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From WikiMSK
Featured Wiki Article for 1 May 2025
Causes and Sources of Chronic Thoracic Pain
Chronic thoracic spine pain is an often perplexing clinical problem. While less common than neck or low back pain, mid-back pain is still significant – about 15% of people report thoracic spine pain at any given time.[1] Importantly, thoracic pain is sometimes associated with serious underlying pathology more often than neck or low back pain.[2] Understanding the sources versus the causes of thoracic pain is critical for an anatomical diagnosis (a “reductionist” approach advocated by Bogduk.[1] In this context, “source” refers to the specific anatomical structure generating nociceptive signals, whereas “cause” refers to the pathophysiological process affecting that structure (e.g. degeneration, inflammation, fracture). For example, a thoracic zygapophysial (facet) joint may be the pain source, while osteoarthritic degeneration of that joint is the cause. - Read More
