Question
QUESTION: A few years ago I went to a chiropractor for neck and shoulder pain which was causing bad headaches, well the first session I felt the improvement immediately. And he fixed my hips too, because I also had lower back pain but didn't think about getting that taking care of. Well I started having the upper middle back pain; I never ever had that before. I told him about it and he would pop my back and it didn't seem to work.  I was in a lot of pain for months. The pain eased up for a little while then it came back and I started having stomach pain with it. They took X-rays and found nothing, so I went to a GI and had all kinds of test done (MRIs,Cat scan etc...) the last test was a camera capsule which found nothing.  So I was wondering if the chiropractor could have caused a pinched nerve in my spine that would cause stomach pain and back pain. (Side note) I had a blood patch done 3 or 4 years before I went to chiropractor, it was for a spinal leakage. I didn't know if that would be relevant. I have been having this problem for 4 years. Thanks in advance for your answer.

ANSWER: Dear Shawna

I must confess, I first saw your question in the general "question pool", and I skipped it because I find it difficult to answer.  Now that you have directed your question to me, I will give this my best shot.

First of all, Shawna, it is impossible for me to give you much advise that is of much value. Without you sitting right here with me and going through a good consultation and examination, anything that I say is simply speculation. (even with a good consultation and examination, a "diagnosis" is simply a doctor's best guess, given the data and circumstances...)

I am happy to hear that you have negative MRI's and CT scans. Am I to assume that these were done through the abdomen, looking for digestive issues?  Did they include the mid back region, looking for mid back spinal and disc health?  

Chiropractic is generally extremely safe. Nothing is perfect, but when you consider chiropractic care verses medication or surgery, there is no comparison. Chiropractic would win out for safety, hands down.  

You ask me is I think that the chiropractor might have caused your mid back pain and stomach pain through causing a "pinched nerve".  In order to answer that, we have to look at what typically causes a "pinched nerve" in the back.  The most common causes of pinched nerve are:
Disc degeneration, Disc bulging or herniation, arthritis of the facet joints.  More severe conditions would be spinal fracture or spinal dislocation.  It is also possible to "pinch a nerve" with a space occupying lesion or growth. These lesions can be benign or malignant.

Now, lets consider what a chiropractor does. A chiropractor restores motion to the spine.  He/she cannot remove arthritic degeneration, and will not make you grow a new disc.  Even with chiropractic care, disc degenerative changes, if present before, will typically advance with time.  Chiropractic care will typically not dislocate a joint. If you did suffer a spinal dislocation from an adjustment of the mid back, I would expect you to be wheel chair bound and paralyzed from the mid back down.  It is rare, but adjustments can cause a spinal fracture, but typically only in somebody that already has very weak bones, such as somebody with osteoporosis, or somebody on medications that cause bone weakness. If the chiropractic adjustments caused a spinal fracture, that would be seen on x-ray, MRI, or CT scan. You say that these are negative for any findings... Chiropractic adjustments will obviously not cause any space occupying lesions or tumors.

So... you originally went to your chiropractic doctor complaining of neck pain, headaches, and "shoulder pain". My experience has shown me that when somebody complains of shoulder pain it can mean the shoulder, the chest, the mid back region, or the trapezius/side of neck region.  If I were a betting man, I would bet that you had upper mid back, maybe even shoulder blade area or "wing bone" pain when you first saw the chiropractor.  This could have been the early signs telling you that you have some trouble with the lower neck, the upper mid back, or mid back, or "thoracic spine". Since I cannot see an MRI or X-ray of your mid back, and since I have no idea of your general physical condition, age, spinal condition, history of arthritic degeneration, or anything else, I am going to assume that your current mid back pain and stomach issues is a continuation of what was happening with your neck and upper mid back pain ("shoulder pain").

It is most likely that your current symptoms are a continuation of degenerative issues that you were having with your neck and upper back than being related to a pinched nerve caused by your chiropractor.  The odds are just more in that direction.  Since you are able to stand and move, and since the MRI and CT scan are negative, I have to assume that the adjustments from your chiropractor did not fracture or dislocate any spinal segments, and that they did not therefor cause a pinching of nerve tissue that causes your current condition.  Please keep in mind that I am NOT saying that pinched nerves cannot cause your stomach issues and your mid back pain.  This is a possible correlation.  I am just saying that it is probably not the chiropractor's fault.

Another aspect that helps me to confirm that this is a chronic and ongoing condition not related to adjustments from your chiropractor is that it is now, as you state, 4 years old.  If I caused a fracture or strain to a mid back region with an adjustment, I would expect healing to take place within a few months.

I know that this answer probably feels like it goes all over the place, and for that I am sorry. I am trying to logically work through the thought process without having much data to go on.  I hope that this gives you some things to think about. Good luck, and I hope that you feel much better.

Keith Biggs, Dc
http://www.eastmesachiropractor.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I still suffer from neck and shoulder pain that comes and goes pretty often. When I went to the chiropractor it was really horrible. I was in a car accident a couple of years before that, he took an x-ray and saw 3 slipped discs (I think that抯 what it was) in the neck area. He did a good job and I am very thankful he was able to help.  I don抰 know if it is stress or what that could be causing the pain. I do get bad headaches a lot too.  The cat scan and mri抯 was for the stomach.  They found nothing in the digestive system .That抯 why I was seeing if the back pain could be connected to the stomach pain.  Could the discs have slipped again? Thank you so much for your reply.

ANSWER: Dear Shawna,

Discs cannot slip. This is a misconception.  A disc is attached to the bone above it and to the bone below it.  It cannot slip around or slip out of place.  What does happen, however, is that a disc can tear, degenerative, bulge, herniate.  Usually when somebody says that they have a slipped disc it means that the disc is bulging or herniating.

The bad news is that when a disc is going through degenerative changes, bulging or herniating, it never returns to its pre-degenerative/bulging state.  Yes, the pain and inflammation might come and go, but the disc problems are still there.... and they typically progress and get worse over time.

It is possible that you are experiencing symptoms related to those "slipped discs" (damaged, torn, bulging, degenerating, or bulging discs).  

Just so you know, you cannot see the discs on simple x-rays of the spine. You can only see bone in an x-ray.  To see a disc, you must do an MRI of the spine. This is the most common way to determine if you have a bulging or herniating or degenerating disc, and if the disc injury/degeneration is causing nerve tissue compression.

Good Luck,

Keith Biggs, DC
http://www.eastmesachiropractor.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Intrusting, the chiropractor showed me the x-rays of my spine and there were 3 of something bulging out of my neck.  It was just an x-ray too. It was many years ago, so I don抰 remember what he called it.  What do you think it was if it was just an x-ray showing just the bone part?  I am sorry for bugging you so much, I just don抰 want to go to the doctor and ask for an x-ray when I would want a MRI.  Now I am wondering what I remember seeing. The chiropractor I seen is in Illinois and I moved to Nebraska.  I don抰 even remember his name or where his office is located and it抯 been many years, so I don抰 think he would have my file anymore.  I am only 30, so I wouldn抰 have curtain spinal problems going on (I don抰 think, but I could be wrong) Thank you so much for your replies, they are so helpful.

Answer
Dear Shawna,

It is impossible for me to know what he (the chiropractor) was trying to show you on the x-ray. At 30 years old, you are not too old to have disc injuries. Injuries occur at all ages, depending on past injuries, relative health generally, etc.  I have had patients much younger than you that have undergone spinal surgeries for bulging and herniated discs.

Dr. Biggs
http://www.eastmesachiropractor.com