It is common to hear people complaining of neck pain as well as lower back pain. But pain in the middle or upper back? Well yes, there are quite a few individuals who suffer from middle back pain or upper back pain. And in most cases, the area of the spine involved is located between the cervical (neck) and lumbar (lower back) region, known as the thoracic vertebrae, according to WikiPedia. If you look at the diagram of the thoracic spine, you can see that the rib cage is attached to it, and thus it appears much more stable than the neck and lower back. That could probably be the reason why pain in the thoracic spine is not as common.
If your job requires you to sit in front of a computer all day or if you do a lot of driving, then you are prone to experience thoracic spine pain. Some of the causes are …
- Damaged or sprained muscle or ligament
- Wear and tear of the discs along your spine
- Damaged facet joints (i.e., joints that support the spine)
In general, thoracic spine pain can generate referred pain, which may be be felt in your …
- Lower back
- Arms and legs
- Chest or abdominal area
The Tone and Tighten YouTube site has a video that contains 6 exercises to mobilize and stabilize the thoracic spine. The exercises focus on making that area of the spine more flexible and strong, which can result in back pain relief. And without further ado, here’s the video:
