Sever upper back pain is very limiting. Most patients who report this type of problem usually are unable to work and frequently have difficulty driving to our office. The term “paralyzing” has even been used to describe this type of pain. The good new? It is commonly not a serious injury or condition and many patients report significant reduction is pain with one visit to our office. Occasionally upper back pain can be related to more serious conditions, but it usually is a simple rib joint dysfunction. For our purposes we are going to address the most common source of upper back pain.
This type of severe upper back pain begins almost spontaneously with stabbing pain located just to the side of the spine and in between the shoulder blades. This occurs when a rib joint is dysfunctional- meaning that where it attaches to other bones (vertebra in the back, sternum in the front) the joint can not move or function the way it is supposed to. Common reasons for this dysfunction are muscle imbalance, poor posture, certain unguarded movements, or even just strain from repetitive improper motion.
What can we do about it?
By adjusting the rib, vertebrae, and other joints the dysfunction will be reduce and proper motion restored. Some muscle therapy may be required to improve healing time. And most importantly a full examination of the structures involved should be completed in order to isolate the exact cause in each individual patient. Once we have identified the source of the problem we can help the patient make the corrections (minor or major) in order to prevent the problem from recurring.
How many visits will it take to eliminate the pain from one particular episode?
Usually the first adjustment provides significant pain relief. We often recommend 2-3 treatments to optimize healing time and give us opportunity to educate the patient on how to avoid the problem again. This amount of treatment will also help us to identify other potential causes that could result in other problems in left untreated.
If you currently have sever upper back pain please contact our office to schedule an appointment. We create our schedule to allow for same day appointments and often we are able to get you in for treatment within a few hours. Call 801-810-4144 to schedule.
