Upper Back Pain Causes
What’s The Source Of Your Upper Back Pain?
By Jarrett Kruse
Upper back pain is a common complaint among office workers, truck drivers, chauffeurs, or anyone required to sit in the same position for a long time. Another of the causes of upper back pain is repetitive stress—frequently using only particular upper back or neck muscles. Daily activity is the major source of upper back pain, but a number of spinal and muscles conditions can cause upper and lower back pain, referred pain, or general back aches. Back pain is a symptom and getting the right diagnosis and the correct back pain cause will help you get the right treatment.
Upper back pain can be caused by a sudden trauma, or by maintaining poor posture over time, as sitting at a computer may require. Driving a vehicle also demands maintaining the same body position, sometimes for hours Neck and back pain frequently accompany jobs or activities where movement is limited. Jobs that produce repetitive stress–using a single group of muscles over and over—such as assembly line work or intense typing, can also cause neck and back pain. Both poor posture and repetitive stress can cause muscular irritation or stress on the spine resulting in pain. There are some other causes that should be looked at if quick relief does not come from chiropractics, acupuncture, medication or other treatment. Other causes of upper back pain include:
- Sudden injury such as whiplash from a car accident
- Back strain—lifting a heavy object improperly or reaching while not supporting your back
- Sponylolisthesis—a vertebra out of place
- Osteoporosis
- Ruptured or herniated discs
- Spinal tumor
- Heart disease
- Pancreatic cancer
If you experience prolonged upper back pain that does not respond to treatment or that does not correspond to your activity, it’s important to seek medical attention and rule out a more serious condition.
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