Upper spinal pain

[THUNDERGOD2000]

Does anyone else have any problems with pain in the upper spine, right between the traps. I just got finished working my back and this is the second time in two weeks that this has appeared. I don't perform any excessive lifts for shrugs or by no means overexert myself. But it feels like my spine needs to be cracked. Is this just the muscle tension on the spine itself or should I get my back cracked every few weeks? One month ago, I also started to get massaged after my workout to release deep tissue for growth and it really has helped my growth. Does this need to be performed on the spine also?

[braindx]

Nah, it's the muscles pulling the spine out of place so it want to be cracked.

Keep getting deep tissue massages.

Usually a contribution of poor posture, and lack of strength of the muscles on the back. Do more horizontal rowing and some external rotations. Less anterior work. Focus on your posture.

[THUNDERGOD2000]

Thanks for the input. You say less anterior work, but wouldn't that place more stress on the problematic area? I do have relatively good posture, but couldn't working more on my chest and anterior delt development help improve my posture by theoretically pushing my shoulders back, pronouncing my chest the correct way and aligning my shoulder girdle correctly?

Interesting web page also- eat.move.improve. Interesting facts. I bookmarked it to read over more.

[braindx]

Yes, you can focus on posture by just having good posture.

What happens with the back is strengthening of the anterior muscles is they get strong and tight and begin to pull the shoulders/scapulas forward. The back which is relatively weaker begins to get very tight, but it isn't strong. Since the imbalance is pulling forward they get painfully tight sometimes, and they will lock down to prevent further imbalance which causes the pain.

So what you gotta do is loosen them up with massage and heat, and then work on strengthening them to prevent such occurance. Of course, you can speed it up significantly by focusing on posture all the time. But most people don't have the willpower nor the concentration to do that for multiple days in a row to make any significant changes. If you do, then great. :)