Back Pain - What to do about upper back pain?

What to do about upper back pain?

I woke up in the middle of the night with terrible upper back pain. That was 5 days ago and the pain seems to be intensifying. Last evening I had a massage which provided temporary relief but today the pain is much worse. Should I see a doctor or a chiropractor? Also, what can I do in the meantime to help alleviate the pain?

Public Comments

You should see your doctor, until then try using one of those "deep heating" patchs. Make sure you read the lable because some of them can only be worn over your clothing and some you can put on your skin. I also take aspirin with tylenol.
OK it sounds like you have several things going on. First, a misalignment in your upper back can definitely cause this type of pain. This causes the muscles in your upper back to pull in ways they are not supposed to. This adds to the pain of being misaligned. Secondly, poor posture and sleeping on your side can also contribute to this. If your shoulders are forward, then it will put a stretch on the muscles in your middle and upper back. This can cause pain between the shoulder blades. As for treatment, the best person to go to would be a chiropractor. They will be able to examine you and diagnose what is really going on. Then more than likely, they can adjust you and correct the misalignment. This will provide some relief from the muscles that are working improperly. As for the posture issue, You need to stretch out your pec muscles and strengthen your middle and lower traps. You can look online for ways to do that. Look up the doorway pec stretch and an exercise for strenghtening the middle and lower trapezius muscles. I really wish you the best