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About the Upper Back
Your upper back is
sometimes referred to as the thoracic spine, middle back or mid-back.
“Thoracic” means that it pertains to the chest. Unlike the cervical
spine (neck) and the lumbar spine (lower back), your upper back is not
built for much mobility. Instead, it is there mainly for support: to
keep us stable as we stand upright and to protect the vital internal
organs in the chest.
Because of this unique design of the upper
back, it rarely suffers the risk of injury or degeneration. But as what
has already been shown, upper back pain does occur and the symptoms can
be as bad as lower back pain.
Treatment
Most
cases of upper back pain are receptive to manual treatments. If the pain
is due to muscular irritation caused by overuse of injuries (such as
repetitive motions) or de-conditioning (lack of strength), this type of
upper back pain may be treated by:
1) Exercise/active and passive
physical therapy
2) Chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation
3) Deep
massage
4) Massage therapy
5) Acupuncture
Majority of the
rehabilitation programs available are heavy on stretching and
strengthening. The reason is that upper back pain is related to the
large muscles in the shoulder area which must be targeted when
exercising to treat the pain.
There is also another method used
to treat upper back pain. The method identifies a source of the upper
back pain in a specific tender area, called the trigger point. By
treating these trigger points, relief for upper back pain is achieved.
Treatments that uses this concept include massage therapy, acupuncture
and trigger point injections with a local anesthetic (such as Lidocaine).
Manage
the Pain Yourself
Not many people want to consult the doctor
immediately after feeling any discomfort that may well turn out to be
nothing. With upper back pain, you can take self-care steps to provide
relief, such as:
Sports Bra – In women, upper back pain relief is
achieved by wearing a sports bra that provides better support. Karl B.
Fields, M.D., associate professor of family practice and director of the
Sports Medicine Fellowship at Moses Cone Memorial Hospital in
Greensboro, North Carolina suggests this technique.
Proper
Sitting Position –Instead of bringing your eyes, head and neck to the
paper you are trying to read, bring the paper to your eyes. Hubert
Rosomoff, M.D., D.Med.Sc., medical director of the University of Miami
Comprehensive Pain and Rehabilitation Center in Miami Beach advises
people to adopt this method.
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