As with lower and middle back pain, upper back pain can range from mild to severe, making even simple tasks challenging. The upper back includes the base of your neck, shoulder blades, back of your rib cage, and thoracic spine, or the first of three spinal cord sections. Learn what causes pain in this area of the body here to help your prevention and management efforts. 

What Causes Upper Back Pain?

1. Muscle Overuse

Overworking the muscles in the upper back can result in discomfort, including repetitive stress that can cause ligament sprains as well as muscle tightness, inflammation, and irritation. Pro baseball pitchers often deal with repetition-related upper back pain, as do those who work above their heads often, such as contractors who paint ceilings frequently. Working the same muscles at the gym every day can also cause repetitive stress. 

Avoid muscle overuse with daily stretching, especially before physical activities, which helps muscles stay flexible instead of tight. Always alternate which muscles you work on at the gym, such as focusing on your legs one day and then abs the next. If your job involves repetitive muscle stress, create a stretching and exercise routine with a physical therapist, as strong, limber muscles help prevent injuries. 

2. Poor Posture

Constantly hunching the neck and shoulders forward stresses spinal vertebrae, ligaments, discs, and muscles due to pressure from gravity and body weight. Individuals who work at desks without sitting up straight often experience pain in their upper back, especially if they otherwise live sedentary lifestyles. Inactivity leads to muscle deconditioning, which prevents the muscles surrounding the spine from providing support. 

Make posture mindfulness a goal to sidestep slouching-related pain. Aim to stand and sit up straight whenever possible, which involves keeping your head up, your shoulders back, and your abdomen engaged. 

3. Injury

Vehicular collisions, sports accidents, and falling from significant heights are among the traumatic injuries that often cause upper back discomfort. Accidents and collisions can strain muscles and ligaments, stress spinal vertebrae and discs, and injure nerves and soft tissues. For example, a rear-end car accident that makes the driver’s head and neck lurch forward and backward quickly strains ligaments that can result in neck, shoulder, and upper back pain. 

While accidents cannot always be prevented, help yourself heal quickly with physical therapy, such as neck roll and shoulder shrug stretches that loosen muscles and break up lactic acid.

Whether your upper back pain is from a recent sports injury, chronic health issue, or repetitive stress, consider services from Step By Step Physical Therapy. The physical therapy center has four convenient locations that serve residents from Wyoming to Erie County in Western New York and offers the latest therapies for acute and chronic pain. Call (585) 786-8700 today to request an appointment or learn more about the licensed professionals.