3 Tips for Reducing Upper Back and Shoulder Pain

Back pain is a primary cause of disability, affecting individuals’ work and personal lives. It is estimated that 4 out of 5 people will experience back pain at some point in their lives and is also reported to be one of the leading causes for missed work days.

However, back and shoulder pain don’t have to be something you just expect to experience. In fact, there are some simple, easy things that you can do to help prevent this pain and discomfort that has come to be thought of as inevitable. The main things affecting your shoulder and upper back are the ergonomics of your regular duties, stretching the overused muscle groups, and strengthening the underused muscle groups. The stretching and strengthening will balance out your muscles around your joints to create more stability. Here are a few tips and suggestions to help avoid these issues.

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Ergonomics

• Look at your workstation and how to position your body best.
• Keep your elbow close to your body as much as possible.
• Pay attention to your posture.

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Stretching

• If you do overhead work, take a few seconds to do the opposite motion between tasks (look down and stretch your neck/shoulder).
• If you look down often, take a few seconds to look at the ceiling to stretch your neck/shoulder.
• To stretch your upper chest, go to a corner and lean in with both arms on the wall for 30 seconds a couple of times each day. This is important when we do a lot of work in front of our body.
• To stretch your upper shoulder, lean your head in the opposite direction until you feel the stretch. Hold for 30 seconds on both sides.
• To stretch your upper arm, hold onto your elbow of your opposite arm over your head and across your chest. Hold for 30 seconds on both sides.

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Strengthening

Since most people overwork muscle groups on the front of their upper body, it’s important to get more strength in the upper back to counteract the motions that we do all day.

• Bring your shoulder blades together like you are squeezing a soda can between them. Repeat 5 times and hold for 5 seconds.
• If you want to make it a little more difficult, stand with your back against a wall and bring your shoulder blades down and squeeze together. Bring both arms back to touch the wall. Move your arms up and down keeping the squeeze between the shoulder blades and the back and arms in constant contact with the wall.

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Finally, remember that chiropractic is a safe, natural way to treat back and shoulder pain and discomfort, among many other ailments. It has been shown to be one of the prominent non-drug solutions for treating back pain. The ergonomics and stretching exercises listed above are a general, consistent recommendation for most people. At WorkSiteRight, providing more in-depth recommendations customized to an organization’s specific industry and employees is one of the important components of our program, along with providing on-site chiropractic care. Make the recommendations above a normal part of your routine, and let us know how we can help you or your organization prevent many of those injuries in the first place through WorkSiteRight.

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