Can Chiropractic Care Help with my Upper Back Pain?
There are a great many joints and interlacing muscles which make up the upper back, a.k.a. the thoracic spine, and the rib cage, and if any of the joints or muscles in these two areas become inflamed or injured, it can cause a ripple effect that passes pain along all throughout the area. This can become extremely problematic for the patient, since it can also lose to lead to dysfunction that can be difficult to diagnose and treat.
The most common causes of dysfunction in the upper back are described in the discussion below, along with some of the traditional approaches to treatment for those types of pain and dysfunction. As you will see from the treatment approaches described, chiropractic care can be instrumental in relieving upper back pain and restoring full functionality for a patient bothered by any kind of thoracic dysfunction or pain. Chiropractor upper back treatment is one of the best ways to address this particular type of pain and discomfort.
The thoracic spine
The upper back comprises the largest portion of the overall spine, and actually takes in 12 of the 24 spinal bones, whereas the neck includes seven vertebrae and the lower back only five vertebrae. Since the upper back vertebrae, along with the ribs, provide the bulk of protection for the thorax, they have been collectively named the thoracic spine. Upper back pain doesn’t receive as much attention as lower back pain does, but it can affect people of any age, and it can still be effectively treated by a skilled chiropractor.
Treating myofascial pain
The fascia is a layer of connective tissue which contributes support to the spinal structure and the musculoskeletal system. It surrounds all the muscles and allows for smooth interaction of muscles and joints, while also helping to stabilize the spine. Chiropractors treat myofascial pain by using myofascial therapy, which involves the use of direct pressure on specific trigger points in the myofascial system. In some cases, it will also involve the use of anchor and stretch release techniques which relieve pressure and discomfort on the myofascial system.
Thoracic disc herniation
Although thoracic disc herniations are fairly rare, when they do happen they can cause a great deal of pain and associated dysfunction. Surgery is not usually a good option because it would call for the removal of a rib to access whichever disc has been injured. That makes chiropractic care a much better option, because it is totally non-invasive. The overall approach that a skilled chiropractor would use for a thoracic disc herniation is to make use of techniques that reduce pain and dysfunction, thereby allowing the body time to heal itself.
Chiropractor upper back treatments
Chiropractor upper back treatments can also be used to relieve thoracic joint dysfunction, shoulder dysfunction, and thoracic outlet syndrome, whenever any of these are directly related to the upper spine. Of these three, joint dysfunction is the most common, especially since there are some 220 distinct joints in the upper back, which takes in the lion’s share of the 313 total joints in the spine. Chiropractic adjustments are used to treat thoracic joint dysfunction in these cases, and these adjustments provide some of the most effective treatment possible.
