Do you want to know which of the common upper back pain causes is behind your pain?
Are you sick and tired of being in constant pain because you’re just not sure what is triggering the acute pain in your upper back?
Would you like a solution to eliminate the pain once and for all?
If you answered yes to these questions, you’ve come to the right place.
Below, we’re going to take a closer look at the most common upper back pain causes to help you find out what could be behind your pain. We’ll look at some causes you might be familiar with, as well as a few you’re probably not.
Then, at the end, we’ll give you a simple solution that will help you manage and treat your back pain effectively so you can get back to enjoying your life for real.
The 6 Most Common Upper Back Pain Causes
Stress – Stress manifests in a lot of different ways—from poor sleep to an increase in acne to your hair falling out to weight gain. Every body handles and reacts to stress differently. One common manifestation of stress is tension in your shoulders, neck, and upper back. You may feel like your neck is stiff, your shoulders are tight, and knots form in your upper back.
Over time, the knots in your upper back can become tighter and tighter, growing more and more painful. You may find that throbbing pain actually radiates outward from the knots, traveling up and down your spine or out to the sides.
Accident/Collision – Direct impact to your spine can cause tiny fractures in the bones or tears in the soft muscle or connective tissue. This will be immediately painful, but could trigger chronic pain as they take time to heal.
The most common causes of direct impact or collision damage to your spine include sports (such as hockey or football) or vehicular accident (crash on a bike, or car crash).
Poor Posture – Posture is another major factor that plays into your spine health. If you slouch when you stand or sit hunched over your computer or smartphone, your incorrect posture will actually pull on the spinal muscles and cause structural changes in your back, neck, and shoulders.
Over time, poor posture can actually weaken your spinal muscles, reducing your muscles’ ability to support the spinal column. This will place greater pressure on the spine bones, joints, and connective tissue, which can wear away the cartilage and accelerate degeneration or cause imbalances. Pain in your upper back is particularly common if you hunch or lean far forward.
Overuse – Overuse is probably one of the most common upper back pain causes among construction workers, laborers, or anyone who regularly lifts very heavy loads. Your spinal column and spinal muscles are only capable of supporting so much weight. If you pile on more than you are capable of carrying by lifting something TOO heavy, you risk damaging your muscles and/or joints. If you spend a long day carrying a lot of heavy weights, eventually your muscles will tire and won’t offer sufficient support to your spine, increasing the weight carried by your spine.
Working over your head—such as by painting a high wall or ceiling—can also place strain on your spine. If you’re not accustomed to lifting a lot of heavy loads repeatedly, you may run the risk of overusing your upper back muscles and wearing down the joints, leading to upper back pain.
Improper Lifting Technique – Incorrect technique when lifting heavy objects is definitely one of the more common upper back pain causes. Your spinal muscles are at their strongest when moving in the specific range of motion you’ve trained them to (such as bending over and standing straight up), but they may lack strength for other movements, such as twisting while you lift. If you move incorrectly, you run the risk of straining muscles, spraining ligaments, or even shifting a disc out of place.
It’s absolutely vital that you maintain proper spinal alignment while you lift anything heavy. Doing so will drastically reduce your injuries that could lead to upper back pain.
Medical conditions – A few of the more common medical causes behind upper back pain include fibromyalgia (non-specific nerve pain), compression fractures caused by weakened bone mass (the result of osteoporosis), herniated discs, arthritis, and spinal deformities. These causes aren’t quite as common as the others listed above, but they may be the reason that you’re experiencing pain in your upper back.
(Note: If you suspect there is a medical cause behind your back pain, it’s absolutely vital that you get to a doctor and get the problem checked out. Ignoring it may not make the pain go away, but simply cause it to worsen.)
Treat Your Upper Back Pain Causes with Back on Track
If you’re interested in treating the most common upper back pain causes, you’ll want to give Back on Track a try! Not only does it equip you to manage the better-known causes, but it will actually teach you about the lesser-known but highly dangerous syndrome that may be the ultimate source of your upper back pain.
In Back on Track, you’ll learn a simple and highly effective technique for addressing the one “sleeper syndrome” that is weakening your body and making you more susceptible to back pain. By addressing this single problem, you’ll exponentially strengthen your spine and make it far more resistant in everything you do. You will learn how to lead a more active life because your back will be healthier and stronger than ever.
Give Back on Track a try, and you may never have to worry about dealing with the most common upper back pain causes ever again!
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