WHAT’S CAUSING MY MID BACK PAIN? 6 OF THE MOST COMMON PAIN SOURCES

Mid back pain can be limiting or even debilitating!

You may find that the pain in your middle back will stop you from moving easily, will affect your range of motion, or can even hurt when you sit or lie down.

While most back pain sufferers experience the pain in their lower back, mid back pain is common enough that it’s a cause for serious concern among a wide range of the population.

Below, we’re going to take a closer look at mid back pain, learning more about what causes it, how it manifests, and what you can do about it. At the end of this page, we’ll give you a single actionable, practical step that you can take to eliminate and manage your mid back pain!

The 6 Most Common Mid Back Pain Causes

Pain in your middle back may be caused by a number of things, but it’s most likely to be caused by:

Poor posture – Too many hours spent sitting hunched over or standing slouched can pull on your spinal muscles, which in turn can strain the joints. Poor posture is one of the most common causes of back problems, particularly for those who spend more than 6 hours per day sitting down. That’s why it’s so important that you find a good ergonomic chair with good back support, and pay close attention to your posture while you’re working. Improving your posture can correct a lot of back problems!

Overuse, injury, or strain – All of these are grouped together because they’re often linked. Overuse of your back muscles (at work or working out) can tire out the muscles to the point that you rely on your joints to do more of the lifting work, leading to injury in the soft muscle or connective tissue. Muscle strains are fairly common among people who lift very heavy objects, and ligament sprains are the result of incorrect movement as a result of overuse or muscle fatigue.

Vertebral fracture – There are a number of things that can damage your spinal bones, including impact, trauma (such as in a collision), or even damage sustained by weakened (osteporotic) bones. This kind of injury is marked by a great deal of acute pain, swelling, and stiffness, and can be incredibly limiting. Thankfully, it’s not as common as some of the other causes listed here, but it’s still one you need to be aware of.

Spinal nerve pressure – For those who suffer from herniated discs, bone spurs, or other spinal problems, spinal nerve pressure can be a source of immense and intense pain. Misaligned bones can place pressure on the spinal nerves, as can swelling triggered by damage in the spinal column. The pressure on the nerves will often trigger shooting, lancing pain that can run from your middle back all the way down to your legs, depending on where the pressure is being applied. Sometimes, there is even limb weakness and lower body muscle control problems as a result of the spinal nerve pressure.

Myofascial pain – This is chronic pain caused as a result of pressure on certain “trigger” points on your muscles. This pain will often affect the connective tissue of your muscles or the group of muscles in your back.

Osteoarthritis – This is a form of arthritis caused by wear and tear on the cartilage between your joints. When arthritis sets into your spine, the cartilage is worn down, eliminating the cushioning that prevents the spinal bones from rubbing together. As a result, the bones grind against each other and cause a great deal of pain. The body triggers inflammation in an effort to protect the bones, and this leads to limited mobility and pain as well.

What Does Mid Back Pain Feel Like?

Mid back pain comes in a few different forms, but the three most common are:

• Dull, throbbing pain

• Burning, searing pain

• Sharp, intense pain

These are all indicative of different types of injuries.

For example, sharper pains usually indicate some sort of damage to the muscle, ligaments, or bones, such as a vertebral crack or strained muscle. Burning, searing pain may be the result of damage to your nerves, or pressure applied directly to the nerves. Dull, throbbing pain could be the result of the body’s inflammatory response in cases of osteoarthritis, as the pain of the swollen area is duller than the pain caused by direct damage to the body.

These types of pain are definitely your body’s way of letting you know that there’s something wrong, and it’s always worth getting yourself to a doctor or chiropractor to get checked out in cases of pain.

However, pain is sometimes accompanied by other more serious symptoms, such as:

• Numbness/tingling in your chest, limbs, or belly

• Loss of lower body muscle control, including bladder and bowel muscles

• Limb weakness

At even the first sign of these other symptoms, it’s vital that you get yourself checked out. The damage could be far worse than just a minor strain or sprain!

How to Manage and Eliminate Mid Back Pain

We promised you a single actionable, practical step you could take to help you manage and even eliminate your mid back pain. We’re absolutely going to deliver, and it comes in the form of a recommendation to give Back on Track a try.

Back on Track is our simple solution to managing back pain, improving back health, and protecting your back against future injuries and problems. The Back on Track System will walk you through a deep dive into your back health, teach you about the dangerous-yet-ignored syndrome behind so many back problems, and arm you with the tools to improve your back health exponentially.

Click on this link to watch the video and see for yourself how a few simple changes to your life can be the key to managing mid back pain for the rest of your life!