Upper back pain: causes and which doctor to see

For upper back pain you can first see: Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation or Orthopedics & Traumatology. If you are not sure, a family doctor (general practitioner) can assess you first and refer you to the right specialist.

The most common causes: poor posture and sitting for long periods; muscle tension and stress; heavy lifting; arthritis of the spine; pain referred from the lungs or kidneys. Only a doctor’s examination can determine the exact cause.

Muscular back pain usually goes away within a few days to 2–3 weeks. Better posture and regular exercise prevent it from coming back.

See Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation or Orthopaedics. If the pain gets worse when breathing and you have a cough, Internal Medicine or Pulmonology assesses it.

Most often it is muscle tension. Pain spreading to the right flank with fever can come from the kidney, and pain that gets worse after meals can come from the gallbladder; get examined.

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, call 112 without delay: “Is there sudden, extremely severe, tearing pain in the back?” “Is there chest pain or shortness of breath with it?” “Is there fever, shivering and flank pain?” “Is there weakness or numbness in the legs, or loss of bladder or bowel control?” “Is there confusion, fainting or difficulty waking up?” “Is there facial drooping, slurred speech or sudden weakness in an arm or leg?” “Are you struggling to breathe even at rest?”

See a doctor: the pain has not eased within 2–3 weeks; it gets worse at rest at night; there is weight loss or fever; you have a history of cancer.