Schiffert Health Center

www.healthcenter.vt.edu

Patient Information:
 Common Causes
 Treating Back Pain
 Quick Treatment: Back Pain
Upper Back Pain  See Your Healthcare Provider If
 Rehabilitation Exercises

COMMON CAUSES: your healing.

Upper back pain may be triggered by a specific event,  Depending upon severity of injury an X-ray or
such as improper lifting, bending, or twisting motion, or other imaging study may be needed.
from poor conditioning (muscle strengthen/tone) and
overuse. Bad posture, excessive weight and smoking can Quick Treatment : Back Pain
also be significant contributing factors.
Sport activities involving direct blows or tackling can  If you suspect injury, stop activity
lead to back ache. Passive activities like improper sitting immediately. Apply ICE. Wrap sealed ice bag
positions are also common causes. Over time poor posture in towel and apply to injury as soon as
during study sessions or hours in front of the computer possible. Keep on injury for 20 minutes and
can innocently strain muscles of the upper back. repeat every 2-3 hours for the first 48 to 72
Long term back problems are more likely when pain hours. This will help reduce swelling and
develops gradually or discomfort is recurrent over a period pain.
of time. Chronic back pain is often triggered by prior  Tylenol®, Aleve®, or Ibuprofen may be taken.
injuries, especially if original injury was not allowed to Follow package directions and take with food.
heal completely.  After the first 72 hours heat can be applied.
After careful review of your daily activities, you may Stretching back muscles slowly after heating
find that your mysterious back ache has an indefinable the muscle can help reduce stiffness.
cause. The events preceding pain or discomfort will  Research suggests most people can and
provide clues behind original cause even if the exact should return to normal daily activities as
incident is not evident. Sufferers frequently complain that tolerable. AVOID anything that significantly
back pain developed for no apparent reason. increases back pain. (then visit your
TREATING UPPER BACK PAIN: healthcare provider)

Most cases of upper back pain are not serious and In most cases back pain progressively improves over
respond to simple treatments. a course of 1-2 weeks without further intervention.
During recovery, exercise with caution to prevent re-
 When pain develops suddenly or related to direct injury. Appropriate, slow, gradual rehabilitation and
trauma, stop all strenuous activities to prevent correct posture can reduce healing time and help
aggravation of injury, increasing the damage, and prevent re-injury.
healing delays.
 Most back pain is related to muscle strain rather
than injury to the spine. Your back may feel tight
or sore to touch. Muscle spasms may develop as SEE YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IF:
strained muscles swell after injury. If related to  Back pain was caused by serious injury, such as
trauma bruising may occur. Rest and gentle direct trauma.
stretching will help the muscles relax.
 Back pain longer than one month
 Headache is a common side effect of tight, sore
muscles of the upper back and neck. What  Numbness that fails to resolve
treatment? Over the counter medications can be
taken to relieve headache symptoms
 Under most circumstances applying ICE will
reduce swelling and pain and can even accelerate

Copyright © Schiffert Health Center McComas Hall 540-231-6444

Revised August 2009 healthcenter@vt.edu
Upper Back Pain
Rehabilitation Exercises

Rehabilitation Exercises Cheer! Butterfly

 RECOVERY TAKES TIME. Perform # of # of Perform # of # of
if REPS SETS if REPS SETS
 Rehabilitation may take weeks or even months checked checked
depending on severity of injury. The severity of
the injury will dictate recovery time. Slow, gradual 10-15 1-3 10-15 1-3
rehabilitation will reduce healing time and prevent
re-injury.
 Once initial pain has eased a rehabilitation
program of upper back strengthening exercises
and stretching is recommended to help prevent
re-injury and pain.
 Rehabilitation exercises are critical for the
recovery process. Focus on the upper back
muscles as well as the muscles of the neck and
middle back.
EXERCISE: Allow your EXERCISE:
 Do these exercises on a regular basis and you will arms to hang relaxed POSITION ONE: Place hands
see improvements in your posture, work down at sides, and on shoulders with palms
then raise them down
endurance, and athletic performance. The POSITION TWO: Keep hands
slowly upward over
exercises shouldn’t irritate your back or neck your head. Hold the in place and bring elbows
when done properly. If there is pain, STOP. stretch, before as close together as pos-
allowing your arms to sible until you feel a
 HELPFUL HINT: Take deep even breaths while slowly fall back to stretch in upper back.
starting position. Hold, then return to posi-
completing stretches and concentrate on the tion one.
exercises with slow steady movements. If you
experience any discomfort other than muscle Shoulder Roll Shoulder Shrug
soreness, slow down the pace or decrease the Perform # of # of Perform # of # of
if REPS SETS if REPS SETS
number of repetitions. If pain persists, discontinue checked checked
exercise and contact your healthcare provider.
10-15 1-3 10-15 1-3

EXERCISE: Roll shoulders EXERCISE: Lift shoulders

forward in slow circular upwards towards your
motion. Make large cir- ears and hold. Return to
cles first and then reduce relaxed position before
to smaller circles before repeating.
reversing direction.

Page 2 of 3 Copyright © Schiffert Health Center — Revised August 2009

Upper Back Pain
Rehabilitation Exercises

Head Tilt Neck & Shoulder Stretch

Perform # of # of Perform # of # of Perform # of # of Perform # of # of
if REPS SETS if REPS SETS if REPS SETS if REPS SETS
checked checked checked checked

10-15 1-3 10-15 1-3 10-15 1-3 10-15 1-3

EXERCISE: Slowly try to EXERCISE: Hold on to one EXERCISE: Hold on to one EXERCISE: Keep feet flat on
touch left ear to left shoulder side of chair and bend to side of chair and slowly the floor and lean your
and then right ear to right opposite side while keep- twist at waist to opposite body forward as far as
shoulder. Relax and repeat. ing your body straight. side until you feel a possible putting your
Hold stretch before re- stretch in middle of back. head between your knees.
peating on opposite side. Hold and repeat with op- Gently stretch your whole
posite side. back before returning to
upright position. Repeat.

Straight Leg Stretch Take-A-Walk

Perform # of # of Perform
if REPS SETS if
checked checked

10-15 1-3

IF TIME ALLOWS, COMPLETE THE “STRAIGHT LEG

STRETCH” AND “TAKE A WALK.”

EXERCISE: Stand up straight.

Bend over slowly toward EXERCISE: Take a 5-10 min-
your toes. Keep knees ute walk. Concentrate on
slightly bent. Feel stretch relaxing your back and
in back of thigh. Repeat. shoulders. Focus your
thoughts ONLY on muscle
relaxation during walk.
This will improve blood circu-
lation to the legs and refresh
your body and mind before
the next study session.
Page 3 of 3 Copyright © Schiffert Health Center — Revised August 2009