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middle back pain

Back Pain

Why Does My Mid Back Hurt When I Look Down?

Do you have middle back pain when you look down toward your toes?  Do you feel tension and strain between your shoulder blades?

Pain in the mid back between the shoulder blades is quite common. But massaging your aching muscles won’t get rid of your middle back pain.

It’s logical to want to rub the part of your body that hurts because it seems like that’s where the problem is. But to really get an understanding of what’s going on in your mid back, we need to take a more holistic view.

Related:

Why Does My Mid Back Hurt? Common Causes

First of all, we need to understand the two kinds of tight muscles: those that are locked short and those that are locked long.

Muscles that are locked short are just that – muscles that have contracted and won’t let go.  Locked long muscles, on the other hand, are being stretched, usually by the muscles that are locked short. They’re hanging on for dear life to keep you in some semblance of balance.

This is usually what’s going on in cases of middle back pain. The muscles on the front of your shoulders and chest are super tight, pulling your shoulders and back forward and stretching the muscles along your spine.

Those muscles in your mid back and along your neck are already being pulled to the greatest length they can manage. Rubbing them won’t help because they’re being stretched and literally can’t let go.

4 Keys to Fixing Middle Back Pain for Good

Your mid back pain is a result of tight shoulder and chest muscles — NOT tight back muscles. Usually people who suffer from middle back pain actually have weak back muscles, so back strengthening exercises can help.

In many cases, weak core muscles and tight hip flexors are also pulling your rib cage down, causing your shoulders to round into the classic computer hunch.

To get relief for your middle back pain, work on opening up the front of your body. Stretch your hip flexors and your chest muscles. Work on strengthening your core.

Pain Free At Any Age

 

Pain Relief

Why Back Massages Will Never Eliminate Mid Back Pain

Back pain – whether it be mid back pain, lower back pain or shoulder and neck pain – makes life miserable. Even simple activities like sitting at a computer, watching a movie or just hanging out with friends lose their allure when you’re nursing sore, aching muscles. Middle back pain is quickly becoming a common complaint, almost as common as lower back pain.

Unfortunately, as many tension-relieving massages as you get on your mid back and shoulders, they won’t give you lasting relief, and I’ll tell you why. But first, let’s look at some of the causes of mid back pain.

What Causes Mid Back Pain?

Of course, there are several potential causes of mid back pain. Those who have been in any sort of major accident, such as a car accident or skiing incident (think tree meets human, up close and personal), are likely to have structural imbalances that result in mid back pain. But, those aren’t the only potential instigators.

Computers are a prime culprit in causing mid back pain because of the slouched, head-forward posture that most computer users adopt. Your head weighs around 8 pounds. When you shift it forward of the center line, all of the muscles along your upper and mid back contract to support the weight of your head. Try it now…look down at your knees and feet. Feel the strain in your back increase? That’s what happens eight (or ten, or twelve) hours a day when you sit in front of a computer.

Another surprising instigator of mid back pain is the ubiquitous smart phone. Now days, not only are we bent fervently over our computers, we’re also staring down at our iPhones, iPads, Blackberries and who knows what other life-controlling devices. Again, this shifts the head forward of the mid-line of your body, causing mid back tension and pain.

Some sports can also create additional tension and pain in the mid back, such as rowing, which requires heavy use of the large muscles of the upper back and shoulders. Also, those who have limited spinal mobility (i.e. the joints in between their vertebra don’t move very well) in their mid back will often experience mid back stiffness and pain, especially later in life as tissue loses its youthful elasticity. This kind of stiffness can be due to mild scoliosis or simply because you haven’t ever spent time working on mid back mobility.

Middle Back Pain Solutions

As good as they feel, massages on the mid back, shoulders and neck will never completely cure mid back pain. They may temporarily alleviate the discomfort, but as soon as you sit down in front of that computer or earnestly engage with your juicy text message conversation, your head moves forward and the strain comes back.

To understand the root cause of mid back pain, it’s important to know that there are two kinds of muscle tension: those muscles that are locked long and those muscles that are locked short. When it comes to mid back pain, the muscles that are locked long are the ones on the back of your body, where you feel the pain. Stretching these muscles won’t give you any relief because they’re already stretched – that’s why they hurt. To relieve the mid back pain, you have to address the muscles that are locked short – those on the front of your shoulders, like your pectorals and biceps. These muscles pull the shoulders forward, rounding the back and putting strain on your mid back muscles. Once the tension in the front of your body is released, the mid back pain will dissipate.