Are you noticing upper back stiffness and reoccurring shoulder pain during workouts, overhead movements and daily activities? Maybe you’ve tried stretching your back more, strengthening your shoulders, or modifying workouts, yet the discomfort keeps coming back?
That’s often because shoulder pain isn’t always just a shoulder issue.
The body works as a system. And when something isn’t moving or functioning well in one area, nearby regions often start to pick up the slack. So to truly get to the root cause of shoulder pain, we sometimes have to zoom out and look beyond where the symptoms are showing up.
Looking at the areas above and below the shoulder can give us a more complete picture of what’s going on. And that bigger picture view is often what leads to long-term relief, instead of temporarily quieting symptoms that keep returning.
In this article we’ll break down:
- How the upper back and shoulder work together for smooth efficient movement
- Why upper back stiffness can contribute to shoulder discomfort or pain
- Exercises you can to do to improve motion in the back and support healthier shoulder movement long term
The Relationship Between Your Upper Back Stiffness and Shoulder
If you look at the position of the neck, shoulders and upper back they form a connected system that looks like a triangle. These areas influence each other constantly, especially during overhead and upper-body movements.
Because of how closely they’re connected, changes in one area can affect how the others move, function and feel. When it comes to shoulder pain specifically, upper back stiffness often play a bigger role than people realize.
When the upper back is stiff or stuck in a more rounded position, often referred to as increased thoracic kyphosis, it can limit how much motion is available at the shoulder. This tends to show up most at the end ranges of movement, like reaching overhead, pressing or lifting with the arms above shoulder height.
On top of that, many of the muscles that help control the shoulder and shoulder blade also attach to and cross the upper back. When the upper back isn’t moving well, those muscles may struggle to do their job efficiently. Over time, that can change how the shoulder loads, moves and tolerates stress during workouts and daily activity.
Once you understand how upper back stiffness affects shoulder movement, the next step is improving how the upper back moves and supports the shoulder during real-life activity and training.
Exercises to Improve Upper Back Stiffness
Upper back mobility plays a major role in how well the shoulder moves and tolerates load, especially during overhead work.
When the upper back moves well, the shoulder doesn’t have to do all the work on its own.
The exercises below focus on restoring rotation and extension through the upper back, two motions that often become limited with training, desk work and daily life.
Improving these can help the shoulder move more smoothly and feel better supported during training.
These drills can be used as part of a warm-up or implemented during your stretching or mobility routines to support healthier shoulder movement over time.
Weighted Thoracic Extension Over Foam Roller
Tips for Performing:
- Can perform with foam roller at multiple different heights or levels in the back
- Weight used to should be light to medium, it’s just heavy enough to facilitate extra thoracic extension at end range
- Keep movements slow, hold for 5 seconds at end range breathing out as you arch the back and breathing in as you return to the top
- Perform 4-5 reps at each level desired
Quadruped Thoracic Rotation with Foam Roller
Tips for Performing:
- Stack knees under your hips and hands under the shoulders for set up
- A smaller foam roller works better for this exercise
- Use pinky side of hand on the foam roller and press gently into the foam roller to maintain control
- Breath out as you rotate into the motion and breath in as you return back to the starting position
- Perform 1-2 sets of 8-10 reps on each side
Thoracic Rotation at Wall
Tips for Performing:
- As you bring the leading elbow down in front of you sit back into your hips
- Sweep elbow into an arc motion in the wall when rotating in towards the wall
- Drop leading elbow back behind you as far as you can in a comfortable range
- Can modify range of motion and work up as mobility improves over time
- Perform 1-2 sets of 6-8 reps on each side
Arm Bar with Thoracic Rotation
Tips for Performing:
- Start with shoulders stacked on top of each other with light to medium weight in the hand pointed straight up towards the ceiling
- As you bring the working arm down into a chest press rotate the head towards the side of the working arm
- Exhale as you bring the arm down, inhale as you return back to the starting position
- Return back to a fully stacked position before performing next rep
- Perform 1-2 sets of 6-8 reps on each arm
Next Steps If Your Shoulder Pain or Upper Back Stiffness Feels More Complex
If your shoulder pain keeps coming back or feels more complex than a simple mobility issue, that’s often a sign that there could be more going on beneath the surface. Improving your back movement can be a powerful first step, but lasting change usually comes from understanding how everything is working together and having a plan specifically built for you.
If you’re tired of guessing or piecing things together on your own, I’d love to help. You can book a call so we can chat through what’s been going on and see if working together makes sense. At Rise Performance and Physical Therapy we work with active adults locally in Denver, CO, and virtually all over the country.
Getting clarity and direction is often the first step towards feeling confident in your movement again.
