{"id":11,"date":"2026-07-21T22:26:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T22:26:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medicinepark.ro\/en\/conditions\/upper-back-pain\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T04:29:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T01:29:57","slug":"upper-back-pain","status":"publish","type":"afectiuni","link":"https:\/\/medicinepark.ro\/en\/conditions\/upper-back-pain\/","title":{"rendered":"Upper Back Pain"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>That burning ache between your shoulder blades after a day at the laptop is one of the most common complaints we treat<\/strong> \u2014 especially among professionals and expats working long desk hours in Bucharest. The good news: upper back pain is usually muscular and postural, and it responds fast to the right combination of hands-on treatment and exercise.<\/p>\n<h2>What causes upper back pain?<\/h2>\n<p>The thoracic spine \u2014 the segment anchored to your ribs \u2014 is built for stability, not mobility. Hours of sitting with rounded shoulders stiffen it further, overloading the muscles between the shoulder blades. Common causes include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>postural overload<\/strong> \u2014 desk work, driving, phone use;<\/li>\n<li><strong>weak interscapular muscles<\/strong> \u2014 rhomboids and lower trapezius that fatigue by mid-afternoon;<\/li>\n<li><strong>stiff thoracic joints and ribs<\/strong> \u2014 limiting rotation and deep breathing;<\/li>\n<li><strong>stress and shallow breathing<\/strong> \u2014 which keep the upper back permanently braced;<\/li>\n<li>less often: disc problems or referred pain \u2014 pain that appears suddenly with chest symptoms, fever or weight loss needs medical review first.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Typical symptoms<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>dull ache or burning between the shoulder blades \u2014 <em>upper left<\/em> or <em>upper right back pain<\/em>, often one-sided;<\/li>\n<li>tender knots that &#8220;refer&#8221; pain when pressed;<\/li>\n<li>stiffness on trunk rotation or deep breaths;<\/li>\n<li>pain that eases with movement and worsens with prolonged sitting \u2014 including <em>upper back pain after sleeping<\/em> on an unsuitable pillow.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Upper back pain relief that actually lasts<\/h2>\n<p>Massage alone feels good for a day; lasting relief comes from combining mobility, strength and posture change. At <strong>Medicine Park (Sector 1, Bucharest)<\/strong> your <strong>free first assessment<\/strong> maps your posture, thoracic mobility and muscle strength \u2014 then we build your plan:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>manual therapy, chiropractic and osteopathy<\/strong> \u2014 mobilising stiff thoracic and rib joints;<\/li>\n<li><strong>dry needling<\/strong> \u2014 switching off the trigger points between the shoulder blades;<\/li>\n<li><strong>exercise therapy<\/strong> \u2014 thoracic rotations and extensions, then strengthening the postural muscles (the evidence-backed core of <em>exercises for upper back pain<\/em>);<\/li>\n<li><strong>desk and breathing coaching<\/strong> \u2014 so the pain stops being re-created every workday.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How long does recovery take?<\/h2>\n<p>Postural upper back pain usually improves clearly within 3\u20136 weeks. Long-standing, years-old pain takes 2\u20133 months to rebuild \u2014 and a short maintenance routine keeps it away.<\/p>\n<h2>When to seek help<\/h2>\n<p>Book an assessment if pain between the shoulder blades persists beyond two weeks or returns daily. Seek prompt medical care for sudden intense chest\/back pain with breathing difficulty, palpitations, fever or unexplained weight loss.<\/p>\n<p><strong>No referral needed.<\/strong> Call <strong>0727 464 464<\/strong> \u2014 English-speaking team, free first assessment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pain between the shoulder blades is usually postural and muscular \u2014 and it responds very well to hands-on treatment plus targeted exercise. Free first assessment at our English-speaking Bucharest clinic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"regiune":[2],"class_list":["post-11","afectiuni","type-afectiuni","status-publish","hentry","regiune-spine-back"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medicinepark.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/afectiuni\/11","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medicinepark.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/afectiuni"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medicinepark.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/afectiuni"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/medicinepark.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/afectiuni\/11\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47,"href":"https:\/\/medicinepark.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/afectiuni\/11\/revisions\/47"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medicinepark.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"regiune","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medicinepark.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/regiune?post=11"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}