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.
Stretches & exercises are a great way to help relieve back pain. But with nearly 1,000 videos on the Ask Doctor Jo YouTube Channel, it can be hard to find the best one for you. So for 2025, here are some of my favorite Back Pain Relief Videos that actually work!
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.
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 stretches to help relieve pain & tightness.
Lower back pain can make it difficult to perform everyday activities. Here are some of my favorite back stretches & exercises that can help provide low back pain relief and strengthen back muscles.
These back pain stretches and exercises are for general back pain like soreness from overworking your back or if you've pulled a muscle. Check out the back pain section of my website for more specific back pain related exercises and stretches.
Lower back pain can often be relieved, and even prevented, by strengthening the core. So here are progression exercises to help strength the core in the front, side, and back.
One of the most effective back pain relief stretches is the prayer stretch, also known as child’s pose. However, this popular stretch can be challenging for those who cannot get down on the floor or put pressure on their knees. Fortunately, there is an excellent alternative: the seated rolldown stretch. This modification provides a comprehensive back and whole body stretch without the need to kneel or lie on the floor.
For a herniated disc, to relieve the back pain, you want to do extension exercises and stretches to help push the disc back into the space in your spine.
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.
