r/Thritis • u/ViolentRegression • 2d ago

Thoracic Spine and Facets

Hi Team Thritis,

Been struggling with back and chest pain for a while. Finally got to the bottom of it. Effectively every T from 1-12 has thoracic costovertebral osteoarthritis. And all the facets have arthropathy.

Weirdly, I really can’t find all that much research on this type of Arthritis. Which makes me feel special in not a great way.

Was wondering if there are others out there and if they would be willing to share their experiences? Mine has been me losing my mind convinced that I’m having heart and lung issues.

Any direction to some research or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.

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u/mrsredfast 2d ago

My back/rib imaging is similar and I have Psoriatic Arthritis. Cosentyx seems to be working well to stop flare ups in my ribs and thoracic spine.

Have you been sent to a rheumatologist to rule out the inflammatory/autoimmune arthritises?

Edit to add that heat makes my back and ribs feel less stiff and helps with pain. I wrap myself in heated blanket before bed and then again in the morning. Ice can help if I have specific place that’s really bothering me — my sternoclavicular joints can flare up and it’s terribly painful but ice and Voltaren gel help a bit.

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u/ViolentRegression 1d ago

Thanks for your response. Yes I have been finding heat packs seem to really help. The heated blanket is a great idea, thanks 🙏.
Haven’t seen a rheumatologist yet. But I think it’s a good idea as it’s driving me crazy.