Middle back pain is usually caused by poor posture or sitting in an awkward position over many hours–like those who work on computers all day. Thus, one of the first strategies in eliminating middle back pain is to correct your posture. Moreover, you should also find ergonomic furniture or use a wedge on your seat to take pressure off your back. The vertebrae in the middle back are called the thoracic vertebrae. A entire hose of problems can structurally cause middle back pain. You can have tendonitis where tendons that connect muscles to the thoracic vertebrae become inflammed. You can also suffer from cartilage damage. Cartilage between throacic vertebrae are called discs. These discs can erode over time and cause arthritis pain. The center of the disc can also bulge or rupture which displaces the jelly-like neucleus inside the disc, exerting pressure on nerves in the spine. Furthermore, when a person person ages, muscles in the middle back become tighter. All of these problems can be healed over time with some basic treatments.

The first thing to do for middle back pain is to rest. If you are working for many hour in one position, a back brace may also help provide support for your middle back. Stay away from any physical activity for a few days. And doo not work out if you are a weightlifter as you probably have some swelling and inflammation.

During the first three days, use an ice pack on your back. Keep the ice pack in place for 15-20 minutes. Repeat the ice treatments every 3-4 hours througout the day. Ice will temporarily limit blood flow to your back which works against you when in the beginning of an injury or strain of the middle back. When the inflammation and pain have subsided a bit, a heating pad can increase blood flow to your back. The blood carries oxygen and nutrients to your muscles, tendons and thoracic vertebrae–all of which are necessary for healing your middle back. In addition to ice therapy (crymotherapy), take a couple ibuprofen pills every three or four hours. Anti-inflammatory medications will also help reduce pain and swelling.

Massage and exercise will also help heal your middle back pain, once the intial swelling has subsided. Massage can relax muscles and nerves in your middle back. Exercise can increase flexibility and better help stabilize your middle back.

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