Relieve Upper Back Pain from Trigger Points & Muscle Knots
Upper back pain or thoracic area pain is sometimes caused by trigger points or muscle knots. Trigger points are basically when a specific area on a muscle gets irritated and tightens up into a ball or knot.
This video contains some stretches and exercises that may help relieve trigger points or muscle knots in the upper back.
Stretching the Rhomboid muscles in the upper back is a great way to reduce the pain. These stretches can be done in long sitting or regular sitting. After stretching the rhomboid muscles, they can be strengthened with scapular squeezes (shoulder squeezes).
Next are some stretches for the upper back or thoracic area. Thoracic rotations and thoracic sidebends are a great way to help loosen up the muscles to decrease trigger points.
Finally, if the stretches are too difficult or maybe you are on precautions to not do those movements, a ball can be used to put pressure on the trigger points directly. A little pressure goes a long way, but too much could irritate it more.
Sore back muscles are common when starting a new workout program or when exercising a little too hard. These back stretches can help relax a sore & tight back and provide pain relief.
A herniated disc can be very debilitating. Sometimes a nerve can get compressed, and there will also be numbness and tingling going down one leg. These stretches and exercises should help relieve the pain.
This 20-minute back pain relief stretching & exercise routine is done in real-time so it’s easy to follow along. Since back & hip muscles are often the same groups of muscles, it may also help relieve hip pain.
Mid back pain can make it difficult to perform everyday activities. Here are some of my favorite mid back stretches and exercises to help relieve the pain.
In this video, I teamed up with Dr. Jen, a pelvic floor physical therapist who also happens to be pregnant! She'll show you her top 5 exercises to help relieve low back pain when you are pregnant by mobilizing and stabilizing the pelvis.
Cracking your back can help relieve back pain. But make sure the cause of your back pain is diagnosed first because with some back issues you should never crack your back.
Mid back pain (also called middle back pain or thoracic back pain) can make it difficult to perform everyday activities. Here are 3 of my favorite mid back exercises to help relieve pain & tightness.
Percussive Massage Therapy using a massage gun (aka percussion massager) for back pain relief uses fast, soft pulses over a short amount of time to get deep down into the muscle fibers.