Upper and mid-back pain
Upper back pain occurs from anywhere between base of neck till end of ribcage either in midline or sides of spine. Now a days its seen very commonly due to change in lifestyle, sitting job on computers etc. Upper back pain is felt in many ways like burning, throbbing, aching or there could be tingling in the area of pain.
What are the causes of upper back pain?
• Sprains due to lifting heavy weight or lifting the weight in wrong way. Nowadays such injuries have increased because of Gym culture among youngsters.
• Bad posture lead to muscle imbalance causing back pain
• Disc protrusion / extrusion in thoracic region or cervical region
• Fractures – occur spontaneously due to osteoarthritis or accidents
• Post surgical pain- previous cervical or lumbar spine surgery can lead to upper back pain
• Osteoarthritis of joints of spine
How is upper back pain diagnosed?
Clinical examination provides the clue to diagnosis in many cases. To confirm the diagnosis and rule out the red flags investigations are performed like X ray, CT scan, MRI scan etc.
Can upper back pain be treated at home?
Yes, in acute cases (pain which has started recently) home remedies do work for back pain. Hot and cold fomentation, over the counter pain killers, massage, improving the posture can help.
You must visit your doctor if
-pain does not settle in a weeks’ time
-if you have severe pain
-pain starts radiating to arms and legs
- if you get bowel and bladder disturbances
- if you develop weight loss, fever, loss of weight etc
- if there is weakness in arms and legs
What are the treatment options available for upper back pain?
If upper back pain does not respond to home remedies, then multiple treatment options are available for treatment like
- Dry needling
- Trigger point injections
- Botox injections
- Cervical epidural
- Facet joint injections
- Interfacial pain blocks etc.
