Causes of Middle Back Pain

A person’s poor posture, such as slouching or hunching over to look at a computer or phone screen for long periods, is often the cause of pain in the mid-back.

Also, if a person has repetitive activities that involve twisting or overextending the spine, muscle spasms in the mid-back area can lead to discomfort and pain.

Gallbladder issues can cause pain between the should blades or right shoulder.

Other possible causes of pain in the middle back include disc herniations, osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis, rheumatoid arthritis, scoliosis, or degenerative disc disease. A professional specializing in back pain can determine the exact cause of your middle back pain before proceeding with any treatment plan.

Treatments for Middle Back Pain

Once a specialist identifies the underlying cause of your middle back pain, several treatment plans are available.

The most common treatments include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), cold/heat therapy, massage therapy, acupuncture, exercise programs, and lifestyle changes. Surgery may be necessary if other treatments do not relieve symptoms.

Chiropractic care or physical therapy can tailor specific exercise and lifestyle changes to relieve middle back pain. Chiropractors and physical therapists can help you develop posture and desk ergonomics when sitting at a workstation or using electronic devices, which can be a tremendous help.

Chiropractors may also use spinal manipulation to relieve a patient’s pain. During a spinal manipulation technique, a chiropractor will use their hands or a device to apply a controlled thrust to the joint or joints in your spine that may be causing the patient’s discomfort.

The theory of spinal manipulation is to properly align the body’s musculoskeletal structure so the body can heal itself. Patients often use chiropractic care along with conventional medical treatment.

Many chiropractors also incorporate nutritional counseling with an exercise treatment plan to relieve a patient’s pain. Using a more holistic approach to healing, a chiropractor will assess many different forms of pain relief for the patient.

Who is More Likely to Get Mid-Back Pain?

A patient at higher risk of suffering from middle-back pain is likely to be older, out-of-shape, overweight, have underlying conditions, and possibly a smoker. Increased coughing associated with smoking can sometimes misalign the middle back area.

Suppose you are experiencing any type of middle back pain. In that case, it is vital to seek advice from a qualified specialist to determine which treatment option would be best for your individual needs.

With proper diagnosis and treatment, you can find relief from your symptoms and get on with life without the discomfort associated with middle back pain.

Everett Chiropractic Care in Snohomish County, Wa

Wherever your back pain may be, we are happy to help! Contact us here or call for an appointment at Everett Spine and Rehab.

One of the uncommon ways to seek physical therapy (and perhaps one of the smartest), is preventatively. According to the Cleveland Clinic, using physical therapy before an injury can help mobility, balance and strength. Carpal tunnel may be caused by texting, a knee ache could have to do with the hips, and neck pain could be from typing. Being proactive about even small pains your body is having can help you move better, and figure out how to address it next time, said the article.

Another ailment physical therapy can help with is TMD (temporomandibular joint dysfunction). If you’ve heard of your TMJ (temporomandibular joint, aka, the bone that connects your jaw to your skull), you’ve probably had pain from it. You can tell if you have pain chewing, pain in your ear, face, jaw, or neck, headaches, or popping sounds when you open or close your mouth, says Healthline. It isn’t commonly known, but physical therapy can help with this. After identifying the problem, find a physical therapist that specializes in musculoskeletal problems with a craniofacial focus, says the American Physical Therapy Association. They will take a look at your posture, improving jaw movement, and may refer you to a dentist that can further help you. There are even special pain treatments like electrical stimulation and ultrasound to reduce severe cases of pain, says the article.

It may be commonly known by now, but it probably isn’t a party conversation; physical therapy for your pelvic floor. If you’re having issues with the urinary or reproductive parts of your body, there is a physical therapy for that, says WebMD. As a small anatomy refresher, the pelvic floor keeps the bladder in place in the front and the vagina and rectum in the back for a woman, and the bladder, bowels, urethra, and rectum in place for a man. It’s safe to say the pelvic floor is extraordinarily important. A physical therapist can take you through a specialized program of exercises to help relieve pain and restore muscle function. Some of the techniques include electrical stimulation, Kegels, trigger point therapy, and biofeedback, says the article.

There’s lots of ways physical therapy can help your overall health, prevent further injury, and keep you moving with ease. It may not be as dramatic as recovering from a sports injury as the team’s star player, but it really can make a big difference in your day to day life. There’s also nothing wrong with a little montage while you are at the physical therapist’s office, too.

Everett Physical Therapy

Those in the Snohomish County can look to Everett Spine & Rehab for professional, physical therapy. Whether you are looking for preventative care or post-injury rehab, we’re here to help!

Some of the more serious injuries in life come from more rigorous activities, like sports. Many athletes, even those weekend warriors, will experience multiple injuries throughout their sports careers. In fact, each and every year 3.5 million children ages 14 and younger are hurt while playing a sport or participating in physical activity. 

That number is shocking, but it doesn’t take into account those athletes at higher levels – high school, collegiate, or even professional sports. And while the number is high, the vast majority of these injuries are less serious – strains or sprains. 

It’s clear that sports injuries are not uncommon, but they can have very serious and long-lasting effects, even after the athlete has retired. While the best way to protect a body is to prevent an injury, there is the possibility of recurrent injuries and the need for helpful treatments.

Common Sports Injuries

Even though sprains and strains are the most common sports injuries that athletes experience no matter the level or type of sporting activity, there are far more common injuries to be aware of. 

The most vulnerable areas for injury are joints and tendons. These areas take a lot of the force when an athlete participates in their chosen sport. And these areas cannot be strengthened through traditional weight lifting or exercise methods. 

Many athletes will experience injuries to their knees, Achilles tendons, and rotator cuffs. Outside of those injuries, athletes often experience swollen muscles and localized pain, usually in the shin bone. In more extreme cases, though still common, athletes can break or dislocate bones.

While proper equipment and preparation are keys to minimizing injuries, there is no way to guarantee an athlete won’t get injured. The focus should really be on how to effectively treat those injuries that do occur. 

Treatments for Sports Injuries

Injuries happen and they have to be treated. How a sports injury is treated depends on the injury itself, as well as the athlete’s overall health and past injuries. Of course, each type of sports injury has a common treatment protocol.

Casting or Splinting

For broken or dislocated bones, athletes can expect extended immobilization in a cast, splint, or the like. This allows the bone and/or joint a safe space and enough time to mend itself. This is used for the smaller breaks and dislocations – wrists, feet, ankles, and collar bones.

Surgery

More serious breaks or dislocations may require different types of surgeries. These surgeries are used to aid in the healing of larger breaks like legs, arms, elbows, and tendons like ACL and MCL.

Localized pain treatment (injections/pain meds)

Many of these sports injuries, even swollen muscles and sprains, are painful. In order to treat the pain aspect of these injuries, many doctors will prescribe pain medications taken either orally or through injections.

Physical Therapy

Many injuries require an athlete to stop training even more for just a few weeks. Any time spent away from the field or training arena can lead to muscle atrophy, especially when a joint or tendon is injured. This usually requires the athlete to spend additional time in physical therapy to ensure the injury is healing and the areas around the injury can hold up when the athlete returns to the field of play.

Massage Therapy

Perhaps a less well-known treatment of sports injuries is massage therapy. Many may consider massage therapy to be a luxury, something to be used if time or finances allow. The truth is, massage therapy can be incredibly beneficial in treating certain sports injuries and helping to prevent future ones from occurring.

Massage therapy focuses on the soft tissues of the body – tendons, ligaments, muscles, and other connective tissues. These areas can be heavily fatigued as well as injured. The strain and impact these areas take can be extensive.

The use of massage therapy has been known to increase range of motion as well as power and overall performance, decrease overall muscle tension, and minimize the chance of reinjury. It’s a vital way to aid in and increase the healing of a current or past injury and protect the body in the future. So it’s important to see massage therapy as a key and vital part of sports injury treatment and prevention.

Everett Spine and Rehab: Massage Therapy and Physical Therapy for Sport-Related Injury

Come to Everett Spine & Rehab in Everett, Wa for your sports injury rehabilitation. Our clients love us–read our customer reviews here!

At Everett Spine & Rehab, we are more than a chiropractic office. We offer physical therapy to Snohomish County residents and we’re currently in the Top Ten for best physical therapy in Everett on Yelp. Our dedicated team of experts are here to help you recover, regain strength and achieve your health goals. We treat those who have: suffered a sports injury; gotten into a car accident; got hurt on-the-job (workplace injury); have acute or chronic pain. Before physical therapy treatment begins, we will conduct a through examination to ensure we get you on the correct path to recovery.

Common injuries that may require physical therapy include:

• Whiplash
• Stroke
• Arthritis
• Low back pain
• Shoulder pain
• Neck pain
• Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis)
• Sciatica
• Joint or muscle pain

It is often thought that physical therapy is something done after you’re in pain or suffered an injury. While that is most often the case, physical therapy can also be used to help prevent injury. If you’re seeking physical therapy to promote your health or as a preventative care, please see us. We take an assessment to see if physical therapy will be a right fit for your healthy regimen.

Rehabilitation with Physical Therapy, Chiropractic Treatments and More
Our team of doctors and therapists are highly trained in assessing and treating motor control, myofascial, strength dysfunctions and pain issues. Our mission is to design the most effective treatment plan that may include a combination of natural rehabilitation modalities. In addition to chiropractic adjustments, these are some of our most commonly recommended treatments for pain relief and faster healing of injuries.

Physical Therapy Services: Physical therapy helps patients heal quicker and increase muscle strength which can prevent re-injury and increase range of motion. These programs are custom designed according to each patient’s specific needs. Exercises you can perform at home are a vital aspect of most physical therapy plans.

Soft Tissue Techniques: Treatments such as trigger point therapy, massage therapy and myofascial stripping can alleviate tension, reduce muscle spasms, and increase blood flow to damaged tissues and nerves. This results in faster healing and pain relief.

Complementary Physiotherapy Modalities at Everett Spine & Rehab

We employ several physiotherapy techniques like ice therapy and moist heat in addition to manual therapies. Some other pain-free, non-invasive modalities we use to complement your treatment plan include:

Ultrasound Therapy: A handheld device using sound wave heat applied to certain injured areas to promote tissue healing and pain relief. We recommend this painless, short procedure to those with muscle and soft tissue damage, tendon and ligament injuries, excessive scar tissue or patients with bursitis or arthritis conditions.

Electrical Muscle Stimulation: Excellent for acute and chronic neck and back pain, this device uses interferential currents that speeds tissue healing and release pain-relieving endorphins.

Traction: Manual or mechanical traction helps relieve neck pain and lower back issues by decompressing the spine. Traction is a comfortable, painless procedure that reduces inflammation and pressure due to irritated, herniated and bulging discs.

If you’re suffering from pain, we can help!

Looking for a Chiropractor in Everett That Does it All?

We’re a one-stop holistic healing clinic here at Everett Spine & Rehab in Everett, WA. We have an extensive team of experienced practitioners ready to set you on track for a pain-free, healthier life. Call us today at 425-347-8614 to schedule a consultation appointment today.