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Scarring in muscles thats chronically being rebuilt?

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Posted 3/5/2011 4:05 AM (GMT 0)
I have chronic scarring in my muscles after multiple upper body

and neck injuries. One is my small ribcage muscles have scarred. i am female.

now i cannot wear bras, is this atypical of Fibro?

Or maybe Lupus? I'm trying to find out what apparently

a Dr. should decide is my problem-physically with my

muscles. I'm expecting some answers after autoimmune

panel in the near future. Just wondering if anyone actually

knows or has gone through muscle issues like this?

Chronic scarring?

 

Posted 3/5/2011 8:46 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Lauralight~

Nice to meet you and I'm glad you have joined us. Pain in the rib area is very common with fibro but scaring is not. Fibro is an amplification of pain signals which makes us feel like we're always in pain...we are! But there isn't any physical injury to justify the pain. With the fibro pain I have in my rib area wearing a bra is excruciating. People have told me...oh, you just need someone who knows how to fit you well. Hahahaaaa If that were the case then few women would have painful rib areas from fibro.

I only wear a bra if I absolutely have to! If someone stops by my house without me knowing they are on their way then I'll be the one in a large, soft and baggy shirt on when the come to my door. It's the best I can do. I'm going to look into finding a sleep bra so I'll be more comfortable with people coming by. I prefer not to have that 'gravity' look...lol That might be a thought for you too. Something in the realm of a sports/sleep bra that is very soft yet has some support, but not tight in any one spot...like at the top of the ribs.

I hope you find some answers soon and that they are something you can reasonably handle.

Warm hugs,
Chutz
Posted 3/5/2011 12:14 PM (GMT 0)
I also have the rib pain from fibro but no scaring.  I've never heard of that.  How do you know the muscles are scaring? 

 

Like Chutz, the bra is only worn if I leave the house and it's the first thing to come off when I get home.  I also have costochondritis and that plays into my rib pain, too.  There is a link all about it in Fibro 101 if you are interested in reading it.  Perhaps this is what is going on with you.

 

Sherrine 

Posted 3/5/2011 4:52 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Lauralight. I think any muscle or body tissue that has been injured can scar if you have fibro or not. It's normal. It's just one of the ways that the body tries to heal itself, like an internal splint or band-aid. One of the reasons people go to physical therapy after orthopedic types injuries or surgery is to, as my PT once said, build a better scar, one that is organized and as functional as possible. Otherwise sometimes the body lays down a chaotic pattern of scar tissue that can cause more problems and pain.

Anyway there are therapies out there such as Graston, types of massage, etc that can help break up the scar tissue. You might want to look into that. I have had scar issues and these therapies have helped me a lot so may be helpful to you too. Good luck, Lee
Posted 3/5/2011 10:38 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Lauralight

How was it determined that you have muscle scarring? MRI would show soft tissues. X-ray only shows bones. CT shows all sorts of stuff.

I was in a bad wreck almost a couple of years ago. I had bad enough chest pain, head pain, abdominal pain to get CT scans of just about my whole body. One showed two broken ribs. I can still feel three ribs slipping over each other when I bend or twist. I had a whole body scan (looking for cancer spread) that showed 3 ribs lighted up, which also confirmed rib damage. Slipping ribs can become chronic. They're often loose at the joint with the spine. Mine are loose at the cartilege in the front.

I had three injections in the area where the ribs are loose in the front. They didn't help. I finally got three spinal injections (thoracic facet injections) to deaden the nerves - temporarily. It's been about a year and some pain is back in one or two, there is still a lot of slipping, but it's better than it was.

Even if you don't have slipping ribs, an injection may help with your pain.
Posted 3/5/2011 11:12 PM (GMT 0)
Alcie, thank you for that explanaition.  I have often wondered about that as my chiro has said my rib or ribs slipped and after he put them back they were OK.  It now makes sense.
Posted 3/6/2011 12:17 AM (GMT 0)
Denise -
The ribs may or may not slip out again. If they're disconnected in the front there's no "putting them back." They'll just keep on slipping like mine do. In the back there are places the ribs belong and a chiropracter might be the one to fix them. Just don't let him do anything to your neck! If you read White Beard's posts you'll see why.

If you have severe pain from the ribs and they're in place, the only one qualified to do the nerve deadening is an anesthesiologist. It's supposed to last a year. That's about what relief I've had. I'l take it and be happy!

I get to see my pain doc Monday. This time's for the lumbar spine and sciatica. The last couple of times, last year, I had the lumbar done it didn't work, at least not very well. We'll talk about a different injection. Maybe he'll do it on the spot. I'll be driving myself, but I can get my husband to come rescue me if he does the shot. I'll take my big ice bag in hope it gets done. I'm to the point of breath holding now, even with upping the tramadol to my personal max. Of course, holding your breath doesn't really help.
Posted 3/6/2011 1:07 AM (GMT 0)
Laura, I am so sorry to hijack your thread.  Welcome to the forum and I really hope you get some suggestions but as you can see I am not the knowledgable.

Alcie, My chiro does fix the ribs in the back not the front.  Where can I find whitebeards posts?  My chiro actually fixed my neck as much as it can be.  I told him he had miracle hands, I spent a lot of money and went thru 2 other chiros.  I only go now when it is really bad.  I am afraid of the injections, one pain clinic wanted to do a cervical epidural and another said he wouldn't reccomend it......go figure.  I read up about them and almost everybody mentioned gaining a lot of weight.

Posted 3/6/2011 1:58 AM (GMT 0)
Have any of you ever seen the Ahh bra commercials? Now that looks like a bra that is actually comfortable. You get 3 for $60 and you order based not on your bra size but on your top size (M, L, XL, 2X, etc.). Hubby lost money gambling today so I'm thinking about ordering some of them (when he loses, I win).


Alcie, have you ever been given Valium for your sciatica? It has worked pretty well on mine.
Posted 3/7/2011 7:19 AM (GMT 0)
Well, I had four whip lash injuries, including a slip and fall that seemed to tear up the muscles between my scapula and create this scarring mostly on the side of my body where I slipped(and caught myself on my left hand). The Chiro. students so far have only offered to help me find a specialist to make a better bra, but i'm going to seriously ask for muscle treatment in that area(thye've been very helpful for other areas so I know they will check the rib's positioning and asses it before doing treatment like that), it's where three or so muscles come together latissiumus dorsi, and another and they are over the ribs, but one rib almost seems to protrude(mabe from that fall 8 years ago). I'm going to be more direct on Friday, as the scarring is obvously that haphazard kind that causes further problems. I think they should be able to do what is called pin and streatch on it or use a machine/heat/vibrating massage. I unfortunatly have a long relationships now with the school. My best theory is I had early auto immune stuff going on and when I hurt myself in the slip and fall, my muscles just didn't recover as well as if I'd not started to become less healthy in that respect. I suspect I'll get a more clear diagnosis of that stuff in about a month, when I afford the autoimmune labs. My immediate goal(like 2-5 months) is to get clear diagnosis. As in fibro/lupus/ or what the heck!!!
Posted 3/7/2011 3:49 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Guys,
For me I find any where I have had a past injury, that area can be painful even thought the injury was ages ago. I think the fibro makes everything more painful. It makes places we have had no injuries painful, and it can make injured areas more painful. I know that when my dog pokes at me with her paw it hurts for a long time longer than it would for a normal person. So our pain sensors are hyper and too active. Your scare areas may radiate pain more then they would for a normal person because of the fibro.
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