1. The patient is a 69-year-old retired male plumber with a history of vesicular lithiasis and coronary stents who smokes and has not had regular medical checkups. 2. He experiences pain in the upper thoracic region that increases with exertion and activity and improves with rest, relieved by over-the-counter analgesics. Examination reveals tenderness over the T3 and T4 spinous processes. 3. MRI of the thoracic spine shows compression of the spinal cord at T4-T5 likely due to osteophyte formation, explaining the patient's continuous pain that worsens and improves with activity and rest, respectively.