There are many types of back pain. Upper back and neck pain is just one of many. As many of us know, this can happen to anyone at anytime. Neck and upper back pain is just as painful and as troublesome as lower back pain.

What usually happens is some injury or strains are the most common reasons for back problem that occurs in the upper portions of our backs. Sometimes you can get a pinched nerve causing upper back pain and one problem that happens is headaches. When this occurs if can effect concentration, enthusiasm and the mood of a person.

Although upper back pain is not as common as lower back pain but it still affects many people. Let’s first discuss what the upper back is made of. The upper back is composted of the thoracic spine. The thoracic spine consists of 12 vertebrae. These vertebrae are connected with 9 of the 12 rib bones. The breast bone is perpendicular to the thoracic spine. Rib bones are also connected to the breast bone. The thoracic cage consists of the breastbone, ribs and the thoracic spine. Thoracic means “chest” All of the upper organs are protected by the chest cage.

Although rare, upper back pain does happen. What you are going to learn are the causes, symptoms and treatment that will help you understand and relieve the pain.

Now the thoracic spine exists to help stabilize the body and protect the organs. It is stronger than the lumbar spine (lower back) and the cervical spine (neck). What helps the body move and flex are the cervical and lumbar spines, while the thoracic spine is there for stability and strength. This is a reason why most of the injuries are in the cervical and the lumbar spinal regions.

The two major causes of neck and upper back pain or thoracic spine pain are mysofascial pain and joint dysfunctional pain. Muscular irritation is myofasical pain. This is a result of muscle strain, from sports and other activities, over and under use of the muscle, sudden movements like being jerked forwards in a car accident. This primarily affects the leg muscles that support the shoulder blades.

Joint Dysfunction is a malfunction of the two joints that connect each rib to the thoracic spine. The ribs are connected to the spine on either side by joints. Any injury to one or even both joints can cause a loss of function and cause severe pain.

Myofacial pain can be best treated by deep tissue massage, chiropractic manipulation of the spine (chiropractic back pain case studies), physical therapy for upper back pain and acupuncture or acupressure for upper back pain. One thing that needs to be done is exercise, stretching and strengthening the shoulder muscles. This is a main key in developing strength of the upper back.

Dysfunction of the joints can be treated by chiropractic manipulation (chiropractic back pain case studies cure), exercise (aerobic), and medication to help relieve the pain and steroid injections to the target sites of pain.

Medical professionals can help you assess and also treat the cause of upper back and neck pain as well as pain management. Other professionals such as physical therapist, orthopedic surgeons and chiropractic professional can also be of assistance.

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