I submitted this question to Dr. Ray during his livestream last night, asking if it was something that a consult could help me with, and he suggested I submit a Q to the forum here, as it may potentially not require a consult. So here I am!
I’ve been experiencing a specific point of pain in my back for some time now, only ever when taking long car rides or flying on a plane. Hard to describe where because I don’t have great understanding of anatomy, but it feels like it’s between my scapula and spine near the narrowest point between the two, closer to the scapula and almost feeling like it’s underneath (hope that all makes sense). The pain starts to occur after a few hours of long driving, and once it starts no amount of changes in position, seat positioning, or stops to stand or walk help the case. I can acutely exacerbate the pain by looking down towards the end of the range of motion there, and moving my head back, either holding it back or letting it rest on the headrest, can relieve it temporarily but eventually it just comes right back. I’ve tried pinching my shoulder blades together, stretching them apart, changing shoulder position, any kind of volitional adjustment I can do, and it may help at first, but eventually sets back in despite holding the position. Short of continually dancing around in my seat to get a little bit of relief (not complete), I’m not really sure what else I can do. After the pain starts coming on, it lasts the rest of the day and potentially for the next couple of days; usually a couple days of sleep and not having to sit in a car for too long and it’ll go away no problem. About the only thing I’ve found that makes it feel better is to just lay down on the floor, and even then it doesn’t fully go away until a few days later. The pain doesn’t ever come on in any other situation in my life, I work a sedentary job at a desk all day and it doesn’t ever start hurting during work or training.
I’ve learned a lot about pain from Drs. Baraki and Ray (though I’m sure it can still be said that “I don’t know pain”), and I have come to understand that the pain doesn’t necessarily mean anything is wrong with the underlying tissue. The fact that it doesn’t hurt for any of the training movements I do (unless it has already set in, but that would still suggest the movement isn’t the cause) seems to confirm that it’s not tissue damage or anything like that. I have had some issues with the shoulder on the same side while doing press, and the “discomfort” (luckily I’ve been able to train it out of being painful with the help of some suggestions from Tom Campitelli in Group Programming) is felt in the rear delt, but I understand the two aren’t necessarily related. I also try not to focus on it, and if someone is riding with me (usually my wife), I try to talk to them to distract myself from it. Unfortunately it just keeps increasing in intensity and I have no real choice but to think about it. I’ve tried taking ibuprofen and naproxen for pain relief, not for the anti-inflammatory use, and they usually help a bit, but if I’m still in the car or on a plane when I take it, the intensity of the pain still increases.
As I’ve typed all this, I realize this might be more specific and I do need to submit for consult, but since it’s not anything that training seems to have an effect on, I’m not entirely sure what else we can do remotely. If you can throw some big, scientific words about pain my way in this thread, maybe it will help me feel better, haha. I appreciate any help, and I will follow up with a consult if that is was you docs recommend, but I do also plan on talking with my local doctor about it as well in case there’s nothing that we can do remotely. Any mention of a foam roller or lacrosse ball and I’ll probably bail, lol. I appreciate everything you guys have put out there so far!