Middle Back Pain


Sports people suffer often from middle back pain, particularly golfers, swimmers and rugby players. Middle back pain causes extreme pain in the middle part of the back, behind the thorax and is sometimes referred to as sports stress or sports strain.

Consider a golfer taking a hard swing with his club and the way his body arches into the movement. It is obvious this is a lot of potential strain in the making. Or consider the movement of a swimmer using the butterfly stroke. Ball players are continually running, twisting and turning to evade being tackled.

A large percentage of middle back pain caused by sports injuries is also due to athletes not warming up. Any vigorous exercise should always be preceded with warming up exercises and followed by cooling down exercises.

Middle back pain is sometimes also referred to as thoracic back pain. The thorax is essentially the chest cavity and middle back pain may be caused by problems in the internal organs of the thoracic cavity as well. The thoracic vertebrae form the outward curve of the back below the shoulder blades.

Bad posture - not keeping the thoracic vertebrae of the spine as upright as possible when lifting, walking or moving - will eventually, with time, cause back pain - upper, lower or middle back pain.

Of course another major cause of middle back pain is a result of the natural effect of aging on the body - osteoporosis, for instance, and the decrease in the strength and flexibility of muscles and ligaments. As the muscles decrease in strength, even simple actions like lifting or turning sharply may cause damage to the spine and resultant middle back pain.

Skeletal muscles (the muscles that move the spine, legs and arms), remember, work in pairs and when one muscle contracts, it cannot relax without assistance from another muscle. This is why gentle exercise to ensure good muscular coordination and flexibility is so important.

Another cause of middle back pain is a protruding disk.

Patients who suffer with middle back pain often also suffer with sleep disorders. Pain causes the sleep to be disrupted and as sleep is often a great healer, the sufferer of chronic middle back pain is often missing out on one of the simplest, yet most effective, cures for his or her condition.

As middle back pain should not, in the majority of cases, last longer than a few weeks, it is wise to investigate any prolonged middle back pain with a professional - a general practitioner, osteopath, orthopedic surgeon, chiropractor, spinologist or rheumatologist will be able to advise you whether your middle back pain needs specialized treatment or even surgery.

Before considering surgery for middle back pain, it is advisable to first try natural treatment, including heat treatment, massage, gentle exercise or yoga for back pain.

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