35 Effective Ways How to Relieve Chronic Upper Back Pain

Many people around the world experience extreme pain on their upper back. It’s an issue that must be treated seriously. Other than making you feel miserable, the chronic pain can hinder you from important activities.

Furthermore, read these 35 Ways How to Relieve Chronic Upper Back Pain. Get to know the causes and effects from the pain that you experience.

Causes of Chronic Pain

Stress
Spine bending incorrectly
Tight muscles
Poor posture

Effects from Pain

Discomfort
Insomnia
Unhappiness
Limited activities

Ways to Relieve the Pain

Follow these suggestions to free yourself from the pain:

1. Place Pillow Between Knees

A chronic upper back pain will cause a huge discomfort when you want to sleep. It may also be painful for you whenever you want to lie down somewhere. A good way to relieve it is to place a pillow between your knees. By doing that, you help your spine get into a proper position and reduce the strain that it experiences. You may also want to read about Effective Ways How to Treat Sore Knee from Running.

2. Don’t Stay Lying All Day

It’s important to remind yourself that it’s not a good idea to keep yourself lying in your bed all day. Studies have shown that people with chronic upper pain need to stay a bit active despite the pain. The maximum bed rest that a person can do is around 3 days. The more you stay in bed, the worse the pain gets. Read more about Effective Ways How to Get Sleep Schedule Back on Track

3. Ensure Good Posture

Maintain a good posture while you are standing up or sitting down. Never make your back slouch. When you slouch, you are causing your spine to bend into a position that will cause you pain. So make sure that you relax your body and keep your back as straight as possible.

4. Walking

Walking is a great exercise to elevate some pain from your upper back. When you walk, you avoid lying around or sitting down for too long. You will force yourself to walk in an upright manner. Avoid looking down while you are walking and keep your head up instead. You may want to read about How to Treat a Torn Ligament in Your Wrist

5. Medications

There are medications that you can take to ease your pain. These medicines are the kinds that you can buy from the drug stores. They are often anti-inflammatory as to reduce the pain that you are experiencing. Consult with your pharmacists before you take them.

6. Maintain Healthy Weight

Maintaining a healthy weight is another crucial factor in making your back feel better. When you have too much excess weight, then that weight might be dragging your spine down. You can do light exercises and eating a proper diet to gain a healthy weight.

7. Get Good Sleep

Lack of sleep can make your pain become worse. Make sure that you get a good night rest to reduce your pain. You can use some essential oils or aromatherapy to make you sleep easier. You can also read how to get good sleep when stressed. Having enough sleep hours will make you feel better.

8. Use Heating Pad

Another good way to ease your pain is by giving some warmth to your back. Use a heating pad whenever you want to. Place the heating pad on your back. It will make the muscles in your back more relaxed. It also increases blood flow to it so the pain won’t become unbearable anymore.

9. Laughing Yoga

Based on research, the endorphin is a hormone that can naturally decreases the intensity of pain in your body. To stimulate that hormone, you may want to join a laughing yoga if it is available in your area. As the yoga makes you laugh, you are also slowly getting rid of your pain through the endorphins.

10. Ice Pack

You can use something cool to ease your pain such as an ice pack. It can reduce the inflamed areas around your back.

Wrap an ice pack in a cloth.
Place on your back.
Leave for 20 minutes.

11. Physical Yoga

Besides doing a yoga that focuses on releasing endorphin, you may also want to do the other types. There some yoga that focuses on muscle flexibility and light exercises. Yoga is very calming so it can turn your attention away from the pain that you are experiencing. In the end, you will feel less discomfort and become more relaxed.

12. Hot Bath

A hot bath is a great choice to remove some of your pain. It relaxes the muscles on your upper back. Not only that, it also keeps you calm and reduce your stress. Thus, you might find it easier to manage your pain after the bath. You can also get a good night sleep when you’re relaxed.

13. Massages

Get some good quality massages for your back. It stimulates some blood flow into the tissues. Massages calm you down and will also release that important endorphin which can eliminate some of your pain. Find the right kind of massage that you would like to try.

14. Therapy Appointments

Apparently, your unhappiness could be a huge contributor to your pain. Depression and anxiety are known to increase the intensity of physical pain. A way to deal with that is to set up a therapy appointments. Sort out any issues or problems that you have. Let everything out and you will end up feeling better.

15. Firm Mattress

Make sure that the mattress you are sleeping on is firm. It doesn’t have to be rock solid at all, but it must not be too soft either. A soft mattress might cause your spine to bend and make it painful for you to sleep. But a firm mattress will keep the spine straight. You may also want to read ways how to get rid of chronic snoring.

Others (16-35)

Here are more ways to relieve your pain.

Physical Therapist: Assists in exercising.
Flexibility Exercises: Reduce tension.
Deep Breathing: Relaxes the body.
Use Brace: 15 minutes maximum.
Acupuncture: Stimulates the nerves.
TENS: Blocks pain signals.
Biofeedback: Trains brain how to respond to pain.
Aquatic Therapy: Relieves muscle strains.
Whirlpool: Relaxes muscles.
Calcium Supplement: Reduce muscle spasms.
Topical Gel: Relieves pain.
Painkillers: Take away the pain.
Good Mattress: Helps in sleeping.
Magnesium Supplement: Improves muscle health.
Being Happy: Releases endorphins.

Things to Consider

Before taking any painkillers, consult with your doctors first because a long term use can affect your crucial body organs. Also if the upper back pain persists then ask your doctors for a more serious treatment which may include surgery.

Prevention

Do these things to prevent yourself from causing more pain to yourself:

Don’t consume alcohol as it is a stressor which makes pain even worse. Also read how to get sleep during alcohol withdrawal.
Don’t smoke as the nicotine strains the muscle and disrupt necessary blood flow to your back.
Avoid thinking too much and keep yourself busy with activities that make you happy.

Beside what I explained above, here I give you visual information about exercises you can do as ways how to relieve Chronic upper back pain. Check this out,

Never give up trying to find that one right treatment. Everybody is different, take your time and find what works for you because your body is important.