Question
abut a week and half ago i lifted a very heavy mattress and then proceeded to pull a  heavy pillow out of the clothes dryer. since that, I have a dull pain only if i move around or lie down. my doctor wants me to use skelaxon for a week to see if that eases up. the pain is not sharp, what causes this?

Answer
Dear Abby,

I can not be sure what is causing your pain without a more in depth understanding of the problem, but this does not sound like a big deal.  

You could have easily pulled a muscle in the rib cage, which can cause dull achey pain with movement and lying.  The affected musculature is likely the intercostals, and they lie between each rib...additionally there is a muscle called the serratus anterior muscle higher up on the chest wall below the armpits that can be strained.  Usually problems such as these will go away on their own in a week or two.

Your doctor prescribed skelaxin because it is a muscle relaxer that is supposed to work at the junction of the nerve and muscle.  This way it will have a inhibitory effect on the muscular system, but without depressing the central nervous system...preventing slowed movement and reactions and not making you drowsy.

If this does not help, then you may have actually damaged some cartilage or surrounding ligamentous tissues.  These structures take a much longer time to heal because of their reduced blood supply...muscle heal faster. These structures are also more prone to longer pain periods and can easily create chronic pain.  Physical therapy may be needed to help with the healing and nutritional support as well concerning these types of connective tissue.

Hope this helps Abby.  Feel free to write back with any additional comments or questions.

Respectfully,
Dr. J. Shawn Leatherman
www.suncoasthealthcare.net