1. Introduction
thoracic spinal pain, thoracic pain, disability, pain
Spinal pain is considered the leading cause of disability in individuals worldwide. But thoracic spinal pain, which might be but not exclusively related to other spinal pathologies, is an underexplored region. Epidemiological data on thoracic pain in the general population is also limited as compared to other spinal regions. It can be as disabling as pain in other regions and therefore needs attention [An array of risk factors is identified for the development of thoracic pain such as repetitive tasks, prolonged static posture, spinal pathologies, and psychological stresses. These factors may result in altered biomechanics of discs and soft tissues [Many techniques are suggested in the literature for the treatment of spinal pain, commonly including massage, exercises, mobilization, and electrical modalities [It is suggested that manual therapy shows improvement in symptoms by exerting biomechanical and neurophysiological effects [In the medical community, pain is considered a challenging problem. As it is a complex pathophysiological process, it can have an impact on social and psychological well-being of a person. Persistent spinal pain also causes an increase in absentees from work and increase in treatment cost. Researches are needed to correctly diagnose and treat the cause of thoracic spinal pain as the literature does not comprehensively elucidate this area [