Upper back pain can be mild or severe and sometimes even affect our ability to perform daily activities (brushing teeth, driving). Often, it occurs along with neck pain or shoulder pain. Most of the complaints range from local pain to radiating pain, pain and irritation with any movement of the upper body, weakness and pain in the arms and morning stiffness.
The large muscles found at the back are attached to the shoulder blades. In case you begin to feel a bothersome nagging pain, it is indicative that there is already muscular irritation taking place. You may be overusing your shoulders and arms frequently in repetitive motions as demanded by your work or occupation. Other possible causes are involvement in accidents or sports injuries that has caused muscle strains.
Muscular irritation is caused through what is known as "de-conditioning", or lack of strength, or repetitive motions that "over-use" the muscles, but these also can be related to de-conditioning of the muscles involved. This upper back pain is generally caused by large muscles in the shoulder, rib box, and upper back, when they are not as strong as they should be, or when strained, or when damaged from an injury.
Lack of strength is another main upper back pain causes. If you have weak muscles between shoulder blades this will cause problems over time. If it is weak in one area it means it will be compensated in another. The reasons why we have this problem is because the back muscles are 'pulling' muscles and in today's society we no longer have to do this in are day to day lives, meaning they get weaker and then start to cause problems.
Naturally a visit to your doctor is a wise choice. The doctor will more than likely request and x-ray or CT scan of the affected area and these are important in ruling out any spinal issues. The next step is usually a prescription for some pain killers and anti-inflammatory tablets and more than likely a visit to a physiotherapist.
In addition, the perception of physical pain can be magnified by a poor emotional state. In a vicious circle, the back pain can cause depression and withdrawal, which can overly prolong inactivity, which can decondition muscles and add extra weight, which can add back strain, and so on.
The shoulder girdle is attached to the shoulder blade by large muscles and the back of the rib cage. Those large muscles are more likely to become irritated, and this can be very painful and hard to work off. Muscular irritation is most often caused by the lack of strength or repetitive motions. Sports injuries, muscle strains, automobile accidents and other related injuries could all end with pain due to muscular irritation.
Large muscles attach our shoulder girdles to our shoulder blades and the back of our rib cage. These muscles are prone to irritation that can cause upper pain. The most favourable treatment options for this type of back pain are exercise, physical therapy, chiropractic manipulation, massage therapy and acupuncture. You can expect most of the required rehabilitation programs to include a lot of stretching exercises.
