What is “thoracic and dorsal myofasciitis”?

This is the 3372nd article of Da Yi Xiao Hu

Many patients in the outpatient clinic often have chest and back pain, but the heart, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen and lung examinations are all normal, which makes them very distressed and confused. After going around in the hospital for a long time, they don’t know which department to go to for treatment, nor do they know what disease they have.

In this case, you may be suffering from "thoracic and dorsal myofasciitis". What is this disease?

Due to strain or invasion of wind, cold and dampness, the chest and dorsal fascia and muscles are damaged, adhered or degenerated, which stimulates the nerves and causes pain, which is called thoracic and dorsal myofasciitis.

Then the patients will curiously ask: "We didn't pull or sprain anything, and we didn't do any strenuous exercise, so how come we got strain?" Strain is caused not only by sports injuries, but also by long-term desk work, repetitive mechanical labor, or being in a single fixed posture for a long time, and carrying heavy objects on the shoulders.

The clinical manifestations are chest and back pain and soreness in a wide range, not limited to a certain point. Local muscles become hard, and sometimes nodules or cord-like objects can be touched. Patients with more severe pain can seriously affect their quality of life. If you have the above symptoms and have ruled out organic diseases such as the heart, lungs, liver, and spleen, then you are very likely to have this disease. However, it does not have specific auxiliary examinations or biochemical tests to make a clear diagnosis. It is only based on the experience of our specialists to diagnose and treat, so the situation described at the beginning of this article will occur. After visiting various departments in the hospital, I can't tell what the disease is, and of course I don't know how to treat it.

Next, let's talk about how to treat it. You can use Chinese medicine cupping, ironing, moxibustion and acupuncture to remove dampness and cold from the body. You can also use rehabilitation massage or infrared therapy to relax muscles and activate blood circulation, improve local microcirculation of chest and back muscles, loosen and straighten them, and remove those cord-like lumps.

Western medicine treatment is also very effective. You can take some drugs such as eperisone and loxoprofen to relieve muscle pain and spasms, and you can also add some celecoxib and fenbid to increase the efficacy. For external use, you can use Voltaren, blood circulation and pain relief cream, moxibustion cream, or infrared magnetic therapy patch to remove dampness and cold. If you encounter a patient who has not recovered for a long time, you can try infusion therapy, which also has a very good effect.

The above is my brief introduction to the disease of "thoracic and dorsal myofasciitis" and its treatment. I hope that patients with related symptoms can see this article and receive timely and correct treatment as soon as possible, recover soon, and not be troubled by it and seriously affect the quality of their daily lives.

Author: Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai Seventh People's Hospital

Ju Yufeng