Upper back pain is so common. As a massage therapist, it's one of the most frequent reasons people come in to see me.

And massage usually has excellent results in relieving upper back pain. But massage may give only temporary relief if you do not correct the muscle imbalances in the upper back, chest, and neck that are common causes of the pain.

Following are some targeted exercises to help strengthen muscles of the upper back and neck--muscles that, when weak, can cause upper back and neck pain. If you have what is commonly called "dowagers hump," these upper back exercises should be great for you.

The exercises will help you bring your shoulders and shoulder blades down and back, open your chest, and straighten your neck. In short, they will help you return your upper body to a more youthful, pain-free, neutral posture.

Do not continue doing any of these exercises if they make you feel worse, or if they conflict with the advice of your doctor, chiropractor, or physical therapist.

Upper Back Exercises for Pain Relief

Shoulder Blade Squeezes

1. Hold both upper arms straight out to the sides of your body at shoulder level, with your elbows bent at a 45 degree angle so that your forearms and hands are pointing toward the ceiling. (You'll look kind of like you're in a movie and a robber has just pointed his gun at you and said, "Stick-em-up!")

2. Still in this position, rotate your hands forward (toward the floor in front of you) a few inches, so that they are a couple of inches in front of the straight-up position. With hands in this position, squeeze your shoulder blades together and hold for 5 seconds. Repeat the squeezes 5-10 times.

   This strengthens the rhomboid muscles, between your shoulder blades, helping to open your chest and pull your shoulders and shoulder blades back.

3. Keeping your arms in the same arms-out, elbows-bent position, return your hands to a straight-up position. Now rotate your hands back (toward the floor behind you), so that they are a couple of inches behind the straight-up position. Again, squeeze your shoulder blades together for 5 seconds or so and repeat the squeezes 5-10 times.

   This strengthens the lower trapezius muscles, helping to pull your shoulders and shoulder blades down. This exercise can help with shoulder joint pain as well.

4. Do both sets of squeezes several times a day, and especially when you feel upper back pain.

Posterior Neck Exercise for Pain Relief
Resisted Neck Retraction

1. Interlace your hands behind your head (not your neck).
2. Tuck your chin
3. Press your head back into your hands for a count of ten, resisting this action with your hands.
4. Repeat five times.
5. Do this several times a day, and especially when you feel neck pain.

Shoulder Exercise for Pain Relief
And finally, do some good ol' shoulder circles often during the day--but circle them backwards only. This helps to combat the rounded shoulders that usually are found when your upper back chronically hurts.

Other Recommendations for Upper Back Pain Relief
Beyond these upper back exercises, to provide more complete and lasting relief, you may also need to stretch the muscles of your chest. You can learn these upper back pain stretches for the chest here.

Some focused work on changing your posture will likely be very helpful. You can learn about forward head posture and how to combat it here.

Finally, for a whole-body approach to chronic muscle pain, I highly recommend the book The Core Program, by Peggy Brill, PT. Its short, focused, comprehensive program of exercises can help relieve upper back pain and all kinds of chronic muscle pain better than anything else I've found. Once you learn the exercise routine, it really only takes 15 minutes--a fantastic investment in your well-being both short and long-term. The book is also highly educational about how your muscular system works.

Remember: Do not do any of these upper back exercises or neck exercises if they conflict with the advice of your doctor, chiropractor, or physical therapist, and don't continue doing them if they make you feel worse.

I wish you ease and comfort in your upper back, and I am confident that you will be able to help yourself feel better.

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