Back pain with COPD
Is back and spine pain a part of COPD? Mostly if I sleep on one side I get shape pains in my shoulder blade and middle upper spine while taking a deep breath. Anyone else have these symptoms?
Thank you all very kindly for your time and thoughts.
Chris
Hi
, and thanks so much for your inquiry - it's a good one! You may be aware that COPD affects everyone differently. As well, the treatments / therapies can vary from patient to patient depending on their particular condition.
We do have some published material, right here on COPD.net, that addresses the pain(s) that may accompany this condition. I thought these articles might provide you with some additional insight for your concern: https://copd.net/?s=pain. I do hope you find them to be helpful in a practical way.
Wishing you well,
Leon (site moderator COPD.net)Patients with COPD have significantly increased risk for lower back pain.
Hey Chris!
Kind of a chicken and the egg situation for myself and i couldn't give you a straight answer. I have found that if i strain my back through over exercising or strain a muscle in that part of my body I generally have a flair up and difficulty breathing. At least for me there is a correlation both ways.
Laying flat on the ground with my legs elevated and diaphragmatic breathing usually sorts me out. Sometimes with a heating pad or pillow under the strains
Hope it helps
-Ianthank you, I had to look up diaframatic breathing to do the exercises. I'm going to do these. I'm new to COPD.Net I was desperate to find something to do to help. I appreciate your post.
For me, there are two things to consider with this question. One is that with the onset of serious COPD my range of motion is much decreased. Second is that cramps, spasms, and other muscle issues are closely related to oxygenation in those tissues. Stretching, exercise, and getting enough oxygen are keys to dealing with these problems for me. Sometimes it's simple and sometimes not so much. My newly limited range of motion affects my sleeping position, too, which feeds the problem. I need to find new ways to get the stretching and exercise I need that will be enough to have balance, and it's a battler, every day, but I need to stay in it to win. Some days it's easy and other days it seems impossible. But, if I pull a muscle or otherwise somehow injure myself, it's usually from trying to do something I shouldn't have, or getting too rambunctious in the attempt, or making one little mistake. Then I pay dearly for it. Like my currently broken toe, which I continue to whack on things almost daily, or not drinking enough water daily, which is my tendency, because I hate all those constant trips to the bathroom. It's hard to strike a balance that works well enough to prevent the cramps. Enough that I have yet to succeed. It's a different world I live in now, and I am having some difficulties with the adjustment!
