Strain of the Upper Back…What Can I Do?

Upper Back Pain can be common in athletes
and for people who work on the computer

Upper back pain can be common with athletes who work out with weights (muscle strain), and for people who work on a computer or at a desk daily (poor posture). This can put stress on the upper back area causing pain, muscle spasms, tightness and an overall a feeling of discomfort.

One of the best things to do in this case is use a neck pillow. What you’ll notice, I’ll bet, is that even though the pain may be between the shoulder blades or up closer to the shoulder, it is made worse by moving your neck. Not only that your neck range of motion may be limited.

We need to align the neck as good as possible because nerves that exit between neck vertebrae mainly supply the upper back. For example- your trapezius muscle, which is a large muscle that covers a good portion of the back of the neck and upper back is mainly innervated by cervical nerves. What does this mean? Well, it tells us we need to keep the neck nerves free from pressure for the upper back to work like it should.

This is exactly what a neck pillow is designed to do. With arc4life's cervical traction pillow, not only does it align the neck but it also gives a gentle neck stretch opening up the nerve holes, and releasing more pressure.

So even if you have pain lower down, look to the neck spine for issues also. It may be the reason for your pain and has been going unnoticed.

Additonal Reading You May Find Interesting

• Neck Pain While at the Gym
• Arc4life’s Spine-Worx Posture system helps maintain spinal alignment!
• The Dreaded Hunchback - How to Correct That Area of Your Upper Back That Pops Out and Looks Funny!
• Arc4life's Cervical Traction Neck Pillow
• Which Neck Pillow is Right for Me
  Pain in the Upper Trapezius Muscle

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief.




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I have a lot of “Cracking and Popping” in my Neck, What could this be?

“My neck is always making noise, it doesn’t usually hurt much, but it feels good when it pops.” Usually what this means is that something is shifted out of place and the body is trying to correct it.

What you are hearing is simply a gas release in the joint similar to if you crack your knuckles. If this occurs occasionally and isn’t really linked with any neck pain or back pain then it’s fine. If, on the other hand, it seems to be occuring more often or you are experiencing neck pain, arm pain, headaches, or upper back pain, you may have a spinal segment out of place and along with a muscle strain.

What sometimes happens is: something gets shifted, this puts pressure on nerves. The body will then try to correct or compensate, usually by allowing the vertebrae above and below the one that is shifted and/or stuck, to move more easily. These are often the segments making all the noise.

So chances are, if things are still “cracking or popping” alot after a few days you may want to get your neck posture and alignment checked.

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief.


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The Dreaded Hunchback - How to Correct That Area of Your Upper Back That Pops Out and Looks Funny!

Today's Blog Post is Courtesy of Dr.Bellinger of CT Spine and Disc Center near Hartford CT. Today he discusses a special type of posture that we all call the "hunchback"- and how to take steps to correct and prevent it:

How does this dreaded "hunchback" form? This condition actually stems from poor neck and upper back posture. What happens is your upper back starts shifting up and back. So that "hunch", is actually bone.


This phenomenon happens because the neck spine shifts forward. They call this forward head posture or forward head carriage.


The whole spine works together. When one section is shifted or misaligned, it causes problems elsewhere. So as the neck spine shifts forward and looses it's normal alignment and curvature, the upper back spine starts pushing up and back increasing it's curve.


What is the concern if you have a slight "hunching" of the upper back?. First off, it doesn't look good and it will get worse, looking worse. But more important; if you have it, you know for a fact that your neck and upper back are out of alignment. This is extremely important because research shows that any spinal misalignments eventually puts pressure on nerves. Any pressure on nerves means the body is not working at it's best. This not only predisposes you for neck pain, back pain, and headaches, but can cause something even worse.

So how do you correct this "bone" that's popping out? Answer - we simply need to correct the posture and spine alignment. With this particular problem, the best way is with a good neck neck pillow and neck traction device.

A good neck pillow is one that gives the proper neck support when you sleep. The Cervical Linear Traction Neck Pillow supports your neck while improving alignment.

A true neck traction device will help bring the head and neck back and improve the neck curve even more quickly.

Restoring the normal neck curvature and improving forward head posture will then restore upper back posture and alignment. The upper back spine that was protruding or "hunching" up and back will move back down and forward.

Not only will this neck pillow and neck traction devise correct that ugly "hunch back", it will prevent it from ever occurring to begin with!

Source:
Ezine Health Articles: How to Correct that Area of Your Upper Back That Pops Out and Looks Funny!

Additional Reading Resources:

• End Your Neck Pain with True Neck Traction
  
• How to have Proper Neck Posture
  
• Neck pain Support Blog
  

Visit Arc4life for stiff neck, neck pain, pinched nerve in the neck and other symptoms. Arc4life specializes in cervical neck pillows, neck stretches and pain relief products for home.


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