Mid Back Pain: Left Side
Mid Back Pain Left Side
If you’re feeling mid back pain on the left side there are a number of different reasons that could be contributing to it. The good news is that this type of pain is often muscle related and with some small changes to your lifestyle you can probably reverse the effects.
However, if you find that your pain is persistent over a long period of time, and even when you have tried changing up your routine to promote good spine health, you should really go and see a good physiotherapist because the pain may be a sign of a larger issue at work.
Common Causes of Mid Back Pain on the Left Side
Like most back pain – poor posture, health and stress are some of the key factors that contribute to having a bad back. When I’ve had the worst back pain of my life it was caused by some of the following factors:
- Improper computer chair lacking armrests
- Working too many hours in the day and working too long without breaks
- Taking on too much work which lead to high stress levels
- Weak Abs
- Unbalanced Posture (which is what causes the pain to be on the left side)
- Serious Injury (discussed below)
Like most people when they first start to feel back pain, I didn’t think much of it. You might be the same, but if you continue to ignore the pain you will get to the point where it is so unbearable that the problem will most likely spread and lead to other problems due to your body trying to react and overcompensate to deal with the pain which in turn puts more strain on other parts of your body.
The Worst Thing You Can Do is Ignore Your Pain!
If you are in generally poor health, under a lot of stress, or working too long or too hard then you can probably greatly reduce the amount of pain you are in by trying to do the following:
- Strengthen your core. It may sound strange to think that by strengthening your front that it will also help your back, but it’s completely true. Tighter abs promotes better, tighter posture that really does a lot for your back. Also those core exercises are working your back as well as your abs, so it is also becoming stronger. For help with this, check out: Bulletproof Back Core Strengthening Home Program.
- Make sure that you are sitting properly (meaning sitting up straight – and without having a huge wallet in your back pocket to promote imbalance) if you need to sit for long periods of time, and NO MORE SLOUCHING! Also see: The Best Chair for Bad Backs.
- Take more frequent breaks to give your back a rest.
- Start stretching. This worked wonders for me and you can use our lower back pain exercises guide here: Lower Back Pain Exercises or better yet, take a look at the Safe Stretching Handbook.
- If possible try to reduce your stress levels at work by either handing off some of your work to a co-worker, or by becoming more focused and efficient at your job so that you can get out of the office more quickly.
- Trigger Points. Get rid of any trigger points you may have by getting a good massage. If you have serious trigger point problems then try this: Trigger Point Home Treatment Kit.
- Check to see how soft your mattress is. If it is very soft, it may promote poor sleeping positions that lead to promoting and unnatural curve in the spine.
- Meditative Qigong. This will help reduce stress levels and also put you in a place of calm and tranquility for at least a short amount of each time where your back is getting a rest, as well as your mind. Check out my favorite kind of meditation: Meditative Qigong
Mid back Pain on the Left Side Indicating Serious Injury
If your back pain continues to persist even after you have made some key changes in your lifestyle, then you should really see a doctor and see if it’s not a sign of some larger issue. Because your heart is on the left side of your torso it may be an indication that you are having some complications with your heart.
How I Got Rid of My Back Pain
The first major thing that needed to happen to get rid of my back pain was that I had to be honest with myself and realize just how bad the situation had gotten. I had mid back pain on the left side as well as on the right side and pain going down my right leg. It would flare up at random during the day, and almost always at night.
The constant pain felt uncomfortable, painful, and like my back always needed to be popped, making it almost impossible to get a decent night’s sleep. So, after realizing that the situation was dire, I requested time off from work and while my boss wasn’t happy about me taking time off, he did see the logic in me needing to get healthy so that I could continue to work in the future. I’m sure if your pain is anything like what I went through that your boss will also see the logic in giving you time off for a short term in favor of keeping you around for the long term.
From there, I got help and started to read online, looking for different natural solutions for what may work.
For me, the answer was stretching and meditation (about one hour total time for both, performed each day), in addition to changing careers and taking time off from work.
For you the path to solving your mid back pain on the left side and beginning your new pain free life may be different, but the most important thing is that you realize you need help and then reach out. Suffering with chronic back pain is no way to live your life.