Back Pain Forum - Posture causing back pain

Conditions and Diseases > Back Pain Forum > Posture causing back pain

What structures make up the spine? We review basic spine anatomy here...before identifying potential causes of back pain....

Q: Posture causing back pain

asked by: DoctorQuestion on February 15th, 2009

Hi. I'm having a lot of trouble with back pain becuase of my posture. My shoulders tend to roll forward and my thoracic spine tends to round more than usual. I try to sit up straight and stand straight, but in only a few minutes I have awful back pain and I find I am not as comfortable breathing in the straighter positions. I'm not sure what to do about this becuase it would seem that sitting straighter would be better for my back and make it easier to breathe. Do you have any advice on positioning or things I could try that would help lesson the pain so I can try to correct my posture?
Thank you

Replies(1)

Sam Visnic

replied on February 16th, 2009

Back Pain Answer A5783

Your question involves improving your posture, particularly in your thoracic spine.

It is common for the abdominal muscles and/or diaphragm to become short and tight when you have been slouching for a long time. There are a few things that you can do:

1. Stretch over the top of a swiss ball. This will effectively stretch your abdominal muscles and improve the mobility of your thoracic spine without having to engage the muscles which may be fatigued or painful. As your range of motion improves, you will notice the pain decrease.

2. Link up with a good massage therapist who is familiar with abdominal muscle and diaphragm release techniques. This can help a lot with improve respiratory function, and thoracic kyphosis.

3. Learn to use the Bruegger's Relief Position: You can find it here: http://www.chiroweb.com/mpacms/dc/article. php?id=36235

Sam Visnic NMT
www.Endyourbackpainnow.com/blog

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