Upper Back Pain?

[sailormandave]

I have been suffering from upper back pain for years now. I generally get it when stressed or tired from working on the computer. Does anyone know what I can do to relieve this pain? Comments / suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

 

[Melodie]

Hi Stuart,

Yes there things you can do yo deal with the pain and that is to deal with the causes.

But before that, you should go and see your GP and get your back checked out because there are other things that can cause upper back pain not related to lifestyle.

However, from what you've said, it sounds like that the primary cause is bad posture while you're using you computer. If you work in an office then it's your employers legal responsibility to ensure your working environment enables you to adopt a good posture. But if you work from home, then it's up to you. This leaflet discusses the health problems with working with computers:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg36.pdf

This section of the HSE website is specifically about workplace back pain:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/msd/backpain/index.htm

You also need to look at your stress levels, too many workers seem to accept workplace stress as part of modern living, but the problem is that living with stress stores up problems for the future. Not only does it cause anxiety leading to panic attacks, but it also damages the immune system and therefore increasing your risk to cancers and heat disease. You can find more information about stress here:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/

You really need to deal with these issues now before they take over your life. The good news is that they are well documented and there is a lot of pressure on employers to improve working conditions in these areas.

Remember prevention is always better than cure.

Myarka.

 

[Just beat it]

A lot of upper back pain can be related to poor posture.

Upper back pain can also be referred pain from internal organs too like the stomach or gall bladder for example. Organ related pain is there a lot of the time -even when not moving about (e.g. such as when laying in bed). Mechanical based pain (like poor posture or vertebral mis-alignment) may be more painful WITH movement.

This is just general advice to help you figure out what kind of problem you have.

Hope it's helpful!

Best wishes

 

[EmilyC09]

Not a gp so cant diagnose but had same/similar problem myself. Physio told me it was due to weak stomach muscles which leads to slouching and poor posture when tired ie; at the end of the day. Try strengthening your stomach muscles with yoga or pilates and keep an eye on your posture leading up to the end of the day. Can take a couple of months so dont expect quick results.

Hope that helps?

Michelle.

 

[Brice]

Hi,
I posted a thread a couple of days ago under the above title in the neck pain forum. If you are experiencing the same as me then some of the responses might be useful to you. Just a thought and good luck.

fatchops x