What can pull the upper back. Causes of pain in the upper back

Pain in the upper back is not always a sign of spinal disease. Sore back at the top thoracic maybe for many reasons. The chest is an important part of the human body due to the presence of the heart and lungs there. Without these organs, a person simply cannot live. Dysfunctions at this level often affect the life of a higher organization, endangering a person's life. Pain in the upper back can be caused by both typical diseases associated with the back, and pain radiating from the chest organs.

Often a person confuses what refers to different parts of the back. The thoracic back is located from the beginning of the neck to the middle of the body. It includes the heart, esophagus, lungs, trachea. In practice, there may even be pain radiating to the back from an inflamed throat and nasopharynx. Do not try to operate in front of the doctor with words taken on the Internet - talk about your complaints honestly and directly.

Pain in the upper back can be divided according to its source into two groups - caused by diseases internal organs chest and as a consequence of diseases of the vertebrae and spine. The first group is often the result bad habits, hereditary disorders, environmental hazards. The second refers to a sedentary lifestyle, poor posture, and even a pillow that is too hard.

For example, lung diseases that develop due to smoking or asbestos dust in the lungs. Heart disease is caused by obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, or even vice versa - a consequence of increased strength training, which leads to an increase in blood pressure.

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Conditions that cause pain in the upper back include:

Scoliosis;
Osteochondrosis in the upper section;
Heart failure.

Scoliosis

Scoliosis is a curvature of the spine. Often it occurs in the thoracic region due to the incorrect posture that the child holds at school. Pain manifests itself in the second or third degree, when the spine, with its curvature, begins to touch the surrounding tissues and nerve roots. Very often, intervertebral discs are affected, which act as a shock absorber that dampens vibrations from the lower extremities and lumbar. A person often has pain in the upper back due to the development intervertebral hernia, which pushes through the spinal nerve roots that transmit impulses to the human brain.

Treatment consists of wearing corsets, massages. It is important to start it on time, because with large curvature in the thoracic spine, the shoulders begin to descend to the curved side, which leads to a change in the respiratory volume of the lungs and problems with blood circulation.

Osteochondrosis

Osteochondrosis is a pathological growth of cartilaginous tissues around the vertebra. They begin to damage the tissues surrounding them, cause a feeling of stiffness, disrupt muscle function, and limit the flexibility of the spine. Pain in the upper part of the spine is often caused by this disease, which affects most of of the world's population over 40.

Also, as with scoliosis, the intervertebral discs can begin to be damaged, which will cause a hernia. The discs themselves in the thoracic region, without outside intervention, very rarely give a hernia, because they do not experience such great pressure on your body. Treatment consists of blockades and physiotherapy exercises that stop the formation of chondrocytes.

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Heart failure

Depending on its type, the heart can give to the costal surface of the human back. This often leads to misunderstanding - in the human mind, the heart is located in front on the left. At the same time, pain in the upper back can be noticeable on the right side, which is completely confusing. It is important to assess your condition for timely access to a doctor.

In heart disease, the treatment of pain is aimed at restoring normal functioning. The heart is often operated on, and quite successfully, because half of the success in therapy is going to the doctor and his qualifications. It is not uncommon for people to die as a result of turning to traditional medicine in the treatment of heart disease.

Deficiency includes myasthenia gravis, wall thickening, ventricular and atrial malnutrition. Depending on the disease, a person has different restrictions - for example, smoking is excluded, the use of substances that increase the heart rate. In angina pectoris, in no case should you increase the pressure and use vasoconstrictors.

In some cases, therapy is required for life, however, medicine is moving quite quickly, and therapies for cardiac diseases already allow enough full life even with extremely severe deficiencies, and transplantation of laboratory-grown organs allows you to extend life as long as possible.

Treatment of pain in the chest

The first step in treating upper back pain is to correctly identify the cause of the pain. Diagnostic methods include X-ray, ECG and X-ray of the lungs. After establishing the cause, the therapy is carried out by a narrower specialist - a cardiologist, pulmonologist, orthopedist.

Treatment is carried out with the help of medical methods, massages, physiotherapy, nerve blocks. What matters is how quickly the diagnosis was made. Do not try to delay the moment of going to the doctor, because in some cases the disease develops rapidly and requires urgent decisions from qualified specialists.

Pain in the upper back is an extremely common symptom. She meets at the most various diseases, and therefore the key to its successful treatment is accurate diagnosis. A thorough examination usually reveals the cause of the pain.

What diseases cause pain in the upper back

Pain in the upper back accompanies various diseases of the internal organs.

1. Diseases respiratory system:

pleurisy ("dry") with a feeling of cutting pain in the left or right side of the chest, associated with respiratory movements;
spontaneous pneumothorax with sudden acute chest pain radiating to the scapula. Characterized by a decrease in the excursion of the chest on the side of the lesion, the absence of noise during auscultation;
pneumonia with intense or moderate pain in the left or right side of the chest or shoulder blade. The pain is aggravated by deep breathing and coughing, fever, coughing, wheezing in the lungs during auscultation;
lung or bronchial cancer. The pattern, nature and intensity of pain depend on its localization and prevalence - if the apex of the lung is affected, Pencost syndrome (brachial plexopathy) develops, in which pain is noted in the shoulder, shoulder blade, medial surface of the arm, when the pleura grows, pain occurs in the chest on the side of the lesion , significantly aggravated by breathing, coughing, movements of the body, in case of involvement of the intercostal nerve, the pain is girdle.

2. Diseases digestive system:

Pain in the upper back on the right
acute cholecystitis. The pain lasts from several hours to several days, usually localized in the right precostal space and epigastrium. Possible irradiation to the right half of the chest, right shoulder, shoulder blade, shoulder girdle, as well as in the region of the heart, concomitant nausea, vomiting, fever, jaundice skin, pain on palpation in the right hypochondrium, tension of the abdominal muscles;

Upper back pain on the left
acute pancreatitis with sudden intense pain in the epigastric region of a girdle character with irradiation to the left lower part of the chest, shoulder blade, shoulder girdle, heart area; pronounced spasm of the abdominal muscles;

3. Diseases of the urinary system:

Pain in the upper back on the left or right
renal colic and thrombosis of the renal artery;
retroperitoneal hematoma. Sudden pain of unknown origin in the lower back in a patient receiving anticoagulant therapy.

4. Lesions of the spinal cord and peripheral nervous system.
Pain in the upper back on the left or right
Pain, often shooting, has the features of a projection, i.e. its pattern is limited to the limits of the skin representation of the root or nerve, often has a distal distribution.

Which doctors to contact if there is pain in the upper back

Gastroenterologist
Infectionist
Traumatologist
Orthopedist
Chiropractor
Therapist
Family doctor
Cardiologist
Pulmonologist
Urologist
Nephrologist
Gynecologist
Proctologist
Surgeon
emergency doctor

When there is pain in the upper back, you need to be careful and in no case engage in diagnosis and self-treatment. This symptom can signal the presence of a wide variety of pathologies, so a professional approach is indispensable here.

First, let's find out the causes that cause pain in the upper back.

Factors provocateurs

So why does your back hurt? The main causes of pain in the upper back are the following pathologies:

Pain worsens during pregnancy exercise or prolonged standing

pneumonia. With this disease pain differ in duration, but not in great intensity; Localization can be in the scapula and on both sides of the chest. Coughing and deep breathing provoke an increase in discomfort. The pain may be accompanied by wheezing, dry cough and chills;
inflammation of the pleura. The pain in this case is sharp and strong. It can radiate to the chest on both sides;
pneumothorax. Chest pain also radiates to the shoulder blades, but no noise is detected during auscultation;
neoplasms in the lungs. The localization of pain depends on where exactly the oncology arose. The pain may be girdle in nature if a nerve lesion joins the cancer;
inflammation of the gallbladder. In this case, severe pain can persist for several days. Location: right hypochondrium and stomach area. The pain may radiate to the arm, shoulder and chest from the top right;
acute inflammation of the pancreas. The pain is sharp and strong, can give in the heart, arm shoulder;
arthrosis;
hernia;
excess weight;
infections;
obesity;
displacement or fractures of the vertebrae;
diseases of the urinary system;
spinal injury.

In any case, when a person feels severe back pain, especially if it becomes acute, an ambulance should be called.

Clinical picture

The main symptoms of upper back pain are:

posture is disturbed;
sudden attacks weaknesses that prevent them from leading a normal life;
upper back hurts when coughing and deep breathing;
muscle pain;
soreness of the chest, arms and legs develops;
tilting the head causes discomfort in the shoulders;
limited movement when using the hand, shoulders or elbows;
disorders in the digestive system;
weight loss;
increase in body temperature;
tension in the back, neck, lower and upper limbs, which occurs suddenly;
in the morning there is muscle tension.

If such a clinical picture occurs, you should consult a doctor so that he can conduct a comparative analysis and make an accurate diagnosis.

Risk group

The occurrence of pain in the upper back - until now, for specialists, this issue remains mysterious and unexplored. However, some risk factors have been identified.

As we age, bone density is lost and intervertebral discs shrink and lose moisture.

Pregnancy

During this period, the organs of the chest region are displaced, the body weight is redistributed forward, and this leads to the fact that the upper back hurts.

Influence of psychological and social factors

It has been proven that depressive states and a complete lack of understanding of how to cope with them have a much greater effect on the development of pain than any other physical factor.

One research institute conducted a survey of drivers. As the study showed, a large number of workers love their work, half of them complained of back pain. Still not a large number of of them went on sick leave due to back problems.

One group of respondents reported that their job satisfaction was much lower than that of the other half. How is this related to the back? For some reason, this group was more likely to skip work because of their backs.

Also, according to another study, low position at work and high physical workload among the military is associated with the development of pain.

Forecasts

Often a month after acute pain, patients return to normal labor activity but full recovery occurs after a few months.

Nevertheless, according to statistics, most patients suffer from recurrences of the disease already in the same year.

You don't need any special equipment or a lot of time to complete the exercises.

Treatment

Consider popular exercises that have already helped more than one person get rid of discomfort in the upper back:

rolling shoulders. It is necessary to make rotational movements back and forth. You can do several approaches, while the movements are done slowly and carefully;
head tilts and rotations. First, the head is tilted so that the chin can reach the neck, then in the other direction. Throwing your head back, you should be careful not to overdo it. After these movements, the head can be carefully turned in both directions: right and left. At the end, you can perform head movements in a circle. Such movements help to relax and warm up the upper back;
raising the shoulders. To perform this movement, the head should be lowered as much as possible. When inhaling, we raise the shoulders as much as possible, and when exhaling, we lower them;
Crick. We take our hands behind the head and then with our palms we reach higher in the head, stretching the muscles of the upper back. The palms should be slowly moved from the neck to the shoulders.

Only a specialist can prescribe the correct treatment, and it comes down to eliminating the cause that causes an unpleasant ailment in combination with the use of analgesics.

Pain in the upper back can be an indicator of the presence of serious pathologies, which is why it is important to see a doctor immediately.

Pain in the upper back is common, regardless of a person's age. Symptoms can be completely different. Pain syndrome does not always indicate problems with the spine. Often discomfort is given in upper part back from internal organs: heart, lungs, esophagus. In the presence of such a symptom, one should not delay a visit to the doctor, since irresponsibility contributes to the development of complications.

If a person has such a symptom in the upper back, then the cause of its occurrence should be determined. For this, it is important to consult a doctor in a timely manner. All the causes of such pain can be divided into 2 groups: damage to the spine itself and damage to the internal organs of the thoracic region.

Table 1. Causes of pain in the upper back

Group	Causes
Diseases of the spine	Osteochondrosis. It leads to strong changes inside the cartilaginous tissue and in neighboring vertebrae. If it is not treated in time, the joints will collapse and the person's mobility will be limited, he will not be able to work and walk normally. Injury. The thoracic region is mechanically difficult to damage, but possible. To do this, it is worth falling from a height, getting a strong blow to the chest. Intervertebral hernia. It is characterized by prolapse of the intervertebral disc and pinched nerves. The pain in the back has a shooting character. In general, hernias in the thoracic spine are extremely rare. Spondylosis. It is characterized by instability of the spinal column, as well as the growth of osteophytes. Bone growths pinch muscle tissue, nerves, making the skeleton less mobile. This is what causes back pain. Deformity of the thoracic spine. Patients with a curved spine are still in childhood especially schoolchildren. Spinal stenosis. Its narrowing is dangerous not only for health, but also for life. Soft tissue nutrition is gradually deteriorating, which affects not only the spine, but also the internal organs. Spondylarthrosis. Infectious or oncological lesions of the spine. Myositis. Inflammation of the muscles, which leads to its spasm. Soft tissues pinch nerves and blood vessels. It is difficult for the patient to turn around, bend down, make any other movements. Spasm is relieved by an antispasmodic or muscle relaxant. Osteoporosis. Here the problem lies in the destruction of bones due to a violation of calcium metabolism. Often, these pathologies affect not only the bone and cartilage, but also the surrounding soft tissues, blood vessels, and nerve endings.
Damage to internal organs	Heart disease: aneurysm, cardiac ischemia. With a heart attack, it is felt on the left. Discomfort spreads to the upper limb. An angina attack is characterized by pain inside the chest. The upper back is also affected. Respiratory problems: pleurisy, pneumonia, blockage of pulmonary vessels, lung collapse. With pneumonia, the pain syndrome extends to the upper back, is characterized by duration, but low intensity. An additional symptom is coughing, sputum discharge. Pathologies of the digestive tract: ulcer, colitis, cholecystitis, esophageal stenosis, gastritis. With the latter disease, the pain also affects the upper back, and on the right. The duration of symptoms depends on the degree of development and severity of the disease. The pain also radiates to the shoulder blade and shoulder. With pancreatitis, not only the upper back suffers, but is also observed in the lower back. Kidney disease: glomerulonephritis. Spinal injury. This is where the pain kicks in. When a nerve is pinched, discomfort in the back area appears when inhaling. Intercostal neuralgia is characterized by pain between the shoulder blades.
Psychosomatics	Physical activity also provokes pain. Unpleasant sensations can occur even after squats. The upper back often hurts due to psychological problems in a person. As you know, the body reacts not only to a physical change in state, but also to a nervous strain, an emotional outburst. There are no pills needed. Unless a person is prescribed light sedatives. For therapy, consultations with a psychologist or psychotherapist are necessary.

Taking pain in the upper back seriously will help avoid serious complications and disability.

Features of the manifestation of pathology

In addition to the presence of pain in the upper back, the patient also has other symptoms:

Poor health, reduced work capacity.
General weakness.
In some cases, there is an increase in temperature.

Muscle aches, coughing.
Rapid weight loss.
Increased muscle tone.
Limitation of the range of motion.

If these symptoms are present, then you need to urgently consult a doctor and undergo a diagnosis. It is impossible to unequivocally name the cause of the development of pain affecting the upper back by signs.

The mechanism of pain development is very simple. It occurs due to damage to the nerve receptors in the shoulder girdle and in the area of the shoulder blades. Irradiation of unpleasant sensations is also possible. The pain can be constant or intermittent.

Pain diagnostics

Naturally, in the presence of the above symptoms, it is necessary to consult a doctor. He will conduct a physiological and neurological examination, probe the affected area, determine the functionality of the reflexes and the sensitivity of the checked back area. Also, the doctor will prescribe a set of studies, including:

Laboratory tests of blood and urine.
Collecting the patient's history. He should note at what time the pain most often begins, where it is localized, what pathologies he has. Information about the working and living conditions of the patient is also important.
Analysis of sputum and pleural fluid (taken with a special needle).
Radiography of the lungs, as well as the thoracic spine. This research method is necessary for a preliminary diagnosis.

Pictured is the MRI procedure.

Ultrasound of the kidneys, spinal column.
Gastroscopy (if the cause of back pain is a gastrointestinal disease).
Electrocardiography.
MRI or CT. These studies provide maximum amount accurate information not only about the spine, but also about the surrounding tissues and organs.

Diagnosis must be differential, as symptoms are not specific. The therapy is carried out under the supervision of a vertebrologist and a neurologist. If the cause of pain in the upper back is a disease of the internal organ, then the appropriate narrow specialist is connected to the treatment.

Treatment rules

Pain in the upper back requires increased attention not only from doctors, but also from the patient himself. You can’t close your eyes to her so that complications do not develop. Treatment is carried out in several directions: eliminating the main cause of discomfort, combating symptoms, preventing the recurrence of pain.

The tactics of therapy involves the use of medications, physiotherapy, massage techniques, physiotherapy exercises. Proper nutrition is also important.

With a severe injury or pain that cannot be endured, a person is prescribed analgesics, anti-inflammatory drugs. To increase their effectiveness, the patient is prescribed physiotherapy procedures. They help to strengthen the muscular corset, restore the functionality of the spinal column, and stabilize it.

Useful is exercise therapy. Exercises for pain should be careful. Movement should not be uncomfortable. In the early days, the load should be minimal: first, a simple warm-up in the supine position, and then the exercises prescribed by the doctor.

In the video below, we show a set of exercises to strengthen the muscles of the upper back:

No less effective is massage. It is performed not only when the shoulders hurt. Massage is allowed only after passing a physiotherapy course. In the presence of acute or sharp pain, any manipulation is contraindicated.

Non-traditional methods of therapy are also used. They are useful when the pain appears after sleep, goes to the upper abdomen, during pregnancy. However, even these methods must be agreed with the doctor:

Manual therapy. The main goal of therapy is the impact on biologically active points with the hands. The procedure allows you to restore and stabilize the spine, put the intervertebral discs in place, eliminate pain, and release pinched nerve endings.
Acupuncture. It helps to get rid of pain in the upper back in a short period of time.
vacuum therapy. Banks are the main instrument of influence here. The vacuum that they create allows the blood to be properly distributed in the tissues. Gradually, metabolic processes in the affected areas are restored, and the pain syndrome goes away.

Before using non-traditional methods, you should consult a doctor. Perhaps, in an individual case, there are some contraindications to them.

You should not be sure that if the upper back no longer hurts, then the problem is gone. In order to avoid a relapse, a positive result of treatment must be fixed.

Prevention of pathology

To avoid the appearance of pain in the middle or upper back, certain preventive measures must be observed:

Learn to monitor your posture, not only in childhood, but also in adulthood.
If a person has a sedentary job, then every hour you should do a warm-up to restore normal blood circulation and metabolism.
Don't wear high heels all the time.

If there is a need to carry a heavy load, then it should be evenly distributed on both hands.
It is important to ensure that body weight is within the normal range.
To avoid aching pain after sleep, it is better to choose an orthopedic bed and mattress. These products allow a person to take a natural pose.
It is better not to make sudden movements.

Back pain that affects its top can be a symptom of some kind of pathology. However, to really find out the cause of the appearance of such a pathology, you need to carefully examine.

Pain in the upper back this is an extremely common symptom. It occurs in a variety of diseases, and therefore the key to its successful treatment is accurate diagnosis. A thorough examination usually reveals the cause of the pain.

Causes of pain in the upper back

Pain in the upper back usually accompanies various diseases of the internal organs. Respiratory system diseases:

pleurisy with a feeling of cutting pain in the left or right side of the chest, associated with respiratory movements;

spontaneous pneumothorax with sudden sharp pain in the chest radiating to the shoulder blade. Characterized by a decrease in the excursion of the chest on the side of the lesion, the absence of noise during auscultation;

pneumonia with intense or moderate pain in the left or right side of the chest or shoulder blade. The pain is aggravated by deep breathing and coughing, fever, coughing, wheezing in the lungs during auscultation;

lungs' cancer or bronchi. The nature and intensity of pains depend on its localization and prevalence; if the apex of the lung is affected, Pencost syndrome develops, in which pain is noted in the shoulder, shoulder blade, medial surface of the arm, when the pleura grows, there is pain in the chest on the side of the lesion, significantly aggravated by breathing, coughing , movements of the trunk, in case of involvement of the intercostal nerve, the pain is girdle.

Diseases of the digestive system sometimes also cause pain in the upper back. Pay special attention to the localization of pain on the right or left. Pain in the upper back on the right may indicate acute cholecystitis. The pain lasts from several hours to several days, is usually localized in the right precostal area and epigastrium. Possible irradiation to the right half of the chest, right shoulder, shoulder blade, shoulder girdle, as well as to the region of the heart, associated symptoms:

fever;

yellowness of the skin;

pain on palpation in the right hypochondrium;

tension in the abdominal muscles.

Pain in the upper back on the left often indicates acute pancreatitis with sudden intense pain in the epigastric region of a girdle character with irradiation to the left lower chest, shoulder blade, shoulder girdle, heart area; pronounced spasm of the abdominal muscles;

Diseases of the urinary system can cause pain in the upper back. Also similar symptoms observed at:

renal colic;

thrombosis of the renal artery;

retroperitoneal hematoma.

Sudden low back pain of unknown origin in a patient receiving anticoagulant therapy. You should also pay attention to diseases such as:

Spinal cord injury;

damage to the peripheral nervous system;

pain in the upper back on the left/right.

Pain, often shooting, has projection features, that is, its pattern is limited to the limits of the skin representation of the root or nerve, often has a distal distribution. In case of pain, it is best to seek advice from traumatologist or chiropractor. Your family doctor will also be able to conduct an examination and find out the diagnosis.

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