I have been suffering from upper back pain for a long time and been taking pain killers for more than 10 years, but nothing is working for me. What will you advise me to do please?

I notice you'd already found your way to the Upper Back Pain page on the website, where our exercises and lifestyle advice is, so I presume you're asking about the continued use of the medicines.

Getting the maximum benefit depends on a combination of diet, postural adjustments and sleep quality. Dietary changes can influence the production of inflammatory substances produced in the body and if you follow this link you'll find a blog series on understanding and managing pain.

Postural changes are likely to be most beneficial if you can implement them where your back is under most strain, so at the workplace or car. Don't read your phone or tablet with head bowed down either as this nearly always brings on the strain.

Better sleep helps people deal with pain better and some of the remedies used to improve sleep (such as Valerian) help relax the muscles too. In the video blog on the upper back pain page you visited you'll see some exercises that help strengthen the weakened muscles between the shoulder blades. It's taken a few weeks but they and the other changes have helped almost resolve my upper back and neck pain. I hope they do the same for you.

Here are some additional exercises to strengthen those deconditioned muscles. They take less than 5 minutes to do:

   -   Whilst stood, squeeze your shoulder blades together so that it causes your shoulders to be drawn rearward. Hold for a count of 5 each time and repeat for one minute initially.

   -   Starting with a can of beans or soup, bend forwards so that your forearm is resting on the arm of a chair or coffee table. Your torso should be roughly horizontal. With the can in your opposite hand, raise your free arm upwards and outwards, keeping it straight until the arm is parallel to the floor. Slowly lower the arm to your side again so that your arms is hanging vertically and repeat 10 times to begin with. Switch sides.
To make this harder, increase the weight in your hand or simply avoid dropping your arm to the vertical position, so its range movement is merely from the 8 o'clock position to parallel (9 o'clock). You'll be surprised what a difference this makes.

If the current medicines upset your digestive system, try applying some Atrogel^® upon waking, at lunchtime and before bed. It provides great symptomatic relief in addition to medicines and helps people avoid having to step up to stronger pain-killing medications.

Best wishes

Earle