Upper Back and Neck Pain – Richardson, TX

When you think about it, your neck and upper back have incredibly important jobs to do—stabilizing your head and holding and protecting your spinal cord and nerves. Many of the muscles used to perform these functions are attached to or are located in the upper back and control the range of motion in the neck. If something goes wrong with the neck or upper back, it can impair your ability to function and certainly hamper your quality of life. Dr. Z can offer relief and solutions that can help. If you have upper back or neck pain, contact our team at AlignRight to schedule your appointment.

Causes of Upper Back and Neck Pain

Your pain in the neck or upper back can result from one of many potential causes, including these:

Injury

With relatively few muscles to stabilize your head, the neck and upper back are particularly vulnerable to injuries. Whether in a car accident or from an impact while playing sports, whiplash causes pain and damage in these muscles, ligaments, and other tissues. Although the symptoms can take time to become apparent, it is important to receive proper treatment, because the injury can have permanent consequences without intervention over time.

Poor Posture

Experiencing prolonged periods of poor posture can put undue pressure on portions of your cervical spine, impacting your upper back and neck. If you have a desk job especially, it can be difficult to maintain proper posture throughout the day. In fact, you may not realize that you’ve been sitting in a bent or hunched over position until the pain has already set in.

Subluxation

Subluxation, or joint or organ dislocation, can occur along the upper spinal cord, causing the nerves to signal pain. However, other signs of subluxation are a tiled head, one shoulder held higher than the other, and the head sitting in front of your shoulders.

Stress

When you feel stress, your muscles can contract in an effort to protect the body from injury. This reaction, helpful in physically stressful situations, can cause problems when you experience emotional stress for long periods of time.

Herniated Disc

Discs in the upper back are less likely to become herniated than lower back discs, but cervical spine herniation is possible, particularly if whiplash has occurred. When this happens, the disc irritates the nerves and causes pain in the upper back.

Treating Upper Back and Neck Pain

Depending on your situation, Dr. Z can customize treatment to meet your needs and help you overcome neck and upper back pain. For example, he can use electrical stimulation, exercises to increase range of motion and function, and much more to treat the cause of the problem. Regardless of the reason or the circumstances, you can rely on Dr. Z to diagnose and provide effective treatment to help your neck and back return to healthy function.

Preventing Upper Back and Neck Pain

To keep your upper back and neck from hurting, you can implement certain habits into your lifestyle, such as the following:

• Do not stay seated or lying down in the same position for long periods of time. Get up and move around every hour or so.
• If you experience a car accident or a sports-related injury that involves a sudden movement of your head, come and see Dr. Z for treatment right away, even if you do not currently feel pain.
• When you sit, make sure that your head is aligned with the shoulders, your back is well supported, and your knees are kept lower than your hips.
• Exercising regularly can prevent your muscles from becoming inflexible and clenching from stress.
• You can learning breathing exercises to help you control and reduce stress’ impact on your body.