Question
About 3 years ago in Iraq,i was injured by an ied explosion about 3 feet behind me. There were no shrapnel injuries because of my body armor. However I have suffered from medium to severe back pain since than. I have disk degeneration in lower back, however most of the pain is on my left side traveling from low back up to shoulder blade. It is painfull to the touch and feels really tight almost solid. Along that side of my back. It is painfull to twist, breath deaply, and lean to either side and backwards...X-rays show only the disk degeneration in lower back. My physical Therapist says maybe my ribs were seperated from my spine...does that sound likely? Thank you so much for helping me out with this. seriously

Answer
Hi, Josiah,

Rib separation or not, you sound like you've got some very tight back muscles.  Shocks and injuries cause effects like that.  It's a reflexive reaction.

The degenerated disc is of secondary significance; usually, disc problems result from long-term back-muscle contractions.

Please see my articles on back pain and recovery from injuries at somatics.com/page4b.htm, as they answer your questions and provide a course of action.

with regard,
Lawrence Gold