Upper Back Pain Chiropractic

Common Causes of Upper Back Pain

Since the upper back is used for so many activities, it can have a variety of causes. Sometimes, these are obvious, as in the case of a car accident or sports injury. Other times, the cause of upper back pain is harder to identify.

At West Suburban Wellness, our upper back pain chiropractor has experience with this form of pain stemming from the following underlying causes:

• Muscle strain
• Scoliosis
• Whiplash
• Herniated discs
• Compression fractures

A real benefit of our whole-life approach is that we can identify small, chronic motions that might make a significant impact. An example of this is an unhealthy posture at the computer. Since workers and students spend several hours each day using a computer, finding more natural ways of moving and sitting can increase the quality of life, diminish pain, and reduce the likelihood of an upper back issue.

Symptoms of Upper Back Pain

Since upper back pain has so many causes, our chiropractor for upper back pain sees patients with varying symptoms. The most common symptoms include sharp pain, soreness, stiffness, and pain that moves from the upper back to other body parts. Sometimes, the nerves develop issues, and our patients feel “pins-and-needles” numbness, or their back becomes weak. While how the upper back feels is important, how it functions is just as important.

Upper back pain can happen suddenly or occur gradually. Sometimes, pain can be delayed. This is common after an accident when stress hormones may make the pain less noticeable. The following are some of our patients’ descriptions of upper back pain.

Sharp Pain

Sharp pain is what many people think of when they consider back pain. In the case of upper back pain, this type of pain is typically confined to one area. Patients have described it as burning, crushing, or being stabbed.

Soreness

Soreness might seem like a natural result of a long day at work or an unusually intense pick-up basketball game over the weekend. This pain can throb, and the ache is often felt in a neighboring bodily region such as the middle back, shoulder, or neck.

Stiffness

In our experience, pain makes our patients limit their movement. As a result, they can quickly develop some stiffness in the upper back. Since the upper back is not the most mobile region of the back, this stiffness doesn’t interfere as much with upper back function. It does, however, make it challenging to lift using the arms or rotate them.

Warning Signs You Should See Our Chiropractor for Upper Back Pain

While upper back pain is always significant, several signs should lead people to search for an “upper back pain chiropractor near me” or call us. Anytime pain becomes so intense that it interferes with sleep or makes everyday activities agony, it requires immediate medical intervention. The same is true for pain that has persisted for more than a few days.

At West Suburban Wellness, we want our patients to see us after car accidents or falls. Accidents are traumatic, and going without treatment causes unhealthy compensatory movement patterns to develop, compounding the original injury. Seeing our chiropractor for upper back pain treats injuries and helps prevent further damage.

Sometimes, an injury isn’t always apparent. A sign of damage that many people don’t know to look for is reddened skin and swollen areas on the upper back. When an injury occurs, extra blood rushes to the site to bring healing nutrients, oxygen, and other biochemicals needed for healing. If an area is red, swollen, and painful for several days, go for chiropractic for upper back pain consultation.

“Pins-and-needles” isn’t just an innocent problem that happens when a foot “falls asleep.” When it’s accompanied by upper back pain, it is a sign of nerve dysfunction. Therefore, it needs to be treated as soon as possible whether it is accompanied by weakness or not.

Pain in the neck, jaw, or other areas is another red flag indicating a more extensive issue. Some other warning signs that our patients have reported include facial pain, headaches, and weakened arms.

How Our Chiropractic Works to Eliminate Upper Back Pain

When patients see us for upper back pain, our first goal is to alleviate their pain. Whether it occurs in their muscles, ligaments, or bones, feeling pain makes everyday life more stressful and makes it more difficult to move. Exercise, walking, and other daily activities have many benefits for the body, so getting rid of the pain that can limit movement is our first goal.

A closely related second goal of chiropractic medicine is to restore function. While the upper back doesn’t have as prominent a role in the movement of the elbow or hips, it still has several functions related to maintaining good posture for breathing and normal organ function. It also helps the arms move freely.