Sharp Pain in Back When Breathing Deeply

Mar 30, 2022

sharp-pain-in-back-when-breathing-deeplyThere could be many reasons that you may be experiencing back pain when you breathe in deeply. The cause could be attributed to serious problems, or it could just mean that you need to rest your muscles after a strain. Where you feel the pain, the severity of the back pain and the length of time you’ve experienced the pain are all potential factors that may explain why you feel some pain in your back when you breathe. Read on to learn about six potential causes of your pain.

Muscle Strain

Have you ever heard of a soccer player pulling a muscle? Most likely, they are dealing with muscle strain. Athletes are no stranger to muscle strains, but they can happen to anyone, especially people who have jobs or lifestyles that require them to use their muscles in repetitive ways. Muscle strains are any minor injury to a muscle or tendon and are different from sprains in that sprains are defined as a tear to a ligament.

If you have strained a back muscle, you will notice a sharp pain in the area of the back where you had the injury when you breathe in. You may also experience swelling, tenderness, or pain in the affected area, reduced range of motion, and muscle weakness. The best treatment for muscle strain is the RICE method: rest, ice, compression, and elevation.

Scoliosis

You may remember a school nurse asking you to touch your toes or a doctor asking you to turn so they could see your back during a check-up. Most likely, these professionals were checking for scoliosis, a condition that causes abnormal curvature to the spine. Your ribcage is the group of bones in your midsection that protects some of your most important organs, including your heart and lungs. Doctors are unsure why people develop scoliosis, but children and teens with this condition tend to have spines that look like an S or C. This positioning of the spine could cause muscle pain that is most apparent when you breathe.

Diagnosis can be provided by orthopedists, pediatricians, physical therapists, or other physicians. It is best if diagnosis occurs early to ensure that good posture habits are encouraged, and to limit the potential for pain. With treatment, which may be simply waiting or physical therapy, or could mean surgery or wearing a brace, most children and teens with this condition fully recover and lead active lives.

Broken or Bruised Rib

The ribcage is the group of bones in your midsection that protects some of your most vital organs, including your lungs, liver, and heart. Most people have 24 ribs altogether. Physical trauma to this area, such as during a fall, car accident, or sports injury, can cause one or more of the ribs to break or cause bruising in the tissues around it. Broken and bruised ribs can also occur from severe, prolonged coughing.

When you have a bruised or broken bone, you will usually feel some pain in the chest or back, especially when you breathe in. The pain may also be apparent when you press on the area of injury or if you try to twist your torso.

While not usually fatal, rib fractures can pose a threat to the organs that ribs are supposed to protect. Bones with a complete break are more deadly than bones that have been cracked because the pieces of the rib can puncture organs like your lungs. Such fractures are particularly dangerous for older people. Over 55% of people aged sixty or older die from symptoms related to experiencing a broken rib.

Pneumonia

Most respiratory illnesses go away with time and rest, but sometimes, an infection of the lungs called pneumonia can set in and make recovery more difficult and prolonged. Pneumonia may be caused by infections from bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other organisms.

When you are infected with pneumonia, the air sacs in your lungs may fill with pus or fluid, causing you to cough. You will also experience fever, chills, and breathing difficulties, such as increased pain in the chest or back when you breathe in.

Pneumonia is a serious illness and is potentially fatal. Over two and a half million people worldwide died from pneumonia in 2017. Very young children are most at risk. A third of those 2.5 million deaths were of children younger than five, and pneumonia is considered the leading cause of death for this population.

Pulmonary Embolism

A pulmonary embolism is one of the most concerning potential reasons that you are feeling pain in your back when you breathe in. It is a potentially life-threatening condition that is caused by a blood clot in one of the lung’s arteries. The blood clot starts elsewhere in the body and slowly travels. The most common symptom is difficulty breathing, and you may have severe pain not only in your back but also in your chest, shoulders, or neck, depending on which lung is affected. Other symptoms include:

  •  Irregular heartbeat
  • Feeling dizzy or lightheaded
  • Breathing rapidly
  • Feeling restless
  • Coughing that produces blood
  • Weak pulse

If you suspect that a pulmonary embolism is the reason you are feeling pain in your back when you breathe, seek medical help immediately.

When to Seek Help

While some of these conditions are more concerning than others, it is important to always speak to a medical professional when you are experiencing new symptoms of unexplained pain. A medical professional can help you determine what exactly is the cause of the pain you experience when you breathe and can help you build a treatment plan, whether that includes medication, surgery, physical therapy, or some other method of treatment. Chiropractic back pain treatment could be a helpful option for you as well.

This list is not a conclusive list of potential causes for why your back may hurt when you breathe, but it can be used as a tool to help you decide what your next steps may be.

SHARE:

Contact Us

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.