WOODINVILLE CHIROPRACTIC CARE FOR UPPER AND MIDDLE BACK PAIN
Your thoracic spine, often referred to as your upper and middle back, is the region of your spine that has ribs attached to it. It performs less of the load-bearing work of your spine than your low back region, but because of the large number of joints and muscles that are involved, there are far more opportunities for misalignments, sprains/strains, and upper and middle back pain.
There are 12 individual spinal bones (vertebrae T1-T12) that make up your thoracic spine, and 12 pairs of ribs attached to those vertebrae. Because each spinal bone has two joints with the vertebra above, and two joints with the vertebra below, as well as joints with two pairs of ribs, there are 6-8 individual joints associated with each vertebrae that could become misaligned and cause you pain and discomfort in your upper and middle back.
Your upper and middle back is also where your shoulder blades move back and forth across those ribs. There a many tiny muscles that link vertebra to vertebra, vertebra to shoulder blade, rib to rib and vertebra to rib. There are also larger muscles that run along the length of the spine, and muscles that join other regions of the body to your trunk. The tiny muscles and the larger muscles all work together to keep your spine stable, to keep you upright, and to protect your internal organs.
Woodinville Chiropractic takes the time to carefully evaluate your thoracic spine, determining which specific segments are contributing to your upper and middle back pain. Dr. Robin use neurobiomechanical testing to determine which adjustments to your spine, ribs and shoulder blades are necessary, to reduce your pain and help you return to a fully active life.