Misaligned rib can occur due to something as a mundane as an acute coughing fit. Surely you didn't know that already? Are you among those unfortunate people who have consulted numerous doctors to demystify the cause for a misaligned rib and rid you of the upper back pain, without any success so far? The factors causing back pain, whether in the upper back or the lower, can be quite a mystery for the suffering patients as well as the doctors treating them. Back pain can be harmful to other parts of the body as well and conversely, back pain can also be due to problems in other body parts, eg the heart or the neck.
If your doctor or the chiropractor you have consulted detects the cause of the upper back pain as a misaligned rib, don't be surprised. A misaligned rib linked to upper back pain is fairly common. Is it treatable? Absolutely. The misaligned rib needs to and can be treated; it is not a malady that will heal by itself.
More about the vertebrae and ribs
Pain in the upper back that has been identified as being due to a misaligned rib can make it quite painful to even breathe or walk. Not just this, a simple activity like twisting or turning the upper body can be painful in the extreme. This is because the upper back, also called the Thoracic, has twelve vertebrae that have two ribs attached to each of them, ie twelve ribs each on both right and left sides. The two lowest ribs in the ribcage are known in medical terms as Floating Ribs, because unlike the other ribs that are attached to the sternum or sternum cartilage, the Floating ribs are attached just to the vertebrae. Just as adjoining connecting vertebrae can get misaligned, so can the ribs and thoracic vertebrae, leading to upper back pain.
Getting the cure
As a patient having back pain, do not attempt to self-treat the misaligned rib or douse the back pain with painkillers, in the futile belief that you will not need to visit the doctor. Prescription painkillers will only alleviate the back pain; the root cause of your upper back pain, namely, the misaligned will still be there. Only a doctor will be able to administer the correct treatment or refer you to a chiropractor for correctly aligning the ribs. While there is a chance that a misaligned rib that has been treated may occur again in the future, the probability is not very high. Upper back pain or even back pain can occur due to a number of reasons, including stress, so stop worrying about it.
