Can Coughing Cause Back Pain?

Coughing helps clear your airways. We all cough due to colds, flu, or allergies. But have you felt a sudden pain in your back afterward? If so, you’re not alone.
Many people feel back pain while coughing, it can range from mild to severe. So, can coughing cause back pain? Let’s explore this issue and find out why it happens, along with some relief options.

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What Happens When You Cough?

Coughing cleans your trachea by removing blockages. Your chest and abdomen muscles work together to keep your airway clear.
It is a powerful motion that engages the chest and the lower body.
For the majority of people, coughing is only a temporary irritation, but for others, it might be a problem of the back soreness from coughing over a longer period of time.

Can Coughing Cause Back Pain?

Yes, coughing can cause back pain. The act of coughing can strain the muscles in your back, especially in the lower back area.
If you’re coughing frequently or forcefully, it can lead to muscle tension or even muscle tears. You might feel a dull ache, tightness, or sometimes even a sharp pain in the back.
For some people, the discomfort may be temporary, while for others, it can last for days or even weeks.

How Does Coughing Lead to Back Pain?

If an individual coughs, their body instantly squeezes. This strong action causes the spine and nearby muscles to shift. The most common causes of low back pain from coughing are:

• Muscle Strain: The muscles in your back, particularly the lower part, are likely to get strained when you cough. This is the case when you have a mild cough with mild coughing, or coughing many times with an infection or cold that has been there for a long time.
• Pressure on the Spine: Coughing is a condition that can put an extra pressure on the spine and call for the spine discs to shift or become inflamed. These situations will cause the pain in your back.
• Tight Muscles: Chest and abdominal wall muscles get contracted when a person cough which leads to the muscles of the back being affected. Thus, tight muscles may cause pain on the back or the side.
• Pre-existing Conditions: In case of people who already have back problems, such as a herniated disc or muscle weakness, coughing can cause the pain to be even worse than it was before.

Common Areas Where Coughing Causes Back Pain

The main place where we can feel back pain when we cough maybe different depending on the cause:

• Lower Back Pain: Many potentially due to overstress on the muscles of the lower spine and muscles people can feel lower back pain from coughing.
• Side Pain: On the other hand, if it related to the ribs, the sufferer will feel pain in the side when coughing and maybe in both sides.
• Upper Back and Shoulder Pain: The main possible reason for tight upper back muscles to appear is insufficient flexibility, so therefore shoulder discomfort can also be a result of this.

Is Back Pain While Coughing a Sign of Something Serious?

There are times when back pain while coughing is only a small issue. It’s a bigger problem in some cases. Consider these factors:

Severe, Sharp Pain

If you face coughing, which is a sharp pain in your back that is severe and unyielding, it might indicate a troubling situation.

Pain that Spreads to Legs or Arms

If you suffer from numbness, tingling feelings, or an inability to control your arm, it is attributed to a nerve disorder.

Pain Lasts for Weeks

In case, if your back hurts from coughing that does not go away even after two weeks, see the doctor then.

Breathing Issues

If coughing creates severe back pain and breathing trouble, it might be an infection or a health matter with your lungs.

Conditions That Can Cause Back Pain While Coughing

Lower back pain that occurs when you cough can be as a result of several various conditions:

• Bronchitis: This infection is having a lot of inflammation in the chest and back muscles leading to back pain.
• Cold and Flu: The reason for lower back pain is when you are ill and have muscle tension.
• Sciatica: When you cough, the sciatic nerve gets pressed. This pressure causes pain to spread down your legs.
• Pneumonia: Lung infections can be the reason for the back pain that you feel when you’re coughing.

Can You Pull a Muscle in Your Back from Coughing?

Yes, you can genuinely have aggravated a muscle in your back through coughing. This is true especially if the cough is explosive and has been going on for a long time.
The cough causes the abdominal muscles to constrict and exert the force on the back muscles.
If your back muscles are not strong or you are out of shape, a back muscle pain may be felt whenever you are coughing a lot or even tear your back muscles.

How to Relieve Back Pain from Coughing?

If you are having back pain while coughing, there are some treatments that can be tried to reduce the discomfort. These are some tips:

1. Rest and Recovery

Rest your body until it gets better. Refrain from any activities that will affect your back and instead, take time for relaxation and rest.

2. Heat and Ice Therapy

Applying heat or cold on your back can also provide relief to sore muscles. Ice helps to reduce inflammation, while heat helps relaxing muscle tautness.

3. Gentle Stretches

You can perform stretching exercises that are gentle for the back area to help free the tension in your muscles. Stretching should highlight the lower back and abdominal muscles.

4. Over-the-Counter Pain Relievers

Through taking the non-prescription painkillers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen, not only help to decrease inflammation but also pain will be relieved.

5. Strengthening Exercises

Once the pain is gone, muscle the area to ensure future pain. Strengthening low back muscles along with the core will be less likely that the pain in your back when sneezing again.

When Should You See a Doctor?

Apart from this condition, seeing a doctor for coughing sharp pain in back is still necessary because it is a temporary problem. Furthermore, you should consider the following for prompt medical diagnosis and treatment. You must always address:

• Severe and persistent pain that does not disappear with rest
• Numbness or tingling in your legs
• Difficulty walking or standing up straight
• Pain that travels down your legs or to other parts of your body

A healthcare professional will be able to assess your symptoms and determine if there is an underlying issue that needs treatment individually.

Conclusion

Can coughing cause back pain? Yes! Coughing can lead to sharp pain in the back or general soreness. It strains your back muscles, causing discomfort.
Lower back pain from coughing is usually temporary but annoying. Strengthen your muscles and manage your cough to prevent it.
If it lasts or worsens, seek help from a healthcare professional.
To keep your back in a good condition of health, make sure you take good care of it that also includes dealing with a simple cough!

FAQs

 Why does my back hurt when I cough?

Your back can hurt due to coughing because the muscles in your back can be overstrained, especially in the lower back. This is what happens when you cough by force or many times.

 Can back pain cause coughing?

Back pain does not usually go with cough as it can affect the spine or nerves, which will lead to shortness of breath and then coughing. If you are suffering from both, it may be as a result of the underlying health issue.

Does bronchitis make your back hurt?

Yes, it does. Bronchitis comes with the swelling of the chest and back muscles, which then brings back pain.