Pneumothorax can present with pain in the back. The typical symptoms of pneumothorax are sudden onset of chest and back pain followed by chest tightness or dyspnea, and in some cases, an irritating dry cough. Some pneumothoraxes have a small amount of air leakage and develop more slowly, even without obvious symptoms. Some patients have triggers such as coughing hard, holding heavy objects or strenuous activities before the onset of the disease, or some patients develop the disease during normal activities, or at rest. The severity of symptoms depends on the urgency of onset and the degree of lung atrophy, primary lung disease, and cardiac and pulmonary function. In many patients, a pneumothorax may have been present for several days prior to the onset of symptoms, and the longer it is, the more likely it is that recurrent pulmonary edema will develop during the course of treatment.