Neck and upper back pain afflict millions of people in the United States each year. Some types of this debilitating pain go away on their own, while others are caused by more serious problems that require treatment. Unfortunately, some types of back pain have no cures currently, and treatments are geared entirely towards making symptoms more bearable for the sufferers. For example, upper back pain exercises are designed only to reduce the severity of the soreness and the number of flare ups that occur. Chronic back pain can last for years, resulting in depression, which in turn leads to other health problems, such as obesity.

A Measure of Salvation

Not all the news concerning neck and upper back pain is doom and gloom though. The aforementioned exercises, along with other popular treatments such as medical remedies and visits to the chiropractor can go a long way towards relieving the pain. Also, some types of neck and upper back pain, especially those types labeled acute, often go away on their own, sometimes within just a few short days and most often within a few weeks. Neck and upper back pain is a serious problem, affecting millions of people by keeping them off work and keeping them from enjoying life to its fullest, but it can be reduced to being mild discomfort at most with modern treatments.

Some of the more serious problems that can cause neck and upper back pain include trauma, such as from a car accident. Currently, damaged nerves can only be treated with therapy to help people deal with the pain, and over the months it can dull away so that some people end up not even noticing it anymore. However, it's hoped that in the next few years medical research will yield some answers to help repair and rebuild damaged nerves, so that even the most serious trauma can be fully healed through medicine over time.

Neck and upper back pain, in the serious sense, is not caused by “sleeping wrong,” although being in an uncomfortable position can certainly cause a person to be sore the next day. However, that type of soreness will go away with a little bit of stretching, exercise, and sleeping well the following night. In the medical sense, neck and upper back pain is debilitating, often chronic, and caused by more serious problems, many of which have no cures yet. If you are suffering from this type of pain, consult your doctor after just a few short days to make sure that it's not a temporary problem. Taking care of it quickly can lessen the effects, while prolonging a visit to the doctor can only serve to worsen it.