Pain is a characteristic symptom of many diseases. But this is a very general concept. It can be sharp, pulling, pulsating, mild, aching. The localization of the pain syndrome is also different. It is a sure sign that something is wrong in the body. But it is not always possible for a non-specialist to understand by the sensation of pain alone which organ "signals" a problem.
Can the lungs hurt from the back? How does this symptom manifest itself? What diseases is he talking about? We will give answers to these and other important questions in the article.
Is self-diagnosis possible?
Lungs hurt from the back, no temperature. What can such a state say? To identify the cause of a symptom, it is important to take into account not only the fact of its presence, but also a number of characteristics:
- Intensity of pain.
- Localization.
- The nature of pain.
- Duration of pain.
- Association of this symptom with other conditions - cough, inhalation/exhalation, certainmovement.
- Fever, cough, respiratory discharge and other symptoms.
Why is it difficult to determine the cause yourself?
Can the lungs hurt from the back? As a rule, only a doctor can answer such a question. A non-specialist can easily mistake "wandering" pain in the spine for pain in the lungs. It is also possible to easily confuse the symptoms of a lung disease with those of coronary heart disease.
Therefore, in this case, self-diagnosis should not be done. If the bottom of the lungs hurts from the back, the best solution is to contact a therapist as soon as possible. He will correctly identify the cause.
Main causes of pain
Does your lung seem to hurt from the back on the left or right? The main causes of pain are as follows:
- Osteochondrosis.
- Herniated disc.
- Inflammation of the lungs.
- Pleurisy.
- Pulmonary tuberculosis.
- Tumor development.
- Intercostal neuralgia.
As you can see, there are more than enough reasons for the syndrome. Why you should not engage in self-diagnosis and self-treatment. The best choice is to see a doctor as soon as possible. After all, it is easier to get rid of any disease when it is at the very initial stage.
Does the lung hurt on the right from the back? Let's take a closer look at the main causes of this symptom.
Pneumonia, pleurisy, tuberculosis
Can the lungs hurt from the back? Many people ask this question out of fear of pneumonia. Indeed, such localizationpain is primarily indicative of a lung disease.
How do the lungs hurt from the back during pneumonia? The main insidiousness of this dangerous disease is that it does not manifest itself for a long time. That is, with inflammation of the lungs, a person does not feel pain. It appears only when pleurisy or myositis joins pneumonia.
In addition to pain, the defining signs of lung disease are:
- Persistent fever.
- General weakness, fatigue.
- Violent, exhausting cough.
- Possible shortness of breath.
- When coughing, the lungs hurt from the back. Moreover, this is not severe pain, but only unpleasant tingling. May also be felt when taking a deep breath.
The doctor determines the pain just from the side of the back by palpation (palpation). Ask the patient to take a deep breath and exhale. Auscultation (listening to the lungs) is also carried out here. With pneumonia, a crunch, slight crackling, sounds resembling friction are heard.
Pleural pains are dangerous because they may indicate the beginning of the development of tuberculosis. What are the symptoms of lung pain from the back? In this case, the pain will be localized in their upper part. That is, in the back area, the patient will feel it in the region of the trapezius muscle.
To diagnose pneumonia, an X-ray is needed. If tuberculosis is suspected, specific tests are needed to identify the infectious agent.
In case of pneumonia, conservative complex therapy is prescribed. First of all, this is the intake of antibiotic drugs with cefazolin, ampicillin, oxacillin. Antitussives, drugs that help thin sputum and remove it from the respiratory tract are also prescribed. These are "Ambrobene", "Bromhexin", "Libeksin".
To reduce the temperature, the patient is prescribed "Aspirin", "Paracetamol". If the pain syndrome is intense, then analgesics are additionally prescribed.
Cancer
When does the right lung hurt from the back? This may also indicate a malignant neoplasm. Lung cancer is dangerous because it is asymptomatic for a long time. And the pain that has already appeared to a non-specialist can easily be confused with the vertebral.
Additionally, the disease manifests itself as follows:
- Persistent cough with sputum streaked with blood (the same symptom can be observed with tuberculosis).
- Heavy breathing, shortness of breath.
- Weakness.
- Increased sweating.
- Deterioration of the general condition.
- Intermittent high body temperature.
- Rapid weight loss.
Diagnosis in this case consists in taking x-rays, biopsies, MRI, CT, bronchoscopy. Based on the results of these procedures, conservative, surgical treatment is prescribed.
Muscle inflammation
Back pain at the level of the lungs may indicate muscle inflammationfabrics. The reason is hypothermia, injury, improper distribution of the load on the muscles. Here it may seem that it is the lungs that hurt. Pain is aggravated by movement. But often the pain is constant. When you press on the inflamed muscle, it feels like it is in spasm.
Untimely treatment is fraught with weakness, and then muscle atrophy. Painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, exercise therapy and massage (after an exacerbation) are prescribed as therapy.
Osteochondrosis
Can the lungs hurt from the back? Often, pain localized specifically in the region of the lungs is vertebral in nature. In particular, he speaks of osteochondrosis, which affected the thoracic spine. A person feels pain due to pinched nerve endings. Its non-specialist can easily confuse it with pulmonary.
How to understand that the reason is osteochondrosis? A painful attack overtakes a person when bending, lifting weights, sharp turns of the body. The pain may also become intense when taking a deep breath.
As a rule, the pain syndrome in this case is stopped by taking NSAIDs (that is, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). Sometimes just lying down is enough for the pain to go away.
But, of course, a specialist does not detect osteochondrosis based on only one symptom. To make this diagnosis, the following procedures are needed:
- Magnetic resonance imaging.
- X-ray of the spinal column.
- If necessary, computed tomography.
As for the treatment of this disease, thenthe doctor prescribes an individual complex therapeutic scheme to the patient. As a rule, it includes anti-inflammatory drugs (Diclofenac, Ortofen, Voltaren), drugs that stop the pain syndrome itself (Spazmalgon, Trigan, Spazgan). Therapeutic massage and special physical education often help to alleviate the patient's condition.
Ischemic heart disease
Can the lungs hurt from the back? Such pain, localized in the region of the thoracic spine, often indicates another problem. This is coronary heart disease (CHD). It can often radiate to the lung area, under the shoulder blade and to the left arm.
Thus, not only coronary artery disease manifests itself, but also angina pectoris, as well as infarct and pre-infarction conditions. Therefore, such a symptom dangerous to life and he alth should not be ignored. After all, the untimely provision of qualified medical care can lead to sad consequences.
Heart problems manifest themselves not only as pain from the back at the level of the lungs. Additional symptoms here would be:
- Severe pain that does not resolve on its own.
- Pale skin.
- Increased sweating.
- Difficulty breathing.
- High heart rate.
- A state of anxiety, panic.
In this case, you need to call an ambulance. Any delay could cost a person their life.
Diagnosis of coronary artery disease is often complicated - there are also atypical course of the disease. This is also fraught with the fact that they can be accompanied by a number of complications - arrhythmia, aneurysm, cardiogenic shock.
Neuralgia
Another reason is intercostal neuralgia. In this case, the pain syndrome can "deceive" the non-specialist. For example, pain from the right side may radiate to the left front of the chest. Or start pulsing under the left shoulder blade.
Neuralgia is determined by palpation along the nerve. In the place of inflammation, numbness, loss of sensitivity is possible. Treatment includes topical pain relievers, oral anti-inflammatory drugs, and massage therapy.
Diagnostics
If the right lung hurts from the back, do not think that this is a sure sign of sarcoma or pneumonia. It is important to listen to the characteristics of pain, its dependence on certain conditions.
First of all, the specialist determines the nature of the pain. This allows you to make assumptions about the diagnosis, to assess the sensitivity of the organism. The doctor always asks the patient to talk about the course of the pain syndrome. Does it increase with inhalation or exhalation. Does the pain radiate to the neck, abdomen, lower back or chest area. Based on this, it can be judged whether the cause of pain is in the lungs, or in other organs and systems.
When is it not related to the lungs?
If it is a spinal problem, then the pain will increase withmoving, straining, and even bowing the head. This is how osteochondrosis, vertebral hernias manifest.
For pain in the lungs, a non-specialist can take the manifestation of myositis of the spinal muscles. When probing, you can see that they are tense. A slight swelling may appear at the site of the localization of pain. Often it is warmer, hotter than other parts of the body. With myositis, pain can disturb in the morning, at night, intensify with physical exertion and palpation of the inflamed area.
If the pain syndrome is caused by compression of the nerve endings, then the following may additionally be felt:
- Feeling of tingling in the fingertips, feeling that they are going numb.
- Paleness (sometimes there is "marble" skin) of the skin.
- Weakness in muscles.
- Low threshold sensitivity of the lower extremities.
If you notice this along with pain in the lungs from the back, then it's a completely different problem. This is how osteochondrosis, various hernias, spinal injuries, osteoporosis, spondyloarthritis, and curvature of the spinal column manifest themselves. We can also talk about the development of oncological diseases - it is often the tumors that pinch the nerve endings.
Back pain from the side of the lungs, as you have seen, is observed in various pathologies. Therefore, self-diagnosis and self-treatment can lead to sad consequences here. With such a complaint, you should contact a specialist as soon as possible.
