"Stand up straight!"

"Yes, mom..."

Upper back pain is one of those things that can be misleading. In its simplest form, it's often just a sign of bad posture. We spend so much time sitting in front of computers or steering wheels that our shoulders slump forward... and our backs ache. Often, simple stretches for the chest and shoulder muscles will help with that, along with some (again simple) strengthening exercises.

Or, if you spent the weekend painting your ceiling, you might have pain in your upper back.

Or, if you have heart disease, you might have upper back pain (I don't want to scare you, but it's true and needs to be ruled out).

The things that cause it that aren't real serious include:

• Bad posture
• Overworked shoulder or neck muscles
• Large breasts (for females)
• Talking with the phone between your neck and shoulder
• A rib head that is out of place (this usually has pain with breathing too).

Things that cause pain in the upper back that can be very serious are:

• Whiplash injuries
• Osteoporosis
• Ruptured spinal discs or injury (this is rare, thank goodness)
• Lung or heart problems
• Gallbladder disease (this refers to the right shoulder mostly, but some patients have been known to mistake it for upper back pain)

With any pain that lasts longer than a few days, it's always a good idea to see your doctor. A chiropractor can help with the NON-serious causes of upper back pain, and often relief is almost immediate!

The upper back is the most stable part of your spine because it has the ribs attached in the back and they come around the front to meet at the sternum. This means that there's not a lot of movement in the area. The downside though is that when there is movement in that part of the spine, it can cause problems with the ribs where they meet at the back. Patients always say "it's right under my shoulder blade" or "it hurts to breathe" when that happens. It's common after the flu or a cold when you feel like you coughed up a lung.

By adjusting the spine and ribs, a chiropractor can give fast relief if that's the cause of your pain.

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