Mid back pain is common among children and middle-aged women. The reason I point this out is because children are in school and they have to carry around a backpack most of the day. This puts a huge strain on the mid back area. Also, children tend to not have great posture so the added weight of slouching slowly builds up. Middle-aged women also tend to have mid back pain as well because of their breasts. This is added weight on the mid back that women have to deal with on a daily bases. This tends to get worse when women become pregnant as well because their breasts are growing and adding extra stress on the mid back.

Mid back

The mid back is from Thoracic vertebra 3 to 12. In layman’s terms “in between your shoulder blades”. Here is a picture of the mid back area.

There are multiple muscles in this area as well that can cause pain. The muscles are Upper trapezius, lower trapezius, rhomboids, thoracic erector spinae, infraspinatus, and lattissimus dorsi.

Reasons why you can have pain:

Poor posture- this leads to loading of joints that are not meant to be loaded, thus causing areas that are not moving the way they are supposed to and causing degeneration in the joints.
Muscle inhibition- If one of the muscles is not pulling its weight and helping out, then another muscle has to take over the job. This can cause a muscle to get very tight and painful.
Hypomobile joints- When the joints are not moving the way that they should, this causing degeneration in the joints which in turn causes pain. Adjusting the areas is the most common way to relieve this pain.
Ribs- rib pain is very pinpoint pain that sometimes can take your breath away. This pain is constant and persistent. It is typically one sided.

Ways to help relieve mid back pain:

The number one way to help relieve mid back pain is to go see a Chiropractor. As chiropractors we are taught to exam and palpate the spine to locate areas that are not moving the way they should. These areas if left untreated for to long, can become irritated and painful. When the joints are not moving like they were designed to do, that degeneration begins and the circle is not broken until movement is back in the joint.

Rib pain is very similar in this manor. The pain will not go away until the rib is able to move without restriction when you breathe.

If the pain persists and adjusting is not helping, then the problem is an imbalance in the muscles. To determine what muscles are not working I use a technique called Neurokinetic Therapy (NKT) which tests each individual muscle to test the function. To learn more about NKT you can go to the website here, http://neurokinetictherapy.com/.

As always I am here to answer any questions you may have about your mid back pain and how chiropractic can help treat it. The number is 919-249-6461 or email me at apexpeakwellness@gmail.com.

-Dr. Megan