Upper Back consist of the shoulder blades also known as scapula. The scapula are bones that connect the upper arm to the collar bone. Upper back also consist of the thoracic spine (portion of the spinal column that correspond to the chest) and other numerous nerves, muscles, tendon and ligament which can be affected by poor posture, bone cancer, trauma, overuse.
Therefore upper back pain is any pain between the shoulder blade, the back side of the chest and the upper abdominal area. Most time upper back pain occurs along with neck pain.
SEE ALSO: Lower Back Pain In Women, Causes, Prevention And Treatment
Upper back pain though it occur to both $ex seems to be common among men especially those that are exposed to hard or tedious work and also among the weight lifters. Due to these daily exposure to “pressure and wear” the upper spine get affected which result to severe pain, in most case it leads to a more serious case like degenerative disc disease.
Symptoms Of Upper Back Pain In Men
Upper back pain like other types of back pain has similar symptoms. The most common symptoms of upper back pain include;
- muscle stiffness and tension
- Pains around the shoulder
- Headaches
There are also other serious symptoms which may lead to a very serious problem. These include;
- Chest pain
- Difficulty in breathing
- Numbness in the arms or legs
- Weakness of the arms or legs
If any of these symptoms occur please consult a doctor immediately.
Causes Of Upper Back Pain In Men
Upper back pain in men has mostly become the complaint of Men since they are more exposed to some of the factors ranging from bad posture to overuse.
SEE ALSO: Upper Back Pain In Women And Causes
The major causes of upper back pain in men include;
Muscular Irritation
Muscular Irritation is the most common cause of Upper back pain. This occur when the shoulder girdle attaches by the large muscles to the scapular and the back of the thoracic rib cage. It is basically cause by a repetitive motion, over use, sport injury or car accident.
The muscles are prone to injury because they mostly moved in human body.
Joint Dysfunction;
This Occur when the ribs connect to the thoracic spine by two joints that connect with either side of the spine, resulting to serious injury that causes upper back pain.
This can be treated with the use of manual stipulation by professionals like Osteopathic physician, chiropractor or a physical therapist.
A Dysfunctional joint can result to Degenerative disc disease ,thoracic disc disease with some symptoms like numbness, severe pain, stretching and pain between the shoulder. Victims also require a home exercise program (for stretching and strengthening the spine and shoulder) and aerobic conditioning to maintain Upper back pain relief.
Life style Factors
Just as it was earlier stated that men are mostly susceptible to upper back pain this is because most of the activities (Life style) they carried out on daily basis are associated to some of the risk factor.
This factors include;
Exercise
Exercising for too long or not exercising at all after seating in front of a computer or indulging in a long drive especially the heavy vehicle drivers can cause upper back pain.
Over Weight
In being over weight you sit at a place for too long finding it difficult to move around.
Stress
Continually doing a particular thing over and over like the use of harmmar by carpenters and also continually lifting of heavy objects can equally lead to upper back pain.
There are also medical conditions that may result to upper back pain, which include;
- Rheumatism
- “Wear and tear” arthritis of the spinal joints in the neck
- Slipped Disc
- Trapped Nerve and
- Thoracic disc diseases.
The thoracic disc can be treated with the use of diagnostic tests like an MRI scan and correlation with a physical symptom.
SEE ALSO: Lower Back Pain in Men, The Causes, Symptoms And Prevention
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