Upper Back Pain Exercises

Are you seeking useful upper back pain exercises for relief of your aches and discomfort? The self-help treatments described here may help.

At some point in their lives, at least 80 percent of all people will suffer from some type of back pain. Many of those people will suffer from some type of upper back pain which can be caused by a variety of problems.

There are many treatments available to help combat upper back pain, but one of the best methods of treatment is exercise. Exercises that target the upper back can not only help to eliminate pain that you are currently experiencing, but also strengthen the back muscles, joints and tendons to help prevent back pain from coming back in the future.

The following are some of the most commonly used upper back pain exercises, and are very effective as treatment. When doing any type of exercise, remember to never strain or exert yourself or you can cause more harm than you are already experiencing.

Arm Slides

The first upper back pain exercise to be discussed is arm slides, which are very easy to perform and can quickly help to eliminate upper back pain.

• To perform an arm slide, stand straight with your back against the wall.
• Place your arms against the wall so that the wrist and elbow are both touching the surface of the wall.
• Slowly slide your arms up, trying to keep the wrists and elbows in contact with the wall surface.
• Raise your arms as high as possible without straining.
• Lower the arms, keeping wrists and elbows in contact with the wall, then repeat two more times.
• Carry out more sets of this exercise.

Scapular Squeezes

The next upper back pain exercise on the list is scapular squeezes.

• While sitting in a chair, scoot to the edge of the chair so that you can move your back freely but still have adequate support of the chair.
• Hold your arms down to your sides, and slowly shift your shoulders back to squeeze the shoulder blades together.
• Hold in this position for about five seconds, then slowly bring your shoulders forward again.
• Repeat 2-3 times to help relieve your upper back pain.

Thoracic Extension

The thoracic extension is another of the useful upper back pain exercises.

• Sitting in a sturdy chair, scoot forward so that you are resting comfortably on the end of the chair.
• Raise both arms, bending at the elbow and clasp them behind your head.
• Slowly begin to arch your lower back, so that your shoulders bend backwards raising your head so that you are looking towards the ceiling.
• Hold for 3-5 seconds, and slowly return to a straight position with your head facing forward.
• Leave your arms clasped behind your head, and repeat the movement 5-10 more times.

Thoracic Stretch

The thoracic stretch is another useful exercise.

• Sit on the floor with your legs together and stretched out in front of you.
• Place your hands onto your thighs, grasping your legs right above the knees.
• In a slow motion, move your neck forward towards your chest and curl your back in like you are trying to lower your head to your knees.
• Lean forward as far as you are comfortable, and hold for 10-15 seconds.
• Repeat two more times.

For this upper back pain exercise, if you are uncomfortable or unable to sit with your legs stretched straight in front of you, you can also sit with your legs crossed. Simply place your hands onto your crossed ankles, and bend forward as outlined above.

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Do you have back pain or back ache? You may wish to explore the use of acupressure to overcome back pain, or the use of pilates to provide relief from back and joint pain.

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