- All right Bob,
viewers of the Bob and Brad program,
and anyone else who's watching,
we're gonna discuss chest pain and the most common causes,
and if you can safely self treat.
So hold on a few seconds, we'll be right with the program.
- Not something to mess around with
- Absolutely. We're gonna take this serious.
♪ Bob and Brad the two most famous ♪
♪ physical therapists on the internet. ♪
- All right chest pain,
Obviously Bob we know it's a big red flag,
- Right
- You don't mess around with it, uh,
and if you're not,
know why it's because you potentially
may be having a heart attack.
- Right.
- Obviously, potentially fatal.
Uh, so you must see your doctor or go to the ER
if you are having chest pain,
but we're gonna go through some more reasons why,
'cause actually I looked this up,
and actually the majority of people who go to
the ER with chest pain are not having a heart attack.
- But you still should go.
- You have to go,
- Right. You have to go.
- If it is your life is your life on the line.
- How many times have you gone Brad?
- I've gone in three times with chest pain.
- Right.
- And we'll talk about that a little bit more
and explain to you how I figured out
how to take care of that.
So here we go.
We'll get on with number one.
(frame whooshes)
One of the causes for,
that chest pain could be,
this is ger G E R D.
It stands for gastro esophagal reflex disease,
- Impressive Brad
- or heartburn.
- Right.
- Simply that you have the reflex backing
up through your stomach, into your throat or your esophagus.
- Not fun!
- No, it's not fun.
And it's something that doesn't matter.
You, you need to have this addressed anyways,
- Yeah.
- So if you go to the E.R.
- Get on in there.
- Yep. And so you're gonna get things going
on the right track one way or another.
Uh number two,
there's certain things with lungs disease,
particularly, uh, with the,
(gasps) I'm not gonna get into it,
'cause I may say it wrong.
- Right.
- But there are lung problems that can cause chest pain,
uh and again,
- I know the upper lobes can cause pain into the shoulder.
- Sure.
- Right.
- Which is common.
Especially if it's the left one.
That's, that's one of,
- Right.
- the right areas where a referral from heart pain,
- Right.
- Or heart attack can go into that left arm or shoulder.
Uh number three, uh, stomach issues
like ulcers can refer pain up into the chest.
Uh, you need to get that taken care of
- Right.
- one way or another.
- Again, every reason to go in.
- Yes. So it doesn't matter if you're going in and it's,
- Right.
- and it's, not a heart attack.
- Which is good.
- You still need to get the problem addressed.
- Right.
- Uh so it's a good thing overall.
Uh, and the last one which I experienced,
- Right. Several times.
- Several times, is if the uh doctor
would say you have musculoskeletal problems.
- Right.
- Now, the first time I went in with chest pain,
almost 10 years ago,
that's what the doctor said,
after they kept me all like all night long on EKG
and this and that and the other thing,
and I said muscular skeletal
I think, ah, I'm a physical therapist.
I should know what this is.
- Right.
- But I had no answer at the time,
and neither did the doctor specifically.
He said, that's just what it is.
We don't really know why you're having this pain
but you can go home.
It's not a heart attack.
Uh, so we're gonna talk about how this occurs,
because there's a number of people who may be diagnosed
with this and we'll show you what it is.
More specifically.
- Very good.
(frame whooshes)
- All right, Bob, we've gone through this before
but we're gonna go through it again.
We've have,
- Yeah.
- this musculoskeletal disorder
or problem that's causing chest pain
and believe me, it's not fun.
I, I've felt it and-
- It can be severe.
- Yeah, and it's like,
I'm thinking am I really having a heart attack?
- Right.
- Or is this just muscular skeletal thing?
So after some research I found a gentleman,
his name is Steve August,
he's a physical therapist in New Zealand.
- Yeah.
- He had,
- He's a great guy.
- Yep. He found out his chest pain was
as a result of something called costo-
- Costochondritis
- Yep. Costochondritis,
and better yet he learned,
or he discovered a way to treat it,
- Yep.
- self treat it successfully.
- Well! Does it well.
- Right. Seven years he had chest pain
and then he discovered this simple treatment.
Uh, one thing that you can do
and doctors have done this on me,
but I, I think a lot of doctors are not
really familiar with costochondritis,
- Right.
- At least the ones I worked with
they would palpate like where the rib connects
to the sternum,
'cause that's where the point of irritation is,
and they said, "Does that hurt? Does that hurt?"
and kinda like that.
And I said, "No."
And then I went home after doing some research,
- They push hard.
- I did a more detailed, uh,
palpation if you will,
and I would find,
and consistently there'd be one spot
the size of a dime where I'd hit,
and boy it sent me through the roof.
It's like, "Ow that hurts!"
- Hello Brad.
- Yeah, (chuckles) exactly.
So that's one thing that may not may or may not be there.
- Gotta push hard. Right.
- Um, but anyways, that is one of the,
- Signs.
- signs of costochondritis.
- May come.
- Right. So, uh, long story short, uh,
Steve has invented a device.
It's called a back pod.
You can use something like
- A softball,
- a softball to treat.
- Right.
- But what we're going to do is show you briefly on Sam
why you get this pain in the chest?
(frame whooshes)
Okay. The explanation of why we get this chest pain
from costochondritis is if you look at the back where
the ribs connect to the vertebra,
or the transverse process,
uh, there's a joint at each level.
When you breathe,
your ribs literally go up and they go down,
and right here,
that rib needs to float
and actually articulate, or move up-
- [Bob] And move
- and down.
Now what happens is these ribs where the joint is
they tighten up, they contract and they
- [Bob] It's like they become rusty.
- Yeah. They come rusty and they do not move.
- [Bob] Right.
- But your ribs still wanna move when you breathe.
- [Bob] Right.
- So what happens as a result of the no,
lack of motion here,
the motion is made up,
(skeleton rustles)
and-
- Too much motion.
- Yes. So be where the ribs connect up to the sternum
it gets accessible-
- [Bob] Hypermobile.
- Yep. And, uh, that is where you have inflammation
and the excess motion creates pain.
And that's where you do that palpation and you
when you hit that source spot,
it makes you really feel it. And it, uh, hurts.
- So if we looses up these it looses up and,
puts not as much stress,
- Right
- on this
- Yep. We break this up, get it moving again.
- Right.
- And the ribs can freely move,
As they're supposed to eliminating the pain.
We'll show you how to do that next.
(screen whooshes)
Okay. Here's the device that Steve, uh, invented
it's called the Backpod.
Uh, and we're gonna put this side of the Backpod,
the sphere part,
and it's not gonna go in the center,
it's gonna go off to the side
between the shoulder blade and the vertebra,
and we're gonna work it at different levels of the back.
Not standing, I'll do this lying down.
If you do not have one of these, which you probably don't
you can use something like a softball.
- Softball.
- Uh, you'll probably wanna take a towel
'cause it's a little aggressive,
as well as this we'll show you that in a second.
(screen swooshes)
(Brad Laughs)
- All right here's the technique.
And now again, you can use a softball
or maybe a hard ball, maybe a tennis ball,
a tennis ball would probably be too soft,
but we put it there and to start out with
I would take a towel like this
and cushion it because it's a little aggressive
if you haven't done it before,
or the ball like this.
- [Bob] Right.
- Okay. Um,
and I'm just gonna lie down.
Now my pain is always on the right side
on the lower ribs right there
it starts and it radiates this direction.
So I actually work my right side of the ribs
just to the right of the spine
and I'll lift up like this,
and when you start you may have a pillow
and you'll kind of go gently on this.
After you get used to it,
and it may take a couple, three weeks,
then you can start and Steve says more pressure.
Get those ribs mobilized.
- Also bring your arms up like this.
- Yeah. I remember the one video he emailed.
He says, make sure you yeah, flex the shoulder.
So I start doing that too.
So I'll go back like this
and I actually rock on it like this.
- You wanna break up those rusty hinges?
- Yep. Gotta get those ribs mobilized and
- Right.
- get that.
And now I'll work down on one side.
I, I go four locations now Bob.
- [Bob] Sure.
- I think you do this three locations, right?
- Yeah. Well Probably six.
- But oh, on each side?
- Right.
- Yep. Yep.
So Bob uses this thing, not for,
- [Bob] For posture.
- Right, because it's really good to get that
thoracic back to extend and standing.
And there are other uses for the Backpod besides this.
Um, again, if you're using a ball
it's the same thing.
But I would probably fold this up a little bit
more because it's a little more aggressive, but it will.
Ooh, it's really not that bad. Ooh wow!
- [Bob] Oh really?
- Oh man! I got that baby to crack there.
Oh yes.
- [Bob] I think it is bad.
- The Backpod works better. This is,
- Right.
- the next best thing.
All right, so, there you go!
- There you go!
- Make sure you work both sides of the back.
Don't just one
- Again, we wanna make sure you go in.
- Yes. Go in,
- Check, check it all.
- Get things confirmed.
I went in my third time, I was like,
I didn't wanna go in but my wife made me and again
they said it was muscular skeletal.
(both laugh)
(short beats)