According to an article written by the University of Michigan the most common causes of middle back pain includes,fracture on the vertebrae, overworked strain, muscle or injury, osteoporosis, poor posture, and pressure on the spinal nerves.
Most people have heard of lower back pain but middle back pain is a somewhat lesser occurrence. Today let’s look at what exactly middle back pain is, and some useful exercises that will help you to either prevent or manage your middle back pain!
What is middle back pain?
In simple terms your ribs are attached to a long flat bone, this is what you call a sternum, this also runs right around your back. Most people don’t even know that they have middle back problems, because most of the pain travels to other parts of the body.
If a nerve in your middle back is irritated, hurt or pinched, it can cause pain elsewhere, usually to where the nerves would have travelled if you didn’t have inflammation in your middle back.
The other reason for people being misinformed or not well educated about middle back pain is, to be honest, not known for causing problems for many people.
The bones in the middle are designed not to be flexible, the reason for this, they act as a shield for you vital organs like the lungs and the heart, whereas the bones in your neck and lower back are more flexible, and have a greater chance of becoming irritated or injured. Now let’s look at three of the best exercises to manage or prevent middle back pain.
The first exercise is called the corner pose, for people who are not regular exercise enthusiasts, this one one is fairly easy. This is a good way to open up your chest muscles and find some relief for that pesky pain in your back.
Middle back pain is often caused due to poor posture, which may be exaggerated by tight chest muscles. The corner stretch is an easy and effective way to open up the chest muscles and encourage healthy posture.
Firstly you need to find the corner of the room, then move your feet around two feet apart from the corner. After that you need to place your forearms on opposite sides of the wall, with your elbows somewhat below your shoulders.
It’s important to keep your lower back in a resting position. Hold this position for around one minute and this stretch can be repeated three to five times a day.
The second exercise is a bit more difficult, but it doesn’t put your whole body into a massive strain. This one is called the cat pose. First you need to get down on your hands and knees, it is important for your body to be aligned and relaxed.
Secondly you need to start flexing your lower stomach muscles, after you done that you need to push your lower back towards the ceiling and move your chin towards your chest.
Hold this pose for around five to ten seconds depending on your comfort zone, and slowly relax and return your body to the starting position.
The final exercise is for people who have regular experience with yoga and stretching, but for beginners it’s not too difficult to figure it out. This one is called the opposite arm leg raise. The first step is to get on your knees and hands.
Your posture is important so keep your back as straight as possible, place your hands below your shoulders and place your knees directly under the hips.
The first movement should be to slowly make one arm straight, and then follow this movement with your opposite leg, so basically if you make your left arm straight, you should make your right leg straight.
Keep breathing, and hold this pose for a few seconds and gently return to the position where you started this exercise. It’s important to rotate arms and legs to enable both legs and arms doing the exact same work.
For some added difficulty you can put a box of tissues on your back, and attempt this exercise without the box falling off your back. If you can finish 10 repetitions on each side you have done a good job.
To conclude
Any kind of pain related to your back should and also be a priority to try and fix. Exercise is a good tool in relieving some pain and in most cases prevent the injuries from happening. With regards to safety, don’t be scared to visit a physician if the problem persists.
New Jersey’s top rated back pain expert, dr. Amr Hosny specializes in non-surgical back treatment, so those of you who are scared of surgery, this would be an ideal solution for solving your back pain without going under the knife!
