Whether one is a blue-collar worker, performing manual labour or the CEO of a multinational company, back pain related issues seem to spare no one. According to medical health records from around the world, anybody above thirty is likely to go have this unpleasant experience at any point of time in their adult lives. Bearing in mind that this health issue seems to spare no one, it’s only natural that there are a number of reasons and causes that bring on prolonged or even temporary back ache. The reasons may range from lack of exercise to too much strenuous labour or even simply growing old. Let’s explore the common upper backache causes and its preventive mechanisms:
Main Upper Back Causes and Locations:
The common causes of upper back pain are as follows:
Injury or Poor Posture:
- Amongst young people injury seems to be the number one reason for upper back aches.
- This pain may range from mild to severe.
- Such pain can be brought on by overuse which involves performing the same motion multiple times.
- This is likely to occur during workouts, playing sports or performing strenuous tasks.
- Poor posture has also proved to be the cause for upper back pain.
- According to health care experts, upper back pain is known to be commonplace amongst white collar workers who sit in front of a computer all day.
- The medical diagnosis for such pains is either muscular irritation or joint dysfunction.
Muscular Irritation or Myofascial Pain:
- Muscular Irritation or Myofascial pain is most likely to be brought on by strenuous physical labor.
- In such cases, trauma caused to the upper back muscles results in varying degrees of pain that is treated over a period of time with a combination of drugs and physiotherapy.
- Myofascial pain is characterized by trigger points where the pain is often concentrated in the form of tight muscles.
See More: Herbs To Cure Arthritis
Joint Dysfunction:
- The physiology of the upper back is such that the ribs are attached to the thoracic spine by two joints on either side.
- These joints are known to dysfunction which results in upper back pain.
- Once again this pain may be felt in varying degrees and can be brought on by strenuous physical activities, hard labor and even poor posture.
Bone and Spinal Disc Degeneration:
- Most cases of decreased bone strength or spinal degeneration that result in back pain occurs as an individual begins to age.
- Old age can be a major reason for upper back pain.
- Though it is quite rare for spinal disc degeneration and disc herniations to occur in the upper back, it is not entirely unheard of.
- These chronic upper back causes are mainly known to affect the lower back however upper back pains can also occur.
- Spinal disc degeneration is the age-related wear and tear that occurs in the discs that serve as a buffer between each vertebra of the spinal cord.
- This issue can lead to disc herniations that occurs when the inner soft core of the spinal discs leaks out and clashes with sensitive nerves.
- Injury to the thoracic spine pain can also prove to be a major cause for upper back pains.
See More: Upper Back Pain Symptom
Scoliosis and Kyphosis:
- Scoliosis and Kyphosis are both characterized by abnormalities of the spinal cord.
- It is common for birth defects to result in a slightly S or C shaped spinal column.
- This condition is referred to as Scoliosis and is one of the major causes of upper back pain in females.
- Extreme cases of Scoliosis are likely to result in both upper and lower back pain.
- Kyphosis is a medical condition of the spinal cord resulting in abnormal outward curvature that often results in a hunched back.
- This is another major reason for upper back pain.
Other Reasons:
- Bone and joint related ailments like osteoporosis and osteoarthritis can often result in upper back pains.
See More: Symptoms Lower Back Pain
Upper back pain can severely impact your life if not identified and treated early. It is important to identify the root cause of pain and offer early treatment. Each cause has its own way of treating the pain. Along with good medication, healthy lifestyle and proper exercise regime is very important to alleviate the pain. In extreme pain, one must take good care to follow good rest and offer cold and hot compressors to treat pain. If you have severe pain, never try to do stretching exercises as it can aggravate the condition. We hope you now understand the various upper backache causes to offer the right treatments.
