5 Things That Unwittingly Make the Right Upper Back Feel Pain

Different location of your back pain, also different causes. The right upper back pain can occur due to various things. Starting from muscle or bone problems in the area to problems in internal organs far from the location of pain. What are the possible causes?

Upper right back pain, maybe because ...

1. Muscles are stiff or tense

Poor posture when sitting or standing can make the right upper back hurt. Because, the muscles of the back and neck are forced to continuously support the weight of the head when you bend. Meanwhile, the muscles of the upper body also continue to be pulled down when the shoulders droop and fall because your posture is not sturdy.

In addition, various activities that use too much of the right hand can also cause pain in the right upper back. For example, playing badminton, painting, and also working all day at the computer with the right hand holding the mouse (mouse).


Various repetitive movements on the same side in excess will make the muscles tighten until it feels painful.

2. Injury

If you have fallen on your right back or have an accident involving your upper back, this might be the cause of your right upper back pain.

Various injuries that you experience and are left alone can cause back pain later on.


There are various injuries that can cause pain in your right upper back, namely:

• Bone injury, such as a broken rib or the right side of the spine.
• Injury to muscles, ligaments, cartilages, and other soft tissues on the right side of the neck, right shoulder joint, and upper and middle back.
• Sports injuries that cause pulling of muscles and bones and soft tissue injuries.
• There is a wound in the right upper back area.

3. Musculoskeletal disorders

Musculoskeletal disorders are conditions that interfere with the function of joints, ligaments, muscles, nerves, tendons, and spine. Problems that affect this part of the musculoskeletal can be a cause of upper back pain, for example:

• Awkward body movements, wrong pillows during sleep, how to lift the wrong load, and stretching the wrong turning of the body.
• Health problems that affect the ribs and joints in the upper right back region.
• Fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, and other muscular pain conditions that affect the neck, shoulders and upper right back.
• Spinal problems such as nerve clamps and pressure on nerves.

4. Problems with the lungs

Various problems in the lungs, especially the right side can cause pain in your back. Pneumonia, pleurisy and pleural effusion (wet lungs) not only cause chest pain but can also cause upper right back pain.


In addition, pulmonary embolism can also cause you to experience upper right back pain accompanied by shortness of breath and sudden pain.

5. Indigestion

Although it seems unrelated, but digestive disorders can make your right upper back hurt.

Inflammation of the gallbladder, for example, can cause severe pain under the right rib cage and extend to the right upper back to the right shoulder blade. This condition is also usually accompanied by nausea, vomiting, changes in skin color, and loss of appetite

In addition, problems in the liver, abdominal organs, and also the intestines can cause pain that also affects the upper back.


If the right upper back pain continues for a long time and gets worse, immediately consult a doctor to find out the cause.

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