In this video, I'm going to show you how to instantly
relieve nerve pain in your upper back using no special
equipment. Stay tuned!
Hey, everyone. Dr. Rowe coming to you from SpineCare in St.
Joseph, Michigan. In this video, we're going to focus on
pinched nerve pain in the upper back even more so when it
travels off to the sides including the shoulder blades.
All of these exercises are easy, effective, and can be
done at home. As a bonus, they will not require any special
equipment and you may find they give quick relief even in as
little as thirty seconds. So, let's get started and fix that
nerve pain in the upper back right now. So, here is a great
decompression traction or pulling stretch into the upper
back that helps take pressure out of spinal discs and
hopefully off any nearby pinched nerves. It's very easy
to do. We just need a flat elevated surface. You can use
the edge of a bed. You can use a desk or a chair. We're also
going to start off on our knees so make sure to put a pillow or
towel underneath them for extra comfort. Let's go up to that
flat elevated surface. First movement, again, very easy.
We're going to bend the elbows just like this. Place the back
side of the arm flat on that surface. We want to press down
with backside of our arms too because it's going to be kept
stationary as an anchor point. Our hands are going to go right
on the back like this right over the shoulders. Let's do a
simple chin tuck too. Take the chin down towards the chest to
put it into better posture. Movement from here, what I'm
going to do is take my butt, lower it down towards my heels.
When we do this, you're going to feel a very good stretch
happen pretty much from the base of the neck into the upper
back all the way down to the lower back. We also want to let
our chest relax and go forward. Kinda like letting it sag down
towards the floor as much as you can. So, go to a point
where you start to feel a very deep stretch into that area
where you're having pain into the upper back. From there,
hold this for twenty to thirty seconds. Do nice, slow,
controlled breathing too. Let that tension out. The more you
relax, the better the results. From here, we're going to come
back up, take a breather, and then simply repeat this three
to five times. With each repetition, try to stretch more
into it. Challenge those muscles, get that pressure out.
We can also do a different variation of this instead of
going on our elbows, what I'm going to do is straight my arms
at the elbows just like this. Put my fingers into that flat
surface. Kinda grip right in there for a stable anchor
point. Let's do that chin tuck again and the movement is the
same. Taking the butt down towards the heels. From here,
let's let the chest sag down towards the floor as much as we
can to get a deep stretch into the upper back. Again, let's
try to focus on hitting that spot that has a lot of pain.
Hold this for twenty to 30 seconds and then just relax and
repeat this three, two, five times. How we can take this one
to the next level and target it just a little bit differently.
Instead of going straight, let's go towards an angle. So,
I'm going to just position my body a little bit more towards
my right and then repeat this. You'll feel the back open just
a little bit differently. So, experiment with different
angles. Go all the way towards the right and then go all the
way towards the left and when you do this, if you notice that
one certain spot just hits it a little bit better, you want to
make of that, throw more repetitions in and focus on the
movements and spots that offer the most amount of relief.
Here's an upper back pinched nerve exercise that you can do
in bed and the great part is, we're going to let gravity do
all of the hard work. To start off with, let's go on our back,
have our head off the edge of that bed. We're going to take
our hands, put them on the back of the head to support it. Our
elbows are going to get winged down as much as we can. So,
just allow gravity to take our elbows, wing them down towards
the floor. Should feel a very good stretch into the chest and
it should feel like the shoulder blades and the back
are starting to pinch together. From here, I'm going to use my
feet and legs to push myself off the edge of the bed. We
want to go over a point where you are having pain and
discomfort. Once we are over that spot, what we want to do
is just allow our head to go downwards and this will put our
back into extension or a backwards movement that helps
take pressure off spinal discs and hopefully off nearby
pinched nerves. Wean the elbows down as much as you can let
gravity take the head and upper body weight down this should
feel like a very pinpoint stretch over the edge of the
bed and over the upper back if your bed does sag down a little
bit you can put a towel or a pillow at the edge to stiffen
it up but we want to hold this position for twenty to 30
seconds from there when we need a breather we just come back up
like this but you want to do this for three to five complete
repetitions with each repetition bring the elbows
down even more let gravity take more of your head and upper
body weight. Try to challenge and open up those joints as
much as you can. You can do this from the top and slide
down all the way towards the bottom and just target any
spots that you feel just needed a little bit more. You can
intensify the stretch by also just allowing your arms to go
straight like this down towards the floor. So, give that a try.
If it feels like it just offers you or offers you more relief,
go with that. To take this one to even the next next level,
what we can use is a weight. I'm going to be using a one
liter water bottle. You can use a soup can, milk jug, anything
that might be a couple pounds. From here, I'm just going to
stretch my arms out, take the weight, put it in my palms, and
allow it to be taken down by gravity. This will be a very
intense stretch. So, only go to your comfort level. But hold
this for twenty to thirty seconds, relax, throw in couple
repetitions, switch over different spots, target the
ones that need it the most. This is what I'd like to call
threading the needle. It's an anywhere X that you can do at
home or at work. We just need a flat surface like a door or a
wall. So, let's go next to a door. I'm gonna space my body
just a little bit away from it. My feet are going to be hip
width apart. During this exercise, we're going to
position our weight onto our heels. So, make sure to always
have your weight on your heels during this exercise. Our arms
are going to go straight at the elbow. Arms are going to be
roughly shoulder width apart. Our hands are going to go
overhead and just stay stationary on this door during
this exercise. Figure hand It's kinda like suction cup to this
door. They're not going to move. From here, I'm going to
tuck my chin towards my chest. The movement, very, very easy.
We're going to position our weight onto our heels and then
squat down towards the floor. Taking the butt down towards
the floor. When you do this, you're really going to start to
feel the chest start to go towards the door. And it's
going to have a very good stretch also happening. Really
try to focus on that. Once we hit a very good stretch,
especially over the spot of discomfort, hold this for to
thirty seconds. Do nice, slow, controlled breathing also. When
you need a breather, just come back up. Try to reach up just a
little bit more on the next repetition and then squat down
even further. Always challenge yourself to always get a better
stretch because it'll help open up those joint spaces,
relieving pressure off spinal disc and pinched nerves. Try to
do this for three to five complete repetitions. From
here, we can experiment with different angles. We can go a
little bit towards the left but you'll notice this opens up the
back just a little bit differently. So, go all the way
towards the left and then go all the way towards the right.
Notice if any spot hits it just a little bit better. If it
does, throw more repetitions in at that point but let's take
this one to the next level by incorporating a little bit more
rotation into it, threading the needle per se. So, I'm gonna go
back to that original position. I'm gonna squat down until I
feel a very comfortable stretch. From here, I'm going
to take one arm off like this, bend the elbow at 90° and then
rotate my body towards the other direction. So, I'm taking
my left arm off and then rotating towards my right.
You'll really feel a good stretch mostly in the upper
back right across the shoulder blades. Really try to reach as
much as you can. Again, twenty to 32nd holds. You're just
going to relax from there, take a breather, and then switch to
the other side. If you notice that this gives you a lot of
relief or just one certain movement like let's say that
the left side is just targeting that the best. Make note of
that. Try to do it for about three to five repetitions. Here
is a two-part exercise That is perfect for office workers and
students because we can do it right in a chair and the first
part and I really like this one because not only is it going to
hit the spine but off to the side too. So, if you have a lot
going on in the shoulder blades, give this one a try.
Let's start with very good upright posture in our chair.
Whatever side that we're focusing on, in this case, I'm
having a lot going on my right. What I'm going to do to start
off with is hunch forward with my shoulders and upper body
until I feel a very comfortable stretch into the upper back.
The next movement is we're going to rotate or turn our
upper back in the opposite direction that we're having
pain. So, again, if I'm having right side of pain, I'm turning
all the way towards my left. You should already start to
feel a very comfortable stretch into the right side. From here,
I'm going to take my left hand, place it on the back of the
head, pull my head down towards my left armpit. This will
really intensify that stretch on the right. So, only go to
your comfort level. Really focus on feeling that into the
upper back but also off to the side. Hold this for about
twenty to thirty seconds. Relax, take a breather. On the
next repetition, always stretch into it more. Go more forward
with it, rotate away from the side, and then pull the head
down. Try to do this for three to five complete repetitions.
In the second part, we're going to focus on extension or
backwards movements. This really helps take pressure out
of spinal disc that might be causing nerve pain. Let's start
with very good upright posture. What I'm going to do is just
lean my upper back into the back of the chair just like
this. Hands go on the back of the head. We're going to wing
the elbows back as much as we can. You should feel a very
comfortable stretch into the chest. Also, the shoulder
blades should feel like they're starting to pinch together.
From here, I'm going to lean back with my head, my
shoulders, and upper back into the back of the chair as much
as we can and I kind of let my stomach go forward just a
little bit too to help intensify the stretch. It feels
really good. A very deep stretch in between the shoulder
blades of the upper back. Try to hold this for to thirty
seconds. From there, you're just going to relax, take a
breather, and then repeat. Again, with each repetition,
try to stretch more into it. You can also position your body
by moving your butt forward and backwards to hit different
spots of the upper back. So, give that a try and focus on
the spots that you feel hit it the most and throw more
repetitions in. If the video helped, please support the
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