Pain in the upper and/or mid back is less common than lower back and neck regions. The upper and mid-back is the intermediate region below the cervical spine (neck) and above the low back (lumbar spine), it is called the thoracic or dorsal spine. It is the most stable, least mobile and least problematic area of the spine and it has a limited range of motion. However, it is an area that assembles 2 opposite curvatures of the spine and therefore prone to musclular/ligamentours strain, stiffness and chronic pain.

It is most commonly due to soft tissue injuries, such as sprains or strains. An episode may be triggered by different movements and activities. Contributing factors comprise muscle tension caused by poor posture, or looking downward for prolonged time periods (e.g. texting, cell phone use), working at the computer for a long time without taking a break to walk around and stretch, twisting, excessive bending, lifting improperly, poor muscle tone, weak ligaments, overuse, repetitive movements, contact sports, carrying too heavy a load, wearing an overloaded backpack, smoking, excessive caffeine/alcohol intake, and overweight.

• Pain
• Tightness
• Stiffness
• Muscle spasm
• Tenderness to touch
• Since the vertebral bodies of the thoracic spine attach to the ribs, some patients experience pain when taking a deep breath, coughing or sneezing.

In general, the following treatments may help relieve this condition in early stages:

• Short-term rest
• Gentle stretches
• Topical heat application
• Over the shelf anti-inflammatory drugs and pain killers
• Physical therapy

At ECC we treat your chronic pain if it is persistent, not getting relieved and interfering with your daily life-style. Initially we may prescribe medications, for more advanced cases we may perform local injections to help break up the chronic pain cycle and ease its accompanying muscle spasms and stiffness in order to promote healthy healing and recovery. An array of minimally-invasive interventional and innovative endoscopic techniques is used for resistant and difficult conditions.