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16 Stretches for Upper Back Pain (with Videos)

Escape your pain with these top stretches.

Author: MaryAnn DePietro CRT START READING

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SHOP BACK PAIN RELIEF PRODUCTS

Upper back pain can develop anywhere along the thoracic spine, which is from the base of the neck to the bottom of the rib cage. Although it is less common than lower back pain, upper back pain still affects many people. About 1 in 10 males and 1 in 5 females suffer from upper back pain at some point in their lifetime.Lifestyle often contributes to upper back pain. For example, one of the most common causes is poor posture. Standing, sitting, and sleeping with poor posture lead to problems with spinal alignment. Poor posture puts excess pressure on the upper and lower back, neck, and shoulders. Musculoskeletal conditions, such as arthritis, can also cause upper back pain.Muscle tension and tightness are also a common cause of upper back pain. Tightness and tension can occur from overuse, such as repetitive motions. Stress can also cause tension and tightness, causing upper back discomfort. An injury to the neck or upper back from trauma can also cause pain.Pain in the upper back can negativity impact overall quality of life and lead to a variety of adverse effects, such as:

  • Chronic pain
  • Lost productivity
  • Weight gain from inactivity
  • Nerve damage
  • Depression from the inability to do activities you enjoy

Treatment for upper back pain may vary based on the underlying cause. However, upper back stretches are one of the best ways to alleviate pain.Stretches to ease upper back pain may include both dynamic and static stretches. Stretching can relieve muscle tension and tightness and improve range of motion.The article below covers upper back stretches, including dynamic and static stretches for the upper back, and tips for getting the most benefit.

How to Warm Up

Warming up before stretching helps improve blood flow and prepares the muscles for activity. It is especially important before doing static stretching. Warming up before static stretching helps reduce injury and improves range of motion.An effective warm-up may consist of light aerobic activity, activity-specific exercises, and dynamic stretching. For example, walk before jogging.Start a warm-up with light activity for about five to ten minutes. Below is an example of a warm-up before vigorous activity or static stretching.

  • Start with marching in place.
  • Add shoulder rolls while continuing to march in place.
  • Reach overhead and bend forward to touch your toes.
  • Add high knees or light jogging in place.
  • Do hip circles.
  • Include alternating side lunges.
  • Consider doing each move for 30 seconds and repeating it twice or thrice.

Dynamic Stretches

Dynamic stretches are a great way to do upper back stretches. Dynamic stretching involves short active movements.Dynamic stretching helps prepare the muscles and tendons for static stretching and exercise. It may also improve the range of motion and blood flow. Below are some examples of dynamic stretches that help stretch the neck, shoulders, and upper back.

This exercise is called lower trunk rotations. We are going to start lying onthe back with the knees bent. We're going to place our feet together. You're going to keep the feet and knees together. As we rotate the legs from side to side making sure that the feet stay stacked. On one another just pausing for onesecond and each side back and forth.

Trunk Rotation Stretch

Steps:

  • Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet together.
  • Extend your arms at shoulder height.
  • While keeping your shoulders on the ground, rotate your knees, dropping them towards the ground.
  • Return your knees to the center.
  • Rotate in the other direction.
  • Repeat five times.

Special ActivitiesFor the special activities that you can include in your physical activity routine, take a moment to practice water. You may find that this brief activity will refresh and energize you. You can include this at home or in the workplace.Overhead StretchExtend your arms overhead with elbows straight. Interlock fingers if possible. Keep your back and neck straight. Take a deep breath in and then let the breath out slowly. You should feel a stretch in your shoulders and upper back.

Overhead Arm Reach

Steps:

  • Start by standing.
  • Stretch your arms straight overhead.
  • With arms overhead, lean to the left.
  • Return to the center and lean towards the right.
  • Repeat several times
  • The stretch can also be performed from a seated position.

Cat Cow ExerciseThe cat cow exercise is an amazing exercise that can help with back pain and strengthen muscles in your back. Don't forget to focus on keeping a neutral spine every time you exercise.Start on your hands and knees.Breathe in and dip your back downwards by pressing your stomach towards the floor and look up. This is cow position. You should feel a great stretch in your back.Now for cat: breathe out, round your back upward, and bring your head down to look towards your belly button.Repeat for one full repetition. Do eight to twelve repetitions for one set. Increase the number of sets as you get stronger.Once you're feeling confident with the back movements of cat-cow, try something a little harder in the neutral position:Lift one arm at a time out in front of you, holding each for three seconds.Try stretching one leg at a time out behind you while in neutral position.You can even stretch an arm and an opposite leg at the same time to gain more strength and balance.

Cat-Cow Pose

Steps:

  • Begin this pose on all fours. Keep your hands beneath your shoulders. Your knees should be beneath your hips. This is called the table position.
  • Slowly arch your back up, dropping your head to your chest and pushing down through the shoulders. This is the Cat Pose in yoga.
  • Hold for a few seconds and release.
  • As you return to your starting position, drop your lower back towards the floor. Move your head back so your chin and nose point towards the ceiling. This is the cow pose.
  • Hold for a few seconds and release.
  • Return to the table position and repeat the sequence five times.

Arm Circles ExerciseThe arm circles exercise engages the upper back muscles to keep shoulders back and down. Make soccer ball size circles with your palms facing the floor.

Arm circles

Steps:

  • Extend your arms straight out to your sides at shoulder height.
  • Make small baseball-sized circles with your arms remaining straight.
  • Repeat for ten circles and change directions, rotating the opposite way.

Desk Stretches

Sitting at a desk all day can lead to muscle tension and upper back pain. Desk stretches can be done anywhere to help ease tension and remind you to maintain good posture while sitting. Helpful desk stretches to ease upper back pain include:

all right guys this is the Walling and you guessed it it looks like the most boring way to open up your mid-back but guess what sitting at your desk is also boring so take a little break and knock out some of these and get some Mobility so all I'm doing is I'm putting my hands on the wall forehead on my hands taking a big breath in I want to Exhale I'm dropping that sternum to the ground you can kind of change where you feel this by scooting your chair closer to or further away from the wall I like it right about there and we're just keeping it simple inhale raise your chest exhale drop it down toward that wall open up that mid back and remember to keep on moving

Wall stretch

Steps:

  • Put your hands on the wall and forehead on your hands.
  • Inhale, round your shoulders and drop your sternum towards the ground.
  • Raise your chest to your starting position.
  • Repeat several times.
  • Adjust your chair closer or further from the wall to change where you feel the stretch.

the following stretch is a neck stretch that is going to stretch the the back of your neck we call it a flexion stretch so as michelle is sitting she's hitting with a good tall spine she's going to have her arms down to her side and she's just going to let her chin slowly sink down to her chest as she does that she's going to feel the back of her neck tighten up a little bit and she's just going to let that settle a little if it's such that you are so tight in your neck that even that hurts you can actually use your hands so she's going to sit up tall one more time she's actually going to just use her left hand put it behind her head and just let that control gently how much her head goes forward so once again just chin towards chest with a good tall posture but her hand is helping her pull forward in a stretch this is another longer duration stretch we want to repeat this stretch two to three times of one minute

Neck Flexion

Steps:

  • Sit with good posture and hands at your sides.
  • Slowly drop your chin towards your chest. Stop if you feel pain.
  • Hold for a few seconds and raise your head back to a neutral position.

Transcript unavailable.

Shoulder Rolls

Steps:

  • Sit on the edge of your chair with your feet flat on the floor.
  • Bring your shoulders up towards your ears.
  • Roll your shoulders forward, coming back and around, making circles with your shoulders.
  • Repeat about ten times and roll in the opposite direction.

Transcript unavailable.

Chair Rotation

Steps:

  • Sit in a chair sideways with your right shoulder resting on the chair.
  • Rotate your torso to grip the back of the chair with your left hand.
  • Take a deep breath, exhale, and hold the stretch for about 10 seconds.
  • Repeat three times and switch sides.

Tired of feeling stiffness while sitting?  Try slouch overcorrect. This simple,   yet highly effective exercise can be used to  give your spine some gentle movement it craves,   especially when sitting for longer than 30  minutes. So whether you're at your desk,   relaxing on your couch, or in the car,  give this exercise a try. Let's go!   To perform, sit up as tall as you can.  Create an arch in your lower back and repeat.   Try 15 to 20 reps and your spine will  be thanking you for the movement.

Slouch Overcorrect

Steps:

  • Begin by sitting tall and creating an arch on your back.
  • Exaggerate a slough by tucking your chin to your chest and round your back.
  • Return to sitting up tall with your chin coming back up and shoulders back.
  • Repeat several times.

Static Stretching

Static stretching involves moving the muscle as far as it can go without pain and holding that position, creating tension in the muscle.Static stretching can improve flexibility, release tension, and improve range of motion. It also helps reduce pain, stiffness, and stress. You should hold static stretches for 15 to 60 seconds for upper back pain.There are many good static stretches to ease upper back pain, including those listed below.

hi I'm one of the physios from the Royal free NHS Foundation trust today I'm going to take you through one of the exercises called the child pose from a position of comfort on all fours either on the bed or on the floor with your wrist elbows and shoulders stacked as of your knees and hips you're going to slowly push your bottom back as close to your heels as you can comfortably get it at the same time you're going to slide your hands ahead of you as far as they will go and tuck your head under hold this stretch position for to 30 seconds and slowly return to the start position on all fours as a slight variation you can repeat the stretch with a right sided or left sided bias by moving your upper limbs slide back bottom comes onto the heels arms stretch out in front and this time they rotate to the left or to the right accordingly as you can see Terry's demonstrating a right sided stretch so you will feel it more on the left and return to the beginning and then over to the other side this time Terry's doing a left sided stretch she'll feel it more on the right hand side once you've done both slide yourself slowly back to the start position and pause in the neutral

Child’s Pose

Steps:

  • Start your child's pose on all fours with your shoulders underneath your hands.
  • Slowly lower your hips to the floor, trying to rest the buttocks on your feet.
  • Bring your chest down to your thighs and forehead to the floor.
  • Stretch your arms before you with your palms touching the floor.
  • Hold this position for 30 seconds or more.

hi I'm one of the physios from the Royal free NHS Foundation trust today I'm going to take you through one of the exercises called the child pose from a position of comfort on all fours either on the bed or on the floor with your wrist elbows and shoulders stacked as of your knees and hips you're going to slowly push your bottom back as close to your heels as you can comfortably get it at the same time you're going to slide your hands ahead of you as far as they will go and tuck your head under hold this stretch position for to 30 seconds and slowly return to the start position on all fours as a slight variation you can repeat the stretch with a right sided or left sided bias by moving your upper limbs slide back bottom comes onto the heels arms stretch out in front and this time they rotate to the left or to the right accordingly as you can see Terry's demonstrating a right sided stretch so you will feel it more on the left and return to the beginning and then over to the other side this time Terry's doing a left sided stretch she'll feel it more on the right hand side once you've done both slide yourself slowly back to the start position and pause in the neutral

Thoracic Extension

Steps:

  • Start by sitting on the floor.
  • Place a foam roller or a yoga block on the floor behind your body.
  • Slowly lie back so that the roller or block supports your back.
  • Keep your buttocks on the floor and place your hands behind your head for support.
  • Hold for as long as it feels comfortable.

- [Instructor] Double knee to chest. While lying on your back, hold your knees and gently pull them up towards your chest. Hold for 15 seconds and breathe. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. Slowly return to start position. Perform three repetitions twice a day for five days a week.

Knees to Chest

Steps:

  • Lie face up on the floor with your knees bent and your feet on the ground.
  • Slowly bring both knees to your chest.
  • Hold for about 30 seconds.
  • A variation involves bringing one knee to your chest and holding and repeating on the other side.

Music

Butterfly

Steps:

  • Start with a seated position and your hands interlocked behind your head. Your elbows should point to the sides.
  • Round your back and shoulders as you bring your elbows towards your knees.
  • Slowly reverse this position and open your chest back up, allowing the elbows to point to the sides again.
  • As you bring your elbows back up, squeeze your shoulder blades together.

For an upper trap stretch, take the arm of the side that you want to stretch and either push it downwards, or sit on it to hold that shoulder down. Then take the other hand on the side, and just pull it over towards your shoulder. Holding that stretch.

Upper Trapezius Stretch

Steps:

  • Sit up tall in a chair
  • Let the arm of the side you want to stretch straight down towards the ground.
  • Take your opposite hand and place it on your head.
  • Gently pull your head towards your shoulder.
  • Hold for several seconds.

For a levator scapulae stretch, the side that you want to stretch, you're going to take your arm and put it up over your shoulder. That's to stabilize that scapula. Then you're going to take your head down towards an angle, almost like you're looking towards the opposite knee. Take your other hand and put it behind your head, and give it a little extra stretch.

Levator Scapulae Stretch

Steps:

  • Take your arm and put it up over your shoulder.
  • Move your head down at an angle as if you were looking at the opposite knee.
  • Put your other hand behind your head and give it a little extra stretch.
  • Hold for five seconds.

Stretching Best Practices

To get the most benefits from stretching and reduce the risk of injuries, it is helpful to keep some things in mind; consider the following:

  • Do not perform static stretching with cold muscles. Warm-up first.
  • Do not overstretch. You should feel tension and not pain when you stretch.
  • Avoid bouncing when you stretch.
  • Hold static stretches for 20 to 30 seconds or longer.
  • Make sure you breathe through the stretch.
  • Pay attention to your posture and use good form. Do not use jerky movements.
  • Practice your stretches often.

Conclusion

Upper back pain in the thoracic spine is widespread. It can occur from injuries, arthritis, and poor posture. Home treatment may include upper back pain stretches.Stretches to relieve upper back pain can include dynamic and static stretches. Warming up properly, using good form, and staying consistent can help you get the most benefits from stretching.Remember, if upper back pain becomes severe, it is best to see a healthcare provider to determine the cause.

About the Author

MaryAnn DePietro CRT

MaryAnn DePietro CRT is a licensed respiratory therapist with over 15 years of clinical experience in critical care, emergency medicine, and pulmonary rehabilitation. She is also an American Council on Exercise certified personal trainer and holds specialty certifications in orthopedics, senior fitness, and weight management. MaryAnn has a degree in Rehabilitation from Penn State University and a degree in respiratory therapy.In addition to her clinical experience, she has written extensively about all things medical, as well as health, fitness, and aging for various websites, magazines, and newspapers.

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