Treatment of intercostal neuralgia

Treatment of intercostal neuralgia is variable, since the etiology of this disease is also different. An unusual pain occurs between the ribs, which can feel like a heart condition or even a heart attack. The insidious disease carefully disguises itself as angina, rheumatic and gastric diseases so skillfully that sometimes even an experienced doctor finds it difficult to identify intercostal neuralgia during the initial examination. In addition, the patient is usually far from young; at this age, many people already have a “bouquet” of chronic diseases, with which neuralgia can easily be confused.

The term "neuralgia" originates from ancient Greece, and the name itself means pain in the nerve - neuron and algos. Painful sensations are rarely localized in one pinched nerve, they usually quickly move along nearby nerve endings, so in addition to pain, a person may experience numbness and other neuropathic manifestations.

The factors that provoke neuralgia are so diverse that their complete list could take up more than one page, but the main ones are the following:

• Physical injuries, bruises;
• Constant work in an uncomfortable, non-physiological position;
• Drafts that provoke inflammation of the intercostal muscles against the background of reduced immunity;
• Excessive physical activity;
• Severe hypothermia;
• Intoxication, including drug intoxication;
• Bacterial infection;
• Herpetic pathology, shingles;
• Tuberculosis;
• Cardiovascular diseases;
• Anemia;
• Insufficient oxygen supply to the nerve trunk;
• Pathological structure of the spinal column (hernias, deformation, osteopathology);
• Scarring, degeneration of connective tissues;
• Hormonal pathologies;
• Hepatitis;
• Endocrine diseases (thyrotoxicosis);
• Tumor process.

Numerous causes can be grouped into categories – inflammatory, compression and traumatic factors. One way or another, neuralgia pain develops according to a typical scenario:

• The muscle suffers first, and a muscle spasm appears;
• The nerve endings react to the spasm with strong irritation;
• Nerve endings (roots) are compressed and pinched in the area of displacement of the muscle and vertebra;
• Persistent pain appears in the area of injury, radiating to various organs – the liver, stomach, heart.

Treatment of intercostal neuralgia should be carried out in accordance with the underlying disease. Various methods and techniques of self-help are, of course, appropriate, but only as primary actions.

If the pain does not go away within 24 hours, you should seek more serious, qualified help so as not to miss a real, hidden disease that may pose a threat to health.

1. The first stage of therapy is to relieve the pain symptom, and for this it is necessary to follow certain rules, which include bed rest. It is better to choose a fairly hard, rigid horizontal surface, feather beds and soft mattresses are excluded. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDs (diclofenac, orthofen, voltaren, piroxicam) and analgesic drugs (spazgan, ketanov, sedalgin) are prescribed as anesthesia. The drugs are taken in the form of tablets, injections are possible, as well as suppositories. Medicines are taken according to the prescribed regimen, in a course, even in the absence of pain symptoms;
2. The body is immobilized using a special corset or elastic bandaging. The body should not be fixed for a long time to prevent a decrease in muscle tone.
3. Dry warm compresses are applied to the site of pain, possibly a heating pad, however, warming up should be prescribed or excluded by a doctor to avoid the development of concomitant purulent pathologies;
4. Vitamin therapy is mandatory, B vitamins give a good effect. Milgamma, a combination drug containing three powerful vitamins, gives excellent results: thiamine (B1), a neurotropic substance that provides energy and activates metabolism; pyridoxine (B6), which transports amino acids and is responsible for regulating protein metabolism; cyanocobalamin (B12), an antianemic agent that regulates carbohydrate-fat balance. Milgamma also contains a local anesthetic, lidocaine.
5. Relaxation of spasmodic muscles is ensured with the help of drugs – muscle relaxants (sirdalud, listenon, mydocalm).
6. If intercostal neuralgia requires urgent treatment aimed at relieving severe pain, an anesthetic blockade using lidocaine or novocaine is prescribed.
7. If neuralgia is chronic, in addition to NSAIDs - non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, glucocorticosteroids may be prescribed. It is possible to add auxiliary substances containing glucosamine, but such drugs do not have a direct therapeutic effect, rather they are needed for the rehabilitation period. A more obvious effect is provided by local applications with an aqueous solution of a local anesthetic - dimexide.
8. After the acute period, neuralgia can be easily treated with physiotherapy – electrophoresis, reflexology sessions, electric currents.
9. At home, regular exercises from a set of therapeutic physical training, self-massage and warm baths with sea salt, a decoction of willow bark containing acetylsalicylic acid (anti-inflammatory effect) are recommended.

Treatment of intercostal neuralgia is long-term, course-based, and should never be stopped at the first signs of relief. Moreover, it would be better to prevent neuralgia and not allow it to occur. And if symptoms similar to intercostal neuralgia appear, you should consult a doctor as soon as possible, who will conduct differential diagnostics and exclude heart disease, and prescribe timely gentle treatment.