mid back pain

[hgsouth]

I've been having pain in my mid back region, just below the shoulder blades. It ranges from the sides of my chest to my spine.

When I stretch out the area and rotate and stuff it's all creaky/clicky throughout my whole back and ribs.

Is this just overuse? It just kind of gradually came on.

Pain is bad when I wake up. Could it be my mattress?

 

[studog]

Is this just overuse? It just kind of gradually came on.

Pain is bad when I wake up. Could it be my mattress?

sit at a desk infront of a computer at work
if so probably imbalanced position. repetitive over a long term and one set of muscles get over worked. eventually gets debilitating.

get one of those yoga balls for home. do this but sit in a chair as it'll be better leverage to really stretch out the shoulder and get the mid back & rib cage

 

[hgsouth]

Yeah I don't have the greatest posture. However, didn't seem to be hurting this area until the last few months and I've always had the same job.

You think stretching will help a lot?

 

[studog]

You think stretching will help a lot?

yes.
and get some Sombra cool therapy jell for after stretching.

 

[hgsouth]

Thanks. I guess that was a dumb question thinking back, haha.

I guess what I meant was if stretching alone could alleviate the problem. I will start!

Can I do a variation of child's pose in the meantime if I don't have a ball?

 

[studog]

if stretching alone could alleviate the problem

Can I do a variation of child's pose in the meantime if I don't have a ball?

if it's just a tight muscle issue, then stretching is the first step. it'll takes a while though to "unwind" the tightness though in my experience. least a week and could be months.

child's pose does work too getting the shoulder blade and mid back. but for me the ball is lot more effective, especially for the rib cage area. do single hand and then push in the opposite direction (ex. right hand and they push it out & to the left). targets the shoulder bland, ribs, and part of the mid back. i can alos crack my middle back with the ball using both hands and stretching it way out. difficult to do that in child's pose. plus with the ball can lie on and get a good back stretch. can do situps on it. can use it for chest presses with dumbbells. versatile tool to have at home.

 

[brukuns]

I'm having a lot of pain on my upper back lately... I had a torticollis maybe over 3 months ago, and it seems it never fully recovered... every now and then the pain will get worse.

My spine has all sorts of trouble, slight scoliosis, hyper lordosis... My biggest fear is that time is catching up to me and it may become a chronical problem.

stu dog, you seem to know your exercises... any advice? Currently I feel pain mostly on one side... if I turn my neck to the side that's hurting, it hurts more. I found this image, I guess my pain is similar...

 

[studog]

I'm having a lot of pain on my upper back lately... I had a torticollis maybe over 3 months ago, and it seems it never fully recovered... every now and then the pain will get worse.

My spine has all sorts of trouble, slight scoliosis, hyper lordosis... My biggest fear is that time is catching up to me and it may become a chronical problem.

stu dog, you seem to know your exercises... any advice? Currently I feel pain mostly on one side... if I turn my neck to the side that's hurting, it hurts more. I found this image, I guess my pain is similar...

the trapezius right there in that pic was a major symptom i had about 3+ years ago. started a year after moving to a new office were I had a curved deck with no right angle. so my back/shoulder got twisted & imbalanced. coupled with a rib muscle pull, my whole back shut down. went to physical therapy where they taught me the yoga ball stretch. took me about 3 months to get it pretty well unwound. 6 months+ for full recovery. the other pain relief was massages. I swear by rolling up a t-shirt into a ball and stuffing it under your shoulder while lying flat on the floor. best deep tissue massage i can find. better than any masseuse ever could do. the yoga ball stretch is a regular routine for me now to not have any more meltdowns.

another thing to get is Sombra cool therapy jell for post stretching. better than any of the icy hot or tiger balm. can find it on ebay.

 

[brukuns]

Thanks Stu!

 

[punkrokvixen]

http://www.physioadvisor.com.au/11088750/foam-roller-exercises-foam-rollers-physioadvis.htm

I particularly like the rotator cuff release one.

 

[SurfDoc]

Your age?
A few musculoskeletal concerns could be the cause from overuse to disk problems to arthritis.

 

[hgsouth]

Hey SurfDoc didn't see that you had responded here.

I'm 30 years old, female.

Didn't have any accidents or anything that precipitated this. It kind of crept up.

However, I just recently switched my mattress and it's easing up a lot. The old mattress had a hammock-like dip in it. I think it was straining my back. It's only been a few days so far, so gonna see how this goes.

Kind of related: I used to have the WORST neck spasms. All the doctor visits/chiro/PT and nobody ever mentioned my pillow. Friend gave me a thicker pillow to try (same shape as the orthopedic one I was already using) and my neck was pain free in a week. Crazy. None of those docs ever thought to ask about my sleeping situation.

 

[VonMeister]

Probably age getting the best of you. When you stand up and relax are your shoulders slightly forward?

If you google thoracic mobility you will find some information and good mobility exercises.


ALSO-foam rolling without understanding of what you are trying to accomplish is a bad idea. Muscle fibers are directional. Rolling them could make the problem worse.

 

[hgsouth]

Yeah all I do is surf for exercise...I suppose I'm very unbalanced.

My horrific health insurance situation means paying out of pocket for PT, which is extremely costly. It sucks. I'd love to hire a trainer to balance me out but how can I do that without spending tons of $$$?

Yes my shoulders are rolled forward. They've been like that for ages.

My symptoms seem similar to this:
http://www.spinal-healthcare.com/condition.php?condition_id=21

Although as I said they seem less now that I adjusted my mattress situation. However my lats have been feeling achy lately, esp when sitting at the computer / driving.

 

[kaloko]

Check out this site, and buy their DVD or book... The best thing you can do for a long term healthy back (and body).
www.foundationtraining.com/

 

[Autoprax]

These are great for T-spine mobility.

http://www.functionalmovement.com/exercises/rolling_upper_body

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xVjMEVGD00

To get my t-spine mobile I needed to do rotation and not flexion-extension.

 

[hgsouth]

Thanks for the recommendations. Will check these out.

I want to plan a major surf trip for the coming spring or fall and I want to be in the best shape possible.

Guess I can't get away with my zero stretching lazy routine any longer!

 

[Mike_Jones]

.
Some muscle stiffness can have roots in stress injury, but ALL muscle stiffness is related to an oxidized metabolic state. As with sciatica and piraformis syndrome the problem usually begins with loss of flexibility and breakdown in the muscle collagen fascia.

The collagen molecule is a right-twisted triple helix. Collagen is a very difficult protein to make. Fibroblast cells create collagen in water-exclusion nanotubes from left-folded proteins. The three stage assembly process requires large amounts of metabolic energy. If the energy is not available then fibroblasts either fail to produce collagen, or produce defective collagen ......collagen which will not flex as your muscles flex. A defective collagen process results in old calcified collagen combined with defective replacement collagen.

I've haven't dealt heavily with the specific muscle giving you trouble, but the solution to all such stiffness lies in:

1. Cold treatment
2. Frequent massage to break up the collagen
3. Meat, seafood and fat
4. Low carb intake

AFTER you reduce the pain and swelling THEN you can start stretching and exercising the muscle.

ALL muscle stiffness is related to an oxidized metabolic state. You need to chemically reduce yourself.
..

 

[studog]

Yeah all I do is surf for exercise...I suppose I'm very unbalanced.

My horrific health insurance situation means paying out of pocket for PT, which is extremely costly. It sucks. I'd love to hire a trainer to balance me out but how can I do that without spending tons of $$$?

Yes my shoulders are rolled forward. They've been like that for ages.

My symptoms seem similar to this:
http://www.spinal-healthcare.com/condition.php?condition_id=21

Although as I said they seem less now that I adjusted my mattress situation. However my lats have been feeling achy lately, esp when sitting at the computer / driving.

low cost self medication if don't want to pay out of pocket for PT
- yoga ball mentioned. maybe $20
- glucosamine - helps with my joints. $15 usually for a bottle
- ice. pretty much free
- ibuprofen. $.99 at the 99 cent store
- stretching. free
- deep tissue massage. free by using an old t-shirt. fold it length wise to about 6 inches wide. then roll it up into a ball and wrap it with scotch tape (twice around is fine). lay flat on the floor at home and stuff it under the area tight/hurting. do that for about 1/2 hour or more.
- do some push-ups. pull ups too if you can do them and find a bar in a park or something. free.
- sit ups. free
- running/walking. free

 

[obslop]

i'm in really good shape and my lower back has been bothering me. i can surf on it no problem but it feels tight on and off. i think i need to improve my core strength to balance out my muscles i've developed from surfing/pushups and running. i think the lower back area is relatively weak compared to those other areas and the tension is creating tightness. also going to try a standing desk to see how that works.