Category Archives: Upper Back Pain

Pain In The Left Side Of Your Upper Shoulder And Neck

Why do I have pain in upper back — Pain in upper back and shoulder

If you have pain in the left side of your upper shoulder and neck, right about where they meet, guess what the cause might be?

Sure it’s muscles, most likely. But why are they complaining?

1. Do you type? Do you sit facing toward the right while you are at the computer? The best way is to face the monitor or your material squarely in front of your nose.

2. Do you always watch the television from an angle? Or sit in the same corner of the same couch with your head tilted? How about changing position so you look directly and straight at the television or book?

3. Do you sleep on your side with your head tilted either up or down? You can prop your neck and head in a more neutral position to avoid neck muscle strain.

4. Do you tuck the phone Continue reading Pain In The Left Side Of Your Upper Shoulder And Neck →

Causes of Back Pain, Self Help, Upper Back Pain

Muscles In The Front Of Your Body Cause Muscle Pain In The Back Of Your Body

August 23 Kathryn Merrow 2 Comments

Muscles in the front of your body can cause pain in your neck and back. It’s true!

Sometimes pain in your back is caused simply because tight muscles in the front of your body are pulling and causing strain and stress in your back muscles.

Sometimes the tight muscles in front cause trigger points. Trigger points are crabby areas of muscle that cause pain elsewhere.

By massaging, rubbing or pinching the following muscle groups you can help the muscles relax. You might also be able to knock out any trigger points that are causing your back pain. 🙂

Chest muscles can cause back pain.

This link will take you to an article with more information about stretching your chest muscles.

http://simplepainrelief.com/2012/08/19/a-good-stretch-for-neck-and-upper-back-pain/

Rib muscles can cause back pain.

The good thing about the rib muscles in the front and sides is that you can reach them yourself to rub and massage them. Pinch them if you can and lift them. Roll tender areas of muscle and skin between your fingers.

Abdominal muscles can also cause back pain.

You can also massage, pinch, lift and roll the muscles on the upper abdomen. You want to pick up muscle, not just skin. If you lean forward a bit it will be easier to pinch the muscles. This is much easier to do if you don’t carry too much weight in your abdomen.

When you find tender areas, those are the muscles and tissue to focus on. Spend more time massaging tender areas than places that don’t have discomfort.

You may discover some very, very uncomfortable tissues in the front of your body.

And if you pay attention you may also find that your back feels a bit looser and more happy after you treat and relax the muscles in the front of your body.

You could also notice the next day that you feel a little tender or bruised where you were treating. That’s a perfectly normal reaction that happens when tight tissues are manipulated.

Drinking extra water (and lots of it!) can help prevent a lot of the tenderness following ‘deep tissue massage.’

We want to have long, relaxed front muscles. By helping the muscles in the front of your body relax you will prevent muscle strain in your back.

If you’re suffering with “knots” or muscle spasms in your upper back, you may like to check out this page: Knots In Your Back. It will tell you all about a simple program I created to help people just like you (and me) get rid of our knots forever!

P.S. I don’t have knots any more. 🙂

Natural Back Pain Relief, Upper Back Pain

How To Get Rid Of Muscle Knots In Your Back Naturally

August 18 Kathryn Merrow 4 Comments

Do you know…

Why your back muscles are complaining?
What causes muscle knots in your back?
How to relieve them naturally with steps you can take NOW?
What trigger points are and how they cause knots?

Chris emailed me after he got a free report from me and said:

I have gotten rid of my knots. It’s first time I haven’t had back pain in awhile. I couldn’t have done it without your expertise! Thank you so much. ~ Chris

Imagine! He got enough information in that report to get rid of his knots. But I have to tell you: It’s because he took action.

He got the report, read the report and took action. That’s the best way to get better.

Sometimes you just need a little bit of help to get rid of knotted up muscles in your upper back.

You might not find that free report around here now but there are lots of articles right here that will help get you on the road to understanding WHY you have muscle knots and the steps you can take to get rid of them just like Chris did.

If you don’t feel like sifting through all of the articles, I’ve created an easy to use, simple system to get rid of your upper back muscles “knots” and pain. Just click this link for more info –> Knots In Your Back Gone!

Upper Back Pain

Trapezius Muscle Spasm In Your Upper Back? Or Rhomboid Muscle Spasm?

August 13 Kathryn Merrow 8 Comments

Trapezius Muscle In Upper Back — The Trapezius muscles in the upper back can be painful.

Do you have a muscle spasm in your trapezius muscle? Here’s some background:

Muscle spasm is a contraction. Your muscle has tightened up and doesn’t feel good. Muscle contraction in the upper back is very often caused by over-stretching the muscles. Read more to discover why.

In this picture the trapezius muscle is shown on the right side of the back. There is one that matches on the left side but it is cut away.

You can see the shoulder blades and where the muscles attach. All muscles attach to bones and that is how we are able to move.

The muscle that goes from the shoulder blade to the spine on the left side of the back is the rhomboid. You have a matching one on the other side of the back hidden by the trapezius muscle.

Rhomboids get blamed for upper back muscle spasm all the time. But they are not usually the problem.

Tennis Ball Therapy, heat or cold therapy or massage can often get rid of the muscle spasm (“knots”) in your trapezius.

But not always.

Sometimes you have to Continue reading Trapezius Muscle Spasm In Your Upper Back? Or Rhomboid Muscle Spasm? →

Self Help, Upper Back Muscle Knots, Upper Back Pain

How To Keep Muscle Knots In Your Upper Back From Coming Back

August 10 Kathryn Merrow 4 Comments

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

Shoulder Blade Pain, Shoulder Pain, Upper Back Pain

How To Get Rid Of Pain On The Lower Half Of Your Shoulder Blade

August 6 Kathryn Merrow Leave a comment

This post will help you get rid of the pain on the lower half of your shoulder blade naturally. It explains about muscles and how they cause pain and how you can do your own therapy! (That link will take you to another of my natural pain relief websites.)

Is your pain on the bottom half of the shoulder blade and on the outer side of the shoulder blade near the armpit? Then this article is for you.

If doing a movement with your arm in front of your body makes it the pain in your back worse, this article is for you.

Just click on the link and you will understand why you have pain on the lower outer edge of your shoulder blade and how to get rid of it naturally.

If you also have miserable knots in your upper back that you want gone forever, just click here: Knots In Your Back Gone!

Shoulder Pain, Upper Back Muscle Knots, Upper Back Pain

Burning Pain Between Your Spine And Shoulder Blade

July 15 Kathryn Merrow 20 Comments

Do you have burning pain on one or both sides of your spine? Does it look like one of the red pain patterns on the right side of the picture? It may be the trapezius muscle. As you see, there is one on each half of your body.

The trapezius muscles can cause pain on the tops of the shoulders, near the spine, on the inner side of the shoulder blade toward the spine and even on the back of your skull!

This picture shows trigger points. The trigger points are indicated by the X‘s. Those are the places to apply pressure (approximately) in order to get rid of the red areas. The red areas indicate painful areas.

If your shoulder pain pattern is approximately where any of the the red is in the picture, applying pressure to the appropriate X may help get rid of the pain between your spine and shoulder blade!

Here are directions Continue reading Burning Pain Between Your Spine And Shoulder Blade →

Neck Pain, Self Help, Upper Back Pain

Shoulder Hiker Muscle Causes Pain In Upper Back And Neck

July 7 Kathryn Merrow 17 Comments

What Shoulder Muscle Causes Pain In Upper Back And Neck?

Muscles are the most common cause of pain in the upper back and neck.

The levator scapulae muscle is also called the ‘shoulder hiker.’ It lifts or hikes your shoulder blade. The levator scapulae is responsible for a lot of upper back and neck pain.

Trigger Points Cause Upper Back and Neck Pain

Fotosearch_MM103008 — Shoulder Hiker Muscle

Trigger points are hyper-irritable areas of muscle that cause pain elsewhere, sometimes at a great distance from the trigger point. Trigger points can be in the shoulder hiker muscle and, when they are, they cause pain around the upper back and shoulder blade.

In this picture, you can see the shoulder hiker muscle. You are looking at the back side of a body.

The muscle attaches to the bones of your neck and to your shoulder blade on the innermost top part.

If trigger points develop in this muscle it will cause pain where the muscle is.

2. It will also cause pain along the spine side of your shoulder blade down to the bottom of the shoulder blade.

3. And it can cause pain at the back of your shoulder on the top of your arm.

If it always feels like your shoulders are creeping up to your ears, this guy is the culprit. The levator scapulae has become shortened because you held your shoulders hiked and the muscle got used to being in that position.

It may also have developed trigger points that need to be released. If you do not help the muscle relax and/or release the trigger points you will continue to have pain in your upper back and neck.

What can you do to help this muscle relax?

1. You can use a pressure tool or finger to press into the levator scapulae muscle. Press at the crook of your neck where your neck meets your shoulder.

Look for very tender areas. That is where you want to apply pressure. Also press where the muscle meets the top of the shoulder blade. Those are the two areas where trigger points tend to be.

2. You can go to a professional massage therapist who can warm and relax the muscle (and others around it) with manual pressure and massage. He or she will work the length of the muscle to help it stretch and settle it down.

A trigger point therapist can get rid of the triggers that are causing the pain in your neck and upper back. They can also help you get rid of the CAUSES of your trigger points!

3. You can lift your shoulders to your ears.

Hike them waaay up and hold for twenty seconds or so. This will tire the shoulder hiker muscle so it will start to weaken and relax. You can do this several times. (But use sense. Too many times can make the muscles ache from overuse just as any new exercise program can.)

What Activities Cause Pain In Upper Back And Neck?

The stress of poor, collapsed posture will cause the shoulder hiker muscle to complain. So can Continue reading Shoulder Hiker Muscle Causes Pain In Upper Back And Neck →

Self Help, Upper Back Muscle Knots, Upper Back Pain

Four Ways to Use a Tennis Ball to Get Rid of Knots in Your Back Naturally!

July 3 Kathryn Merrow 2 Comments

Got muscle “knots” in your upper back?

Tennis balls make really nice tools to get rid of muscle spasms in your back. This doesn’t work for all knots, however.

It’s actually better to figure out the cause(s) of your muscle “knots” but here we go!

(1) I recommend laying on a tennis ball so gravity and the weight of your body do all the work. Place the ball under your body as you lie on your back. Let the ball press on a muscle knot for about 5 minutes and then shift a bit to the next most tender knot.

If it’s too much for you to lie on the floor, you could pad the floor to make it easier. Only lie on a bed if absolutely necessary, because the therapy ball will be lost in the softness of a mattress. It will not be as effective.

(2) You can put a tennis ball in a sock or sack and hold it behind you with the open end of the sack in your hand. Then you can lean against a wall and the ball will be between you and the wall.

I believe it’s more effective to use the floor but you might not want to lie down at work.

(3) You can thoughtfully place a tennis ball or similar ball in front of your shoulder and upper arm and hold static pressure or roll the ball to massage the area.

The muscles in the front of the body get short and tight from everyday living and can cause strain and muscle spasm in your back.

(4) Stand and support yourself in a doorway while rolling one foot back and forth over a therapy ball with pressure. This helps relax and normalize foot and leg muscles so you can have better posture.

Better posture means less back pain. 🙂

Here’s the e-mail response I got from Rich about tennis ball therapy and the knots in his back. He has some good ideas!

> Hello Kathryn,
>
> Tried the tennis balls but I just crushed them. Switched to Lacrosse balls
> and they seem to help. However, when you hit the “spot”, it will bring tears
> to your eyes.

(3) I found that if I start at Continue reading Four Ways to Use a Tennis Ball to Get Rid of Knots in Your Back Naturally! →

Self Help, Shoulder Pain, Upper Back Pain

Tight Shoulders? Here are 6 Ways to Help Your Shoulders Relax

June 30 Kathryn Merrow Leave a comment

Tight muscles in your shoulders? Here are six things you can do to help your poor shoulders feel better.

Get out of stressful situations! 🙂 Well, as much as you can.
Lift your shoulders and roll them backward. Up and back. Up and back.
Hike your shoulders up to your ears. Hold them there for 20 seconds. That will cause them to fatigue or be tired. Let them drop.
Throw a baseball or softball. That uses the shoulders in a balanced way and helps the muscles relax.
Toss rocks into a pond. See if you can make the rocks skip. This uses your shoulder muscles and distracts your mind.
Place ice packs on the tops of your shoulders. Leave them there until you start to feel numbness. The cold packs will help your muscles relax by bringing in more blood.

It’s helpful if you can figure out what caused your shoulders to tighten up in the first place. Most often it’s posture.

People often say, “It’s stress.” Stress can be a part of it because we assume certain positions when we feel stressed.

Still, most often it’s posture.

Work at lifting your chest and the crown of your head. If you have a “flat” lower back work on sticking your butt out a little. You are supposed to have a slight curve behind your waist, like a toddler.

And, after all, your shoulders are attached to your back.

Try any of the six ways to help your shoulders relax and let me know which works best for you!

And if you need more help for your tight shoulders, check out Knots In Your Back Gone!

SIMPLE BACK PAIN RELIEF