Your mid-back or thoracic spine stretches from the base of your neck to the top of the lumbar region (lower back). The twelve vertebrae here are more rigid and stable so rarely suffer from injury.
If you’re experiencing pain in this region, there are a few likely causes that chiropractic treatment or massage can help, and a couple of rarer issues that a chiropractor can spot and advise on.
Read on to find out why you’ve got that pain between your shoulder blades and what you can do about it.
Posture and Thoracic Pain: The Impact of Desk Jobs
Thoracic pain is often caused by work-related posture and stress. Typically, sitting for long hours at a desk, constantly bending forward over screens and similar issues will cause problems in this area. You can adjust the way you sit and stand to help with this. And remember that if you use a PC mouse then your arm can be held out for a lot of the day. This can lead to tension in your upper thoracic spine on the same side. It can also lead to locking of the rib joints. <Read our blog on posture and what you can do to help improve your workstation
Rib Joint Issues: A Common Cause of Thoracic Pain
The ribs attach to the thoracic spine. When rib joints lock you will often feel a sharp stabbing pain on one side especially when you breathe in or cough. This pain can stab through to your chest which can feel alarming but it is usually nothing to worry about. A few chiropractic adjustments can help a lot.
And if your work – or life in general – is particularly stressful, it’s worth remembering that your breathing patterns also affect this area of your back. Shallow anxious breathing puts a strain on your shoulders, neck and between the shoulder blades and will cause tension and pain in these areas. Take some time out and learn to ‘belly breathe’, relax deeply for ten minutes every day to teach your body-mind how to be calm. You could start by relaxing alongside one of our short mindfulness meditations here.
Ageing and Thoracic Health: Preventing Dowager’s Hump
As we age our spinal discs dry out a bit and are not so good at working as shock absorbers. A tendency to jut your head forward can also lead to stiffness and strain in this area as the body tries to balance itself dealing with the load caused by the head. These issues can lead to changes in posture, particularly so-called Dowager’s Hump. Read up on what chiropractic treatment can do to help a hump here:
Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis (DISH)
Another common condition which causes thoracic spinal pain is DISH (Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis). This is something you could have without even being aware of it, even though it affects up to one in five people over 50. It causes stiffness in the back and reduces your range of movement and appears to be the result of a combination of genetics and metabolic syndrome conditions (such as diabetes or high cholesterol). The causes of DISH are not yet well understood but the good news is that even the most severe cases can be helped by mobilisation of the joints and gentle exercise. Your chiropractor will assess the best way to treat this condition.
Ankylosing Spondylitis: A Lesser-Known Cause of Thoracic Pain
If you are below 40 there is another condition which causes thoracic pain – Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS). This is a type of arthritis that mainly affects the spine and can lead to chronic pain and discomfort. AS causes inflammation in the joints and ligaments along the spine and pelvis, which can result in stiffness and pain. Over time, AS can cause the bones in the spine to fuse together, leading to a loss of flexibility and possible hunched posture.
The exact cause of Ankylosing Spondylitis is not fully understood, but it is believed to involve a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
Come and see a chiropractor to find out what’s causing your thoracic ache – you can book an appointment here.