Here’s a good question I received about muscle knots in your upper back:
I am a student and find my self working in forward head posture every day. My goal is to get rid of my knots and once I get rid of them I was wondering what i can do to keep them at bay? I don’t have the option of changing what I do or my future career.
Many careers involve forward head positions and working with hands stretched out in front of your body. That posture makes upper back muscles very unhappy.
The good news is those muscles can be happy again!
Once the knots are gone here’s what you can do now and forever to keep those miserable muscle spasms from coming back:
Here’s how in a nutshell:
Strengthen your back muscles. It doesn’t have to be a hard workout; it just has to help you get a stronger back.
One way to do this is to squeeze your shoulder blades toward your spine. Be sure to have your head over your body rather than “out in front” when you do this. Laying flat on your back in bed makes it easier.
Actually you need to strengthen ALL the muscles from your knees to your skull on the back side of your body.
When the muscles in back are strong, they can ‘hold their own’ against daily working postures. That avoids pain!
I created a program just to help you get rid of your upper back pain forever.
It will even teach you how to get a strong back easily–in bed!
Check it out but in the meantime…
- Take lots of breaks to stretch up and back, up and back.
- Lift your breastbone and the crown of your head to the sky.
- Eat healthy foods to support your muscles. Well-nourished muscles function better.
- Drink plenty of water. Muscles that are well-hydrated function much better.
Having a strong back helps a TON and stretching the muscles in front of your arms and chest and abdomen also helps keep the nasty muscle knots in your back from coming back.
If you want to know more about this simple, easy, self-help course that I created just to help people like you get rid of the muscle pain in their upper back, please just click here: Knots In Your Back
All of your suggestions above have been a great help. Since I am an office working, I have even found a way to do some of my task while standing. This has been very helpful when I can’t take a break. One other exercise that has been a huge help is push-ups. I started with 3 sets of 5 per day. I am know doing sets of 10 two to three times per day and usually while at work. Whenever I feel the tension start creeping in I will stop and do ten push-ups and drink a glass of water.
Thank you for all of your articles and suggestions, they have been a tremendous help.
Hi Christopher,
Thank you for sharing the exercises that are helping you get rid of the knots in your upper back. Yes, stop at the very first instance of discomfort. Sometimes we just cannot avoid a posture which causes pain but taking frequent breaks to stretch (in the opposite direction of how we work) and having a drink (of water) can help loads.
You are very welcome and thank you for taking the time to share your natural back pain relief success.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
I see these comments are all 5 years old, but I’m really struggling with a lot of pain in my trapezius muscles. I have the infamous head down position, but I I have Ankylosing Spondylitis and am fused in that position. I have constant pain in the upper and mid trapezius muscles. I have so many contractions to try to work those knots out but none of them really helped too much. Any really good suggestions? Thanks in advance
Hi Dede, I’m working with a man right now whose neck is surgically fused and which causes him to have a forward head posture, too. Are you able to get on the floor? Can you crawl? If you are on your back, can you roll over onto one arm and then roll over onto the other arm? You can use a pillow or neck roll under your head/neck if you NEED to.
Can you hike your shoulders to your ears? Can you roll your shoulders up and back? Is it possible to lay on a tightly rolled towel directly under your spine and head? If you can do that, you can allow your shoulders to fall toward the floor on either side of the long, rolled towel or swim noodle. Noodle
If we are lucky, that link will take you to a little video that I made to demonstrate the towel/noodle technique.
Thank you for asking and you’re welcome. I hope this helps. Please note: These are only suggestions of ways that could help you to get a little looser and get your head a little closer to neutral. Each body is different and I can’t see you so these are just my best long-distance thoughts right now.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach