I regularly see patients who are concerned about their symptoms. Often, this anxiety ultimately proves unnecessary, but I understand very well where it comes from. This is especially true when symptoms seem to arise spontaneously, persist for a long time, and examinations provide no clear explanation.
When a physician finds no serious abnormalities through blood tests, X-rays, a CT scan, or an MRI, it naturally brings relief. However, if the symptoms persist, the patient is still left with questions:
“What is actually going on then?”
On August 19, I saw a patient with pain at the front of the lower ribs on the right side. An examination by her physician had yielded no significant findings. In principle, she did not need to worry, but the pain remained present — particularly during golf, where the twisting motion of the rib cage caused increasing discomfort.
My examination revealed that the pain was likely caused by tension in a section of the outer pleura, close to the ribs.
I suspected that this localized tension was the result of an old injury. When I asked her about this, the patient told me that at the age of fifteen, she had slipped off a stool while cleaning a freezer. In the process, her chest hit the edge of the freezer hard.
She remembered that an X-ray taken at the time had even confirmed a rib fracture.
The moment it becomes clear where a complaint may originate, a sense of calm often arises. Not only do I, as an osteopath, have a better understanding of which structure needs treatment, but it is also important for the patient to better understand their own body.
In this case, a weight was literally lifted from her shoulders. She no longer had to worry about a serious condition and finally understood why her body continued to signal this pain.
