Would you like a good stretch for your neck and upper back pain? Would it surprise you if I told you the real problem could be the muscles in your chest?
Chest muscles tend to get short and tight and this can cause neck and upper back pain. So part of the solution to get rid of the pain in your upper back and neck is to stretch the muscles in the front of your chest and the fronts of your arms.
When these chest muscles are tight and short they cause you to have rounded, forward shoulders and that stresses your upper back.
This picture shows the chest muscles that you will target with these stretches. It’s the pectoralis minor muscle. There may also be other soft tissues in the chest and arm that will stretch at the same time.
Here are two ways to stretch your chest and arms so you can start getting rid of your neck and upper back pain.
1. Lie on the edge of bed with your shoulder at the edge of the mattress so your arm if free. Only your shoulder should be off the bed; your body should be securely on the bed.
Let your arm gently drop off edge of bed. (One arm at a time.) Pretend your arm is a butterfly wing moving from your leg to your head.
Do this with your palm up if you can. At least do it with your thumb pointing to the ceiling.
You will feel stretching in various places in your upper, front arm and your chest muscles. It’s okay to wait a bit when you feel something stretching to let it stretch. Gravity helps you stretch when you do it this way.
Always stretch slowly and thoughtfully. Pay attention to your body.
2. The doorway stretch is preferred by many people. Lean into a doorway with your hands on the door frame.
Place one hand on each side of the door frame. Use three different positions for your arms: hands at hip height, at shoulder height and over your head. In each different position, hold the door frame securely and lean forward. Watch the position of your head–you don’t want to lead with your head. Let your chest lead and keep your head in line with your spine.
When you do these stretches you may be surprised at how good they feel. That’s because bodies need to move and they love stretching…in the right directions.
If you need more help getting rid of the pain in your upper back check out SimpleBackPainRelief.com. There are lots and lots of articles there to help you get rid of back pain naturally.
Hi Kathryn,
Sorry to keep bothering you, but i need to seek council. As I explained in my last email, im going to pt for kyphosis/scoliosis.
I have a history of cervicogenic headches, and 1 buldging disk in neck one herniated. I have this new pt for about1 month now going 2xs a week. Very nice person. I have one sided bad eye pain that is driving me absolutely insane now, going on for about 2 mths. Also on the left is facial pain on left sinus area and tooth pain. I also have a pain down my arm on that side and my left side of neck has a kink, or not right under left occipital bone under neck on that side. If i touch it it hurts like crazy. She always says theres a knot on that side. And she said she thinks alot of the pain is coming from my curve in back. I have’nt had this pain in my eye in about 20 years, no joke. She said I know whats causing it but not sure why after so long you have it back. I sit for 5 hrs a day behind pc..I read your website and have done stretches, peter egoscue, and jolie bookspan. I guess my question is do you think this pain on one side is from scm muscles? What is taking it so long to break up?? and should I keep going to her and have patience? or should I have had it gone by now? Please let me know what you think. Im starting to loose it. Muscle relaxers everyday are no good, what should I try at home??
thank you so much in advance….I cry at times because I want the pain to stop gets frustrating…Wendy
Hi Wendy,
You are NOT bothering me! 🙂 Yes, your head pain could be from the SCM muscles but I also think of your scalene muscles or upper trapezius muscles because the “traps” can cause head pain and the scalenes (they are kind of tucked in back of the SCM) can cause arm and chest and back pain.
My question is: What is the physical therapist doing with you or for you? Have you had any improvement? I’m thinking that twice a week for one month should equal quite a bit of relief by now. If she is only working on your ‘knot’ and it’s not relaxing, that means she is working on the wrong area and it cannot relax.
Wendy, is one shoulder lower than the other? Ask your PT to work on that side of your spine and the lat muscle under your armpit and down toward your waist. Those muscles could be pulling you into your curve and holding you there.
As we get older, gravity plays more and more with our bodies. If we add in scoliosis, gravity has even more to pull on; it can pull us even more out of neutral. Your pain may be from your curvature. So what to do? Work to get rid of the side to side curves. That is what the PT should be focusing on: Straightening your curves. Is she? Has she looked for a low shoulder?
Or has she or the doctor looked to see whether you have a leg length difference or a hip bone that is smaller on one side or any other structural cause for your scoliosis? Differences in leg length can cause scoliosis (and they are pretty common) and that’s easily fixed by lifting the shoe on the short leg side. A small hemi-pelvis (hip bone on one side) can be helped with a lift for walking and a lift under the “sit bone” when seated.
How about trying this: Place a book or magazine under one sit bone when you are working (or sitting.) One side will most likely feel ‘wrong’ after just a few minutes and the other side may feel ‘right.’ Keep that lift under the side that makes you feel better.
Do you mouse right-handed? Switch to the left. It will only take a couple of days to adapt.
I cannot see what you look like and there are many different scoliosis patterns. I’m going to give a wild guess here:
If you are right handed, your right shoulder is low. The muscles on that side of your spine and on the outer side of your back are short and tight. Also, on the front of your upper chest and your ribs on that side. That’s what’s causing your curve. It’s a C-curve which is open to the right. All of those tight muscles pulling on the right are causing the strain and pain and knots in your upper left back where your shoulder meets your neck. And those would be the muscles to work on to help them relax (if my wild long-distance guess is correct.)
If you do stretches, do not do them equally. Look for short, tight areas and stretch them 4 times as much as the opposite side. That will allow change to occur. You may be able to discover a lot by looking in the mirror, Wendy. Really look at yourself. You are perfect and beautiful but you have pain. That means something is out of neutral. The closer you can get back to neutral, the better you will feel.
The more neutral you become the less the disks in your neck or back will be squished out of place, too.
I don’t remember what I suggested before. Ice is good medicine. Cold packs are great for necks and upper shoulders.
Inversion can help and it doesn’t have to be complete. Just having your head several degrees lower than your feet will help stretch your spine out a bit and take pressure off disks and nerves. I have heard there are excellent traction machines in PT offices which are applied while the patient is laying down. Maybe that’s an option.
The thing is, most medical people say, “Yup, you have scoliosis,” but they don’t question why or ask how can we get rid of it.
You may have to guide your team in that direction. Sometimes you cannot get totally rid of it but every little bit helps.
Wendy, I hope this helps and write anytime. I know it can be really frustrating. 🙁
You might want to print this out and take it with you to share at therapy. And always remember, I’m not a doctor.
One more thought: Are you a side sleeper?
Take care,
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach