upperback tightness

[carolp8]

i have been having widespread pain in my upper back and around my ribcage area. It can be very painful. I also can haer my neck creaking when I move it. certain areas when i touch them hurt. So far any pain killers i have taken haven't worked.any suggestions.It hurts so bad i could cry.

[mike1105]

poncho--- try doing doorway stretches of the pectoral muscles.. do them often.....you may have tight chest muscles.. when they get tight, the back muscles tighten also to counterbalance the pecs.

[poncho1]

About 6 weeks ago I developed a pain on my chest(left side). One day it moved to the left side and from there it move to the center of my back where it has been for the last 5 weeks, the pain is not extreme but is there and some times it moves to the left blade on my back.  My cardiologist performed  the test where he inserted a camera in my groin and checked the heart and associated organs and found nothing.  The pain goes away most of the day and specially when I walk, somehow as soon as I return from work and go home the pain returns. My blood pressure is normal and according to the doctors all the test that they have conducted are normal.
I wonder if anyone may have experienced similar experiences? I'm 64 years old

[mike1105]

I am a dentist who went thru the same nastiness as you-----i was in constant agony from hunched over posture. all tests negative, surgeries that didnt so squat. i have little doubt what your problem is. Do a search for Jolie Bookspan on the net and you will find her site no problem. Stretch your pecs, work out the tightness in the scalenes, SCMs, upper traps, Lev scapulae, and your back will ease up. it wont have to fight so hard just to keep you upright.  You have to realize 2 things 1. You have a lot of reading to do to understand the problem and 2) this aint gonna get fixed overnitte. I am pain free now, but it took 3  (45 minuteseach time) sessions  per day for 4-5 months before i even noticed improvement. It required constant attention to posture, and I stretchd my chest everytime i saw a doorway. i liken it to teaching a 6 year olfd dog to respond to  n newe name..muscles have incredible memory. A lttle stretching here and there will only make you feel worse. The name for this suyndmoe is Upper Crossed Syndrome-- Erik Dalton has info on his site also. It is quite common, but traditional MDs mostly never heard of it.

[carolp8]

thanks for your input. I do find myself shrugging my shoulders a lot and holding myself in bad positions. what is the website for jolie bookspan? you didn't mention it and I'd like to read it.

[mike1105]

are you on the computer alot????   if yes, this is telling....  what is happenning is your mid back and side muscles are going into spasm trying to support your spine, keep yopu upright, and compensate for the extreme pulling into a forward rounded (computer pose) posture by the chest (pec) SCMs and scalenes. these muscles need to be stretched and lengthened--and also probably have trigger points that need to be released. get a manual on trigger point relief by Clair Daveis, a book n posture by Paul D'Arezzo, and read Jolie Bookspan's website about 8 times thru and thru.

[mike1105]

this sounds like a postural problem. it most likely eminates from tight neck muscls and forward head posture. it can aqlso eminate from a forwrd tilt of the pelvis. part of the syndrome includes weak mid bak muscles, which need to be stengthened.