I know someone that is struggling with pain from the growth of a 13th rib. She had this rib removed last year, but it has now grown back. Evidently it's the only bone that will grow back. I was wondering how would look at this pain, since it doesn't seem to match most descriptions of types of pain. I am assuming that it might be a never pain, since last year the doctor concluded that the rib was pushing on a nerve. she describes the pain as "it feels like my arm is being pulled off". I am not trying to help her with the pain right now as I know this is out of my ability, but I am trying to understand how to look at pain. ask the right questions, and correlate that to what is on the MA sheets for A typical pain. especially when western medicine cannot help. like a rib that grows back and has the potential to grow back again if removed or like a fussed spine or metal plate and screws that seem to still be giving pain. since the cause of the pain may not be fixable, would your focus be more on inflammation and the muscles/nerves around the bones? something like fibromyalgia?

David said: ask for a better description of the pain, I suspect it would fall into the sharp, stabbing, tearing category. Herbs like SJW, Sweet Melilot, Ligusticum, would be indicated, but if the rib is pushing on a nerve, I have doubts that anything will really be effective at relieving the pain, since there is direct pressure on the nerve. Some types of pain will not really respond to any herb, supplement or pharmaceutical. This is where you look at things like nerve blocks, and other mechanical surgical options.