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Most Common Causes of Upper Back Pain and How to Get Relief
Any type of trauma can cause upper back pain, whether it’s continual stress of the muscles in the face or back, or physical injury. The good news is that if you’re suffering from upper back pain most of it can be controlled by external manipulation of the back with different types of treatments that are not invasive. Read on to find out what it is, and what causes it, and the different ways to treat the pain.
Doctors have found that some upper back pain is aggravated by tenseness from improper jaw alignment such as TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction), or even sinus headaches stress. However, some myofascial pain is difficult to pinpoint its cause. Myofascial pain is the inflammation of connective tissues that surrounds the any muscle in the back. Irritation occurs very easily in the upper back because of large muscles that run across the back, and attaches your shoulder blades. The symptoms of back myofascial pain in the upper back can include tingling, and sharp pain or tightness.
Often the symptoms will come and go, but if it’s severe enough, it can bring on chronic pain in your upper back area. Some people will even report stiffness and problems with sleeping, and at times dizziness. You don’t have to have all of the symptoms to have upper back myofascial pain; it just depends on what’s causing it.
Sometimes you might find that doing certain activities such as sitting for to long, exposure to humid or extremely cold temperatures, or even stress can bring on an attack of upper back myofascial pain. Trigger points are found in the body at certain locations. This can be very difficult to find considering the human body has over 400 muscles.
Once the trigger points are located, it is easy to feel knots, or extremely tight bands of muscle. This is due to the inflammation surrounding the muscle fascia. Because the body has millions of nerve endings, the pressure on the trigger points can lead to other pain in the lower back and body.
Treating your myofascial pain is a two-pronged attack on pain. First, you must identify factors that cause it, such as bad posture, or repetitive actions such as typing at a computer. These two factors are the primary reasons most people experience upper back pain. Exercises for good posture will help cure a lot of upper back pain. You will need to remember to use good posture especially when sitting at a computer too. To help eliminate upper back pain at the computer do not spend to long of a period sitting. Break up your work into segments, and get up and gently stretch your muscles with appropriate exercises.
If your pain is not helped by strictly changing your posture and work habits, it might be time to look at using acupuncture, massage therapy, or steroid injections in the trigger points from your doctor. Acupuncture has been long thought to help the body experience less pain by making it produce hormones to fight pain. Also, the brain experiences the perception of pain is dulled by acupuncture. Deep massage therapy works the same way as acupuncture, but isn’t invasive at all. Muscle tenseness and tightness is massaged out, and will help with spasms too. This is very important for pain management of upper back pain because the large muscles are so prone to irritation. Also, it prevents the continued cycle of muscle spasms from continual pain.
Joint dysfunction in the upper back area is another way pain can occur in the back. Your ribs are attached to the back vertebrae by two joints on the right and left sides of your body. If pain is consistent talk with a chiropractor or osteopathic doctor or certified physical therapist for treatment. All three practitioners are trained in the way to manipulate joints, bones and muscles. They can make your muscles and joints around and connecting the rib cage to the spine mobile. You’ll need to continue therapy with an at home exercise routine, which will also keep your muscles strong and fluid.
Finally, know that you have lots of options for treating myofascial upper back pain. Treat your upper back with the respect it deserves, and continue treatment as your doctor recommends because you can live pain free.
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