Many of us have experienced back pain at some point of time in our lives. There are, in fact, many among us, who experience lower back pain most commonly. But though a lesser-known phenomenon, there are also those who experience upper back pain. Some people who are victims of severe upper back pain commonly suffer from stiffness in the shoulder and neck. In extreme cases, the pain is quite jarring, even crippling. Some feel it so intensely that they are actually woken up by the pain while sleeping at night. The pain varies in degree and, in extreme cases, the victim cannot even move his head or shoulder. Why does this happen? How is upper back pain caused and what can we do about it?
The back muscles form a huge network around the body. Many major areas of the body are connected to this network. So a strain or injury caused to the back can directly result not only in lower or upper back pain, but also pain in some other region of the body as well. The neck and the shoulder being most vulnerable areas, are invariably the first ones to be targeted too. Now that explains why you experienced an ache in the shoulder when you had that back pain last time, right?!
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But you know what? The above factor can also work vice-versa. Since so many major areas of the body are connected to the back muscles, a serious enough strain or injury to any of those parts could end up causing lower or upper back pain as well. The neck, for instance, takes lots of pressure day in and day out. It is constantly functioning even when we are fast asleep. The neck acts as a buffer to absorb shocks and jerks all day long. If the neck ends up getting strain, it could very well cause injury to the upper back, causing it pain.
Hunching or slouching puts an added strain on the neck, shoulder and back muscles, causing severe upper back pain. Maintaining a good body posture goes a long way in getting rid of that pain forever!
The back muscles are always working for us, 24/7, even while we are fast asleep. So it is important that we give the back a break from time to time and avoid over-straining it. The problem occurs when we do not realize how much this part of the body is struggling to help us all day long. The neck, for example, functions not only to connect the head to the rest of the body, but also to cradle it and prevent it from receiving rude shocks throughout the day. If we do not understand the value of that support and continue to expose it to more and more strain, it is bound to react at some point of time and manifest in upper back pain.
Upper back pain usually occurs due to negligence on our part. If we take care of ourselves and steer clear of trouble, we are bound to be free of such aches and pains for life.