What Causes Back Pain Between The Shoulder Blades?

Back pain is something that strikes virtually every person around the world, both men and women of all ages. It's said over 80% of us will seek severe back pain relief at one time or another.

Causes...
While not as common as lower back discomfort, many people feel back pain between the shoulder blades (the scapulas). This upper back pain between the shoulder scapula can be caused by a number of factors:

• Being physically fit and trying to look good have never been more prevalent so... many young people spend a lot of time exercising. Often they are over-doing it, doing the exercises incorrectly, not properly warming up and stretching. This causes the muscles that run from their neck down between their shoulder blades to get strained very easily. Exhaustion of the muscles causes back pain between the shoulder blades too, so don't push beyond your effective limits.


• Many of us are spending more and more time in the office, sitting in uncomfortable office chairs (with bad posture), taking phone calls (with the phone propped between the ear and shoulder), lifting, twisting, bending and doing tasks that cause our bodies to tire out. When your body gets tired, usually your back begins to sag and back pain between the shoulder blades sets in.


• As mentioned, those of us with poor posture tend to slouch - which can cause pain throughout the back, not just in the upper back area.


• Men and women who are overweight and women with above average sized breasts tend to have back pain between their shoulder blades thanks to the added strain of the weight placed on their spinal column.


• Add in potential medical disorders and diseases such as a pinched nerve, disc herniation, disc degeneration, and others... and the muscles in the upper back don't stand a chance.

These things are only a few things that can be the causes of back (thoracic) pain, but they can cause discomfort ranging from mildly annoying to seriously painful, chronic and debilitating.

It is important to do what you can to address and alleviate these issues. We have enough to worry about under normal circumstance without adding in pains from back issues.

First... as always, before you seek upper back pain relief and start self treatment, see your doctor to get a diagnosis of what is creating your particular issue.

Causes for an upper back problem and back pain between the shoulder blades are many and varied and you need to find out what condition is causing your aches before you do anything that could make them worse.

Be sure to follow whatever advice your therapist recommends. I'm constantly amazed at how many of us pay for professional advice - and then ignore it.

There are back pain exercises to help loosen the muscles and strengthen your back, but those who do exercise need to ensure that they don't overexert themselves when cycling, running, training on the elliptical machine, or other activities. Make it a point to get a good stretch both before and after exercise.

Those spending a good amount of time in the office need to ensure that they have comfortable chairs to sit on. A poorly designed chair is more of a common cause of chronic back pain between the shoulder blades than most of us realize.

I like seeing a shapely leg as much as the next man, but many women wear heels that are too high, and the overly high heels contribute to their back aches. (As well as damage the feet.) Wearing comfortable shoes in the workplace is vital for back pain relief. Save the heels for a night on the town.

Poor posture can easily lead to a herniated cervical disc. It is easy to slouch, but correcting your posture will go a very long way towards avoiding potentially severe back problems.

If you suspect that you have poor posture, take a look in the mirror to check it out. If your chin is more than 2 inches in front of your chest, then you are probably hanging your too head low and slouching.

Roll your shoulders back and lift your head towards the roof. Straighten your back and lift your chest to correct your posture. You need to make the effort to walk around with good posture, it may be a hassle, but it's easier than surgery, years of physical therapy, medication and trips to your physician.

Those with large breasts should ensure that they wear bras that offer sufficient support. Larger breasted women can visit a bra specialist to obtain information on what kind of bra is the best to provide the necessary support..

Taking these small steps to change can actually help you reduce the amount of back pain between the shoulder blades that you experience, and you may find that these few small changes are the difference between acute discomfort and a pain-free life.

Five Benefits of Doing Pilates Pain Relief Exercises To Relieve Chronic Pain

Lack of exercise and repetitive movements can cause certain muscle groups to tense and become stressed. This can lead to bad form, imbalanced muscles, tight closed-up joints, and short tendons and ligaments to act up. These tight, short tendons and ligaments inhibit movements and do not work functionally. Over time, tight joints become stuck and stiff and lose its ability to move.

Pilates pain relief exercises are specific to even out tight cranky angles in joints. It is about smooth, well-controlled movements that are recommended to address tight muscle knots. When done properly, the risk for injury is minimal and it is also a good method to use in building flexibility, muscular strength, tone, posture, stress and tension relief, and core muscle endurance.

If you are a beginner, it will be a great idea to understand the fundamentals of the Pilates Method. Pilates is a total body conditioning regime that is aimed at stretching and strengthening you at the same time. It also teaches core connection - body mind connection. Its effectiveness as a pain relief exercise works in a way that it aligns certain parts the body back to its neutral position.

Tips on the benefits of pilates pain relief exercises:

1. Increases Flexibility

Pilates is commonly known to increase flexibility of all the tight muscles of the body, namely the hamstring, lower back, neck and shoulders. It has a series of exercises that increase flexibility of other tight areas like the hips, side and front of the body and middle back. The routines are done on the Pilates machines are very specific and highly recommended to achieve good results.

Strengthening and stretching are very important as they help in maintaining physical balance. All of these pilates pain relief exercises promote both strength and flexibility. Once the body's muscle coordination and flexibility are improved, the person would start seeing results in relieving pain especially in the back, neck, shoulders and knees.

2. Improves Muscular Strength

Muscles get stronger when they are used more often; likewise the bone gets denser and stronger when it is challenged. Bone density naturally declines when the one reaches the age of 30 or earlier. It's a major health issue especially for women who suffered from osteoporosis. Lack of exercises can indeed result in weaker bones because less demand means porous bones.

In order to lessen the risk of spinal issues, pain, fractures, and conditions associated with osteoporosis, it is highly recommended to perform some pilates exercises to strengthen the bones and muscles.

Pilates exercises have proven to maintain the density and the mass of the bones specifically those that involve resistance and weight bearing. In these techniques, the muscles and bones are pitted against gravity. Pilates involves bone strengthening exercises that support the spine and teach safe movements and posture that can be used everyday.

3. Develops Proper Posture

Good posture means the body is balanced and in sync. It assists the body to have good flexibility and wider range of motion. Pain in the neck, shoulder, and back is contained when the core, back and abdominal muscles are developed evenly and well balanced.

As daily tasks and activities related to sports and fitness can cause the imbalanced development of certain muscles, those that are used less often become weaker. And those that are used often become stronger. Pilates exercises improve posture and promote uniform bilateral muscles, thus creating a well centered and balance body.

4. Relieves Stress and Tension

Stress is major factor for muscle tension where the muscles can act up and become sore. Pilates, with its mind and body exercise technique, can relax a person's mind as well as loosen those muscles that are over tight. This eliminates tension, which is particularly beneficial for people experiencing from simple ache to chronic pain in the neck and shoulder areas. This can even prevent more serious conditions linked with high levels of stress including stomach ulcers, hypertension, migraines and heart attack.

5. Strengthens Core Muscles

The core muscles in the central portion of a human body include the pelvic floor, abdominal group, and diaphragm areas. These components essentially provide support to the spinal column and hold the key to overall posture. Aside from just properly maintaining the body's posture, it also provides stability to most bodily movements. Once the core muscles are weakened, not in sync, it can manifest to pain in the lower back and ultimately affect the body's ability to function normally.

Pilates aims to strengthen the core and alignment of the spine through stretching and strengthening movements. Its resistance training allows the core musculature to be stressed at a certain intensity level just enough to provide the desired result.

Dealing With Lumbago and Lower Back Pain

Most people at some time in their life will experience lower back pain, which also known as Lumbago. Knowing what Lumbago is and some ways to help relieve the symptoms may save you from some painful days.

There are many different degrees of lower back pain that people with Lumbago suffer from. Some people may have severe pain which may need medical attention or some may have a constant ache. The pain may be intensified from such things as being overweight, damp or cold weather, having very bad posture, or the straining of the lower back muscles. Lumbago can also get worse the older and more unconditioned a person gets.

What is Lumbago

Lumbago is most often caused by the straining of the lower back muscles. This can occur from a sudden bending or twisting motion or from improper technique when lifting something that may be heavy. Sometimes the muscle strain to the may not be felt immediately and may come on gradually as the area tightens up. Since Lumbago is muscular in origin, there are ways that these symptoms can be reduced or alleviated. Such things as improving posture, reducing body weight, cardiovascular exercises, weight training, and stretching, are all techniques that can be done to prevent Lumbago.

What You Can Do

Low impact aerobics like swimming, bike riding, and walking will help build up your conditioning and help you lose those unwanted pounds. Begin with a regimen of 2-3 days a week of 15 minutes of light aerobic work. Gradually build yourself up to 30 - 40 minutes for 4-5 times a week and watch the results really start to kick in!

Strengthening the core muscles is crucial to preventing Lumbago. Having strong abdominal muscles will give support to your lower back. It is also important to strengthen the muscle of the lower back as having muscle balance of strong lower back muscles and strong abdominal muscles will give you the core balance needed to help prevent getting Lumbago. Your core is a natural girdle that straightens you up, pulls you in, and protects your lower back. Often people will want to work there abs everyday but one must remember that it should be treated like any other muscle group and not worked everyday. Working abs everyday will often lead to straining the lower back muscles especially if the exercises are not done properly.

Stretching exercises will give you a greater range of motion and increase your flexibility. When stretching, 10-15 minutes of moderate stretching is usually enough. It is important to stretch your hamstrings which are the muscles in the back of the upper legs. Having hamstrings that are loose and not tight will give your lower back a better range of motion. Having flexible hamstrings does not put the strain on your back muscles as tight hamstrings will. Stretching is another great way to help prevent Lumbago.

Having Lumbago can be devastating to a person's everyday life. Knowing there are some steps you can take to improve your posture, muscle strength and general fitness can lessen the symptoms and possibly prevent Lumbago.

Stop Your Lower Back From Hurting - 3 Simple Exercises to Instantly Stop Feeling Pain Back There!

Don't let your back pain spoil your day! There are plenty of ways for you to get instant relief from the pain, even without taking any painkillers. All you have to do is make a little bit of space and start doing some simple exercises to loosen up your muscles. And that should be enough to stop your lower back from hurting and get you started to enjoy the rest of your day!

These exercises below work well to get the blood moving in your body, release the endorphins, and throw the pain in your back away, at least for the time being:

1. Knee Bends

Use a chair, desk, or table for support. Place your hands on the support, then slowly bend your knees to lower yourself as much as you can comfortably go. Remember to exhale while doing so. Then slowly bring yourself to stand back upright while inhaling. Do this motion for 10 times.

2. Waist Twist

Stand with your legs slightly apart. Let your arms fall loose to your sides. Then, gently swing your arms left and right, letting your hands pat the lower part of your back each time they reach around. This will gently massage your kidneys. Do this motion for about 10 times also.

3. Hip Roll

Remain standing with your legs shoulder-width apart. Tighten up your stomach muscles and place your hands on your hips. Imagine you are playing the hula and just start rotating your hips 5 times clockwise and 5 times anti-clockwise.

How do you feel now? You should no longer feel the pain in your lower back after doing these exercises properly, and be able to get on with your daily activities as usual now!

But don't get me wrong here...

These exercises are not meant to PERMANENTLY stop your lower back from hurting. Once you have regained mobility and flexibility after doing the exercises, you should definitely look into finding what is the root cause of your back pain, and how to get rid of it altogether in order to enjoy life to the fullest, for good!

Back Pain: Is Your Gym Training Aggravating or Even Causing Your Back Pain?

Every day, thousands of people worldwide experience this sudden onset of excruciating back pain, and they all have the same questions:

• What did I do to suddenly be in so much pain?


• How can I prevent it from happening again?

To answer the first question: You strained your back because of either overuse or the wrong use of certain muscles in your body. Now, the muscles reacted in the only way they know to protect your body from further injury: by contracting the muscles. So, in a sense, by causing you to feel the pain, your body saved you from worse.

From my own experience as a back pain sufferer and also working as a personal trainer in several gyms, the reason you are in pain is not the movement you just made or the weight you just lifted. The pain is the result of muscle imbalances somewhere in your body that have developed over the course of your life. These imbalances develop when a muscle in the body is getting too strong, while its opposing muscle has been underused and is therefore weak. An example is the imbalance between very tight thigh muscles, which can be found in many people, while their hamstrings are extremely weak. This imbalance causes the hip, and thus the lower back, to get out of their normal alignment. This, by the way, is one of the most common underlying causes for back pain.

Another common muscle imbalance in the body is a strength difference between the right and the left side of the body. To explain how such a strength difference would affect your gym training, let's have a look at the Seated Bench Press. As this is a great chest exercise, most people do it as part of their workout routine. If you were new to the exercise, you would start with a low weight, and probably be pleased with yourself that you can easily push the bar all the way up. But then, suddenly, after the sixth or seventh repetition, you feel the muscles in your lower back contract, it is as if you suddenly have a knot on the right side of your spine. You can hardly manage to bring the bar back down, and when you try to get up from the bench, you realize that you can no longer stand upright due to the terrible pain in your back.

What has happened here? Due to what you have done all your life up to this point, like working your job, playing computer games, playing tennis, etc., your right arm may be much stronger than your left, which is actually another very common muscle imbalance in people. Totally unaware of this discrepancy, you start to push up the bar with a weight of let's say 20 pounds. However, because your right arm is so much stronger, you might actually be pushing 14 pounds with the right arm, and only 6 pounds with your left arm.

But there is more. Not only do you push more weight with the right arm - which strengthens the already stronger side even more - but in order to accomplish that, you actually have to twist your spine when you initiate the pushing up movement. And it is this twisting of the spine that is causing the sudden muscle contraction in your back. This can happen in the very first training, but it can also happen four or six months into the training, when you are starting to lift much heavier weights. Because of the way you have trained so far, you have conditioned your stronger side to become even stronger, so at some point, your right side may be pushing 60 pounds when you initiate the movement, while your left side is only pushing 20! I am not exaggerating, I have seen this happening!

So, instead of actually doing your body some good, you have actually caused some more damage. Not only have you increased the gap in muscle strength between the left and the right side of the body, but what is worse, on top of that you have created a serious problem in your lower back.

However, it does not necessarily take some new exercise to cause your back muscles to contract. If you have a muscle imbalance somewhere in your body, any movement like bending down to pick up a pencil or twisting your body in the car to look over your shoulder can cause it.

As a personal trainer and body awareness teacher, my advice is that you should go and find someone who can check your body for existing muscle imbalances before you take up any weight lifting training, or for that matter, any kind of fitness training. But even if you have already started your training, you should have your body checked in order to prevent injuries caused by muscle imbalances. Once you know what imbalances you have, it is a matter of doing the right exercises for a few weeks to correct them.

The only way to find these muscle imbalances is through a thorough body assessment. Unfortunately, only very few gym trainers, or doctors and physical therapists for that matter, know what a muscle imbalance is, and are therefore unable to tell if you have any. They would not even spot them if they were watching you train. And this is one of the main reasons why people hurt their backs in the gym.

Early Pregnancy Lower Back Pain

Lower back pain usually occurs in the first trimester of pregnancy and is pretty common. A lot of times the pain can be one of the first signs of pregnancy. Two most common causes of the pain is your expanding uterus and the hormonal changes. The expanding uterus can cause a change in posture putting a strain on the lower back. Hormones produced during pregnancy affect the back and can cause pain. Another reason might be your spine might be out of alignment.

Ways To Alleviate Lower Back Pain

• A good way to alleviate the pain during your pregnancy is to pelvic tilts, they will strengthen the back and reduce the pain. Try to avoid lying flat on your back because the weight of your uterus may press on the vena cava.


• Start an exercise program to stretch and strengthen back muscles,legs, and abdomen. Swimming for example is a great way to strengthen the abdomen and lower back.The buoyancy takes the strain off your joints and back


• Avoid high heels and wear comfortable shoes such as flat heels. As your belly grows and your balance shifts, high heels will throw your posture even more out of whack and increasing your chances for pain.


• Posture is very important. Always stand upright. Pregnant women tend to slump their shoulders and arch their backs as their bellies get bigger, this can put an additional strain on the back.


• Avoid gaining too much weight.


• Another more uncommon way is to get chiropractic adjustments. This a great way to relieve the pain. Just make sure you find a chiropractor that specializes in pregnant woman

What Kind of Mattress For Lower Back Pain Can Provide Good Night of Sleep?

Lower pack pain is characterized by a nagging soreness at the lower back area starting from the waist up to the hips and buttocks. If you are suffering from this condition, you will know how debilitating lower back pain is and how much it can impair your functions every day.

Here is the thing, you can greatly alleviate this condition if you pick the right mattress. There are so many orthopedic-type mattresses available that specifically cater to this particular problem. Your job is to sift through these choices to find the one that will really work for you well.

Let me give you an advice-go for those mattresses that have a slightly cushiony and bouncy mattress feel but still firm enough to give sturdy support to your upper body. Experts say that the upper body needs a firmer support but the lower part of the body needs something to cushion it.

Your best bet is to go for latex mattresses. This type of mattress is well-known for its slightly bouncy and slightly firm mattress feel. Latex itself is bouncy so you should expect the mattress to have the same feel to it.

You have two options-choose Talalay latex or Dunlop latex. Talalay is bouncier than Dunlop which is why this is more popular and lot more common today. But the fusion of Dunlop and Talalay in one mattress provides a supportive and comforting mattress that can withstand wears and tears for a long time.

If some companies tell you that Dunlop is better or that Talalay is better, do not believe it right away as both these latex manufacturing style is inherently good. The pincore holes integrated in it are the ones that can give you right combination of support and comfort that your body needs.

On the other hand, memory foam mattress is also known as a mattress that can alleviate pressure points, body aches and pains. However, some people feel lower back pains more likely because of the unbalanced comfort and support as the mattress tend to be a bit firmer than what you may have been accustomed to so it takes a bit of time getting used to it.

Your best bet is to go for semi-firm mattresses. Latex can be a bit expensive so you have to run through as many choices as you can to find out which brand is really worth buying.