What if your back pain is really a lung problem? It’s not an uncommon scenario: many people who have lung cancer don’t experience chest pain, and their disease goes undetected for years.
If you’re experiencing long-term back pain, it could be wise to consult your doctor. Here are some signs that might indicate that your lungs are the source of discomfort instead of your spine.
If you’ve ever had a bad back, you know that pain can be a real problem. But how do you know if it’s a problem with your back or with your lungs? There are some key differences between the two that can help you figure out which one is causing your pain.
The first place to look is at where the pain is coming from. If the pain is localized to just one part of your body, such as the lower left side, then it’s most likely related to lung issues.
The lungs are located on both sides of the chest cavity, so if one side feels more painful than the other, it could mean that there’s something wrong with that lung or its surrounding structures.
If you’re experiencing consistent pains across both sides of your chest and they are radiating down into your arms and legs, then it’s likely coming from somewhere in your spine or ribcage—which means it may be related to back problems rather than lung issues (though this isn’t always true).
About 25 percent of people with lung cancer experience back pain. In fact, back pain is frequently the first lung cancer symptom that people notice before diagnosis. Back pain may also arise as a side effect of cancer treatment.
To make matters worse, many people mistakenly believe that the pain they are experiencing is due to other things, such as a pulled muscle or arthritis. But unlike those conditions, lung cancer-related back pain is often worse when you lie down and better when you sit up or stand up.
If you notice these symptoms, see your doctor to rule out cancer as a cause and get the proper treatment for it—before it’s too late!
The two types of pain are very similar in their causes and symptoms, but there are ways to tell which one is affecting you.
Lung pain is usually caused by an illness or accident, such as pneumonia or a broken rib. The symptoms of lung pain include difficulty breathing, coughing, and chest tightness. Lung pain also often triggers a fever.
Back pain, on the other hand, is more likely to be caused by physical activity or injury. It can also be caused by poor posture or poor health habits such as smoking or drinking too much alcohol.
Back pain has no fever associated with it but can feel similar to lung pain if it’s severe enough—you may get short of breath when bending over or standing up straight after laying down for a while (such as when you wake up from sleep).
If you experience any type of back or lung pain that doesn’t go away within a few days or weeks, it’s possible that you’ll be needing a diagnosis for the proper treatment option that will help relieve your symptoms and prevent further complications from developing!
It can be difficult to tell the difference between these two ailments, especially if you have both. You may be tempted to just ignore it or hope it goes away, but that’s not a good idea!
Left untreated, lung pain could lead to further injury or even death. If you have any suspicion that your back pain is actually lung pain, it’s important that you seek medical attention immediately.
Lung pain can be caused by an injury to the lungs themselves, such as a puncture or tear. It can also be caused by an injury to the muscles surrounding the lungs and rib cage, which in turn cause damage within the lungs themselves—this type of injury is often referred to as “pneumothorax.”
Back pain can also mimic lung pain: if your spine is injured and vertebrae are compressed against each other, this can cause compression on nearby nerves leading into your lungs (called “radiculopathy”).
This results in similar symptoms as pneumothorax or other types of lung injuries: shortness of breath, difficulty breathing deeply enough for oxygenation purposes (hypoxia), coughs/colds/flu-like symptoms, chest pains, fever/chills.
A lung infection can be caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi. Lung infections are common in people with a weak immune system, such as those who have HIV/AIDS or are undergoing cancer treatment. Lung infections may also occur after surgery on the chest cavity (thoracotomy).
Infections that affect your lungs cause pain and discomfort. They can cause fever, chills and a cough that produces pus-filled mucus known as sputum.
If you experience these symptoms along with shortness of breath or chest pain when you breathe deeply–or if you develop wheezing–you should seek medical attention right away because these conditions could be life threatening if left untreated!
Scoliosis is a curvature of the spine. It can be caused by conditions such as osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), which affects bone growth and causes bones to break easily.
Scoliosis may also be present at birth, but symptoms won’t appear until later in life when you grow taller or begin exercising more vigorously.
Scoliosis can cause breathing problems and chest pain because it puts pressure on your lungs and heart, making it difficult for air to reach them properly.
The spine curves to one side as it grows out of control; eventually this will affect all areas of your body including organs like kidneys, liver and spleen that sit close together within their own individual spaces surrounded by muscles around them called “fascial compartments.”
If left untreated over time these organs will become compressed due to their proximity with one another while trying desperately hard not only stay in place but also perform their respective tasks effectively without causing further damage elsewhere within our bodies.
While back pain and a lung pain have similar symptoms, they’re caused by different things.
Back pain is usually a dull ache in the lower back, which may radiate to the buttocks and legs. It can be caused by an injury or other conditions like arthritis or sciatica (nerve irritation).
Lung pains are deep, stabbing pains that usually occur in the upper back near where your shoulder blades meet at your spine. They’re often felt as if something were stuck under your shoulder blade–like someone was jabbing you with an ice pick every few seconds!
Lung pains can also feel like they’re coming from inside your chest instead of on top of it; this happens when blood flow becomes restricted because of an infection or other condition affecting one or more arteries supplying blood flow through your lungs’ arteries.
If you are experiencing back pain for more than a few days, or if the pain is severe or getting worse, see your doctor.
If you have any of these symptoms: fever, chills, night sweats and weight loss – see your doctor right away as they may be signs of an infection in the lungs or heart. You should also call emergency services if you experience chest pain during exercise (even if it goes away).
If you have a history of cancer or heart disease – talk to your doctor about whether they think it’s best for you to see someone who specializes in treating lung diseases such as emphysema or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Your doctor will ask about your medical history, symptoms and lifestyle factors. They’ll want to know if any of your family members have had lung problems or back pain.
Your doctor will ask about the severity and duration of your symptoms, as well as their exact location in the body (e.g., left side or right side). They may also want to know if there are any other associated symptoms such as coughing or wheezing when breathing deeply.
Your doctor will ask about any medications that might be contributing to the problem — especially those that treat similar conditions as those being experienced by the patient in question–and whether they’ve been effective at alleviating these issues on previous occasions when they were taken before this one happened again recently too!
Back pain is one of the most common reasons people seek medical attention, but if you have these additional symptoms—coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath—it could be something else entirely.
In fact, your back pain may be caused by lung pain.
Lung pain can be caused by a variety of conditions, including pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma, lung cancer and other conditions. If you are experiencing these symptoms along with your back pain please see a doctor immediately.
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GET IN TOUCH +
285 Sills Road
Building 5-6, Suite E
East Patchogue, NY 11772
(631) 475-5511
184 N. Belle Mead Road
East Setauket, NY 11733
(631) 675-6226
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