 3-7 days, a person is recommended to stay in bed. The surface of the bed should have a flat and solid surface, it is advisable to purchase an orthopedic mattress for these purposes. If the bed net sags, it can negatively affect the patient's condition.

Of the medicines, the following drugs are most often prescribed:

1. Anti-inflammatory drugs. They have an analgesic effect and fight inflammation. These medicines can be prescribed as injections, tablets, or suppositories.
2. Muscle relaxants - relieve spasm in striated muscles.
3. Sedatives to relieve tension in the nervous system.
4. Vitamin complexes, which include group B. They are necessary to restore damaged nerves and to improve the wire of impulses between them.

For local treatment, various ointments and gels are prescribed, which have an analgesic effect and relieve inflammation. An important role is played by physiotherapy and some traditional methods of treatment, which must be prescribed by a doctor.