Back pain is on the rise across the globe, and it is becoming more and more prevalent, especially in the western world. That has to do with the recent change in our lifestyle, transitioning from more hands-on labour to spending long hours sitting down in the office chair.
Back pain in the upper region of the back is something that we will address in today’s article in particular. In order to better understand how it affects one’s health, let’s take a look at the way in which it manifests itself.
Symptoms
In upper back pain, the thoracic and cervical spine sections are both affected. Here are a few common symptoms of this kind of back pain, that can be felt in other parts of the spine or the body as well. You may experience:
- Neck pain
- Muscle strain along the back
- Pain along your shoulder blade or both shoulder blades
- Pain in your rib cage
Causes
Now that you know what the common symptoms are, you may be wondering what the causes of upper back pain are. In no particular order, here are some of the main causes of back pain in the cervical and thoracic spine pain:
- This type of pain is common in people who have been involved in a car accident
- Poor posture
- Sitting down for long periods of time can also lead to pain in the upper back, especially when there is no support provided for the lower back.
- Spinal compression
Risk factors
There are also people who are more at risk to develop upper back pain. Common risk factors associated with upper back pain include:
- Age
- Obesity
- Poor posture
- Lack of physical activity/ low fitness levels
- Working in heavy manual labour jobs
Our daily activities can also have an impact on the health of our spine. Prolonged periods of inactivity can lead to spinal compression, which damages the spine and leads to back pain.
If nothing is being done to address this issue and it is left untreated for too long, it might lead to compression fractures, which will be more difficult to treat non-surgically.
However, as a caveat, if you experience any kind of numbness or weakness you should get in touch with your physician as soon as possible as this may be the reason for something more serious, especially if the feeling extends to your lumbar spine or even to your arms or legs. There could be an issue with the spinal cord, or you might have an undiagnosed herniated disc.
Treatment
With that being said, it must be noted that like with any medical issue, it is important to address upper back pain as early as possible, before it develops intro something more serious. Taking measures early on can significantly boost your chances of fixing your upper back pain through non-surgical ways.
The reason why it is important to treat your medical condition early on, and not let it on progress to the stage where it can only be fixed by back surgery, is that having an operation, more often than not, will leave you worse off than when you were suffering from back pain. In many cases, even if back surgery is successful, its effects are mostly temporary – in the best case scenario – or, they can leave you crippled. That is why surgery should always be the last resort in treating mild to moderate back pain and any related conditions.
There are a few approaches you can take to get pain relief in this case. At the same time, there are also some things that are recommended for you to avoid, apart from surgery.
First of all, as tempting as it might be, try not to take any anti inflammatory over the counter medication, as they can do more harm than good, especially if you take them often and for a long period of time.
What you can do instead is to engage in physical exercise – if you can – to strengthen the muscles that support your spine, and also to get some physical activity in order to break the habits of a sedentary lifestyle. Strengthening your back and core muscles will also help correct your posture.
However, if you cannot engage in physical activity, we recommend that you get physical therapy to decompress your spine. This can be done either with a chiropractor, or by yourself, through performing spinal decompression exercises.
Spinal Backrack Technology
Additionally, if you want to boost the efficiency of your spinal decompression programme, we suggest using a medical device to aid your recovery. One such device is the Backrack. It is a patented class I medical device that has been carefully engineered by the brightest minds on Harley Street. Its aim is to treat the source of your back pain problems, rather than the symptoms. Given its unique structure that mimics the spine, it accurately targets your pain points, delivering great results.
Conclusion
Living with back pain is no walk in the park and it’s better to be addressed early on. Treating it through natural ways that don’t involve surgery should always be the first step, leaving more invasive options as a last resort. While physical therapy, which is one of the best approaches to treating back pain is effective in itself, you can enhance its effects by using a medical device to help speed up and boost the degree of your recovery.
