Question
i will try to make this as short as possible...

to make a pretty long story short,,, i am 19 years old. when i was about 12 years old i took a trip to arizona to visit the west coast with my family and our first part of the trip was the grand canyon. on that trip i noticed when i walked for a while i got a weird pain in my lower neck/upper back that i let pass for a few years... it diddnt happen every day, just certain days the exact same pain would return.

well here i am at the age of 19, i had mri's... they were worthless, everything looked normal except for shmorals in my back (explaned to be almosty like golf ball divits in the spine, but no releviance to my pain or the area it was at).. i tried PT and the results were nothing, my pain just presists. im a pharmacy student now and in school i had to leave once because the pain was too great. it doesnt happen every day, but when i seem to stand for a while or walk or just be active, sometime it triggers the pain, its shooting, stabbing, burning, crippling... it hurts, a lot! i shaded a diagram to show the pain ( http://www.LVracetime.com/body%20pain.JPG ) its only in my back, not in the front. i have been to many doctors and it just seems like no one knows why my pain is there, what causes it. i have been to the ER recently and a doctor there suggested chronic muscle spasm, prescribed flexeril 10mg (1q8h prn for spasm and pain), and i elected to take Ultram instead of some other pain meds  (100mg 1qhs prn pain) because Ultram really works like a Narcotic, but provides me comfort in knowing that my diet, mental state, and long term safety is not at stake as it was when i had Vicoden ES and it just diddnt give me a "long term drug" kind of feel.

i went to my primay doctor, who is employed by one of the best hospitals in the USA (Lehigh Valley Hospital) and he wrote my ER meds (flexeril/ultram) with 5 refills each because i told him it helps... which is a breakthrough because i can actually fight the pain after onset. and feel comfortable. i have tried to get pain help before but some doctors let the DEA run them and label you as a seeker simply because of MRI's that show nothing so they think i cry wolf so to say ( Orthapedic Associates of Allentown - also reconised for famous athlete recovery ).

so here i am, 7-8 years later, posting this online with hope, with no answer to why my pain is there, it happens every other day or so, when i stand mostly, after onset it wont stop,  i at least can semi-manage with my new meds... but i want to find out why and what could be done to ID and Treat my disorder/disease/condition...whatever it may be.
p.s. i have also considered Impingement Syndrome, but it is not in the right area for me to think that would be it.

-AJ

my pain diagram is at LVracetime.com/body%20pain.JPG

Answer
Hi AJ,


Just because you can't visualize the anatomical aberration on advanced imaging studies, doesn't mean it isn't there. Just like you can't see a headache on any scan, you won't see subtle biomechanical distortions either. We see and treat thousands of patients that present with identical complaints every year. Most of those have also been to a dozens experts with no diagnosis or results. This is why Chiropractic is as popular as it is, allopathic medicine has no answers for subluxation disorders because many are invisible to standard imaging. I would make an appointment with a D.C. that comes highly recommended and have it manipulated.
Some conditions require hands on treatment, this is probably one of those. A minor subluxation at the costovertebral articulation can cause localized swelling, inflammation and referred pain into the trapezius and intrascapular region. The only way to correct this is to re-establish normal alignment and full range of motion through manual manipulation. You will know if this is on the right track immediately because relief will come almost immediately.

Let me know if you need a personal referral and I will be happy to help.

Good Luck!
Dr. Timothy Durnin
drs.chiroweb.com