Any strange or puzzling chest and back pain should be taken seriously, as it may be life-threatening. Chest pain in particular could be a sign of a range of emergency-level conditions, among them: heart attack, pneumonia, angina, pulmonary embolism, or even cancer. So get to a doctor or go to the hospital to have yourself checked as soon as you can.

Make any notes you can on the specifics of your condition. This may help a doctor diagnose your condition for effective treatment, especially if you are being examined for chest back pain for the first time.

Chest and back pain can be overwhelming, so bringing someone with you to your appointment can be helpful. This can aid your memory later on. Don’t be afraid to slow down the doctor so that you can take accurate and complete notes. Also, it is fine to repeat advice back to him or her to be sure that you understand any instructions.

The main determination to make is whether the chest and back pain you are experiencing is the short-term result of a strain or injury, or indicative of a long-term, also known as chronic, condition.

Temporary Chest and Back Pain

A key point to bear in mind is that any severe muscle strain can impact muscle groups next to it. Back or shoulder muscle pain, for instance, can cause feelings of heaviness. It is certainly possible that a back muscle injury will cause sympathetic chest pain, or pain in the upper chest. Upper back muscles and many chest muscles work together for the purpose of breathing. Muscular injury usually heals itself within a few weeks.

Sometimes chest and back pain happen together when someone injures the spine, which causes the nerve endings to fire into other parts of the body. A pinched nerve in the mid- to upper spine region is a common cause of back and chest pain.

If a bone condition or spinal disk is causing the pain, any chest pain will resolve once the back pain is treated and relieved. Likewise, if the rib cage is damaged or broken, it is common for severe pain to emerge in the upper back.

Diaphragm injury is a frequent cause of upper back and chest pain together. Since the heart and diaphragm share the same pain pattern, diaphragm problems cause chest pain, as well as tightening the upper back.

There are many less likely causes for back and chest pain, such as damage to tendons and muscles in the rib cage area. Even digestive problems can cause severe pain in the chest cavity, painful enough to mistake for a heart attack. Heartburn, acid reflux, indigestion, and ulcers are some examples.

Chronic Chest and Back Pain

Many times, chest back pain happens when one area grows inflamed and spreads out the pain to other regions of the body. It can also occur when someone with heart disease has a heart attack. Lung inflammation or infection, such as from pleurisy, is another possible cause. Chronic chest and back pain may even have a psychological basis. When the upper back and the chest hurt at the same time, it can be difficult to know what is really happening, and this is why it often takes an exam to sort things out.

Chronic chest and back pain is a very taxing condition, debilitating enough that it can lead to additional conditions such as depression, fatigue, and anxiety. In the light of such an overwhelming state, one effective strategy is learning how to minimize any long-term commitments, and to focus on shorter-term projects and responsibilities when you can. The main point is to avoid any commitment you may have to drop due to oncoming symptoms, or even any activities that can cause your current symptoms to intensify.