strained muscles in back

see you doctor.
it sounds like you might have a worker's compensation case....

See a doctor.

Meanwhile, pain is a sign of trouble. Your back wants to be treated gingerly.

Further, consider the Pain/Tension cycle. Pain makes your muscles tense and rigid as they try to protect the injured area. You ignore the plea for rest and the muscles feel more pain. The tenseness and rigidity of the muscles increase and the pain grows. You ignore the plea....

See a doctor. Painkillers can help.

You've probably used muscles, that were rarely used in the past. I would rest the back, keep it warm, take an analgesic for relief of pain. If no improvement in 48 hr, see an MD.

Move as little as possible and it will go away. I think seeing a doctor is extreme, but then I always do.

Not heat: ICE it! Especially if it is in spasm. I'm a massage therapist. I would rest the injured area as much as possible and have someone gently rub it. Naturally, I would suggest you hire a professional, but an enthusiastic amateur with a light touch is probably perfectly able to offer some relief.

I was going to suggest an RMT, or maybe even ART (Active Release Therapy). Pain killers will only numb the problem, not make it go away. MDs don't know crap about back problems, and they'll just give you a script you probably don't really need.

I should add, MDs don't know crap about non-life threatening back problems. Strained muscles do not fall into that category.

why ice and not warmth,when should you use an ice spray and when a heat spray?

Here's a good summation:
http://www.newalbanychiro.com/ice_vs_heat.htm

Which should I use? Ice vs. Moist Heat
Ice

Value: The use of cold (cryotherapy) in therapy is often applied to a new injury or a recently reinjured old injury to decrease pain, inflammation, muscle spasm, and swelling. Ice is the safest and most effective way of treating new or recently aggravated sprains, strains, muscle spasm and bruises. Health care practitioners frequently prescribe ice for a wide variety of muscle and joint complaints.

Sensation: When properly applied, the following sensations may occur during a normal treatment:

1. Cold

2. Pain or a burning sensation

3. Increasing discomfort or an aching feeling

4. Numbness or a significant pain reduction

The first time you apply ice it will usually be uncomfortable, but each treatment will get more comfortable.

Home Application: The easiest, safest, and most effective way of applying ice at home is to use a plastic bag half filled with ice cubes and wrapped in a single layer with a damp towel. The ice should be applied directly over the injury and left on for a period of 20 minutes. It can be reapplied as many times as needed as long as there is a 60-minute wait between applications. Generally, the application of ice to a new or recently aggravated injury is most effective in the first 24 to 72 hours.

Note: If you have circulatory complications or sensory losses talk to your doctor before you apply ice.

Moist heat

Value: Moist heat application helps relax tight muscles, and increases blood flow and nutrients to the injury which can help speed healing once the initial inflammation has subsided. It also helps the muscles and tendons respond better to being stretched and exercised. The treatment should feel like gentle warmth, never hot or burning. Moist heat penetrates deeper into the body and does not cause the injury to dehydrate like dry heat.



Home Application: When you use moist heat at home it should be applied to the injury for 20 minutes and then reapplied, as needed, as long as there is a 60-minute wait between applications. You can use a waterproof electric heating pad with a moist towel. Do not use a heating pad alone as this is dry heat and it may make your condition worse.



Note: Generally, never use any form of heat on a new or aggravated area within 2 to 3 days of reinjury. Although the heat will feel good at the time, it actually slows the healing process and may cause increased aching and pain shortly after treatment. For the first 2 to 3 days after an injury ice is the better choice.



Adapted from: Clinical Protocols, Thieme H., Lundgren L., Clinical Education Associates, 1996.

I don't use an ice spray, in fact, I've never even heard of that. We just use old fashioned ice in a baggy wrapped in a towel for most injuries. I do own a Cryostim for cranial work and spasms in deep tissue...

Ice is almost always better to use although there are some practitioners who use ice/heat/ice for older injuries. The pattern is to apply it for 8 minutes, then switch. The name for the contrast treatment is right beyond the tip of my tongue(well, fingers.) It is not ordinary sports medicine, however, and rarely utilized in practice. Heat is for old, chronic injuries. Ice is for recent injury or recent strain(reinjury.)

Where abouts in your upper back is the pain? Up between the shoulder blades? Higher? Lower? Is it on either side of your spinal column or only on one side? Depending on which muscles you pulled, you might find relief w/a pair of tennis balls on trigger points...

the best way to describe it is that it feels as thought ive been hit with a baseball bat all the way across my back(not that i have ever experienced that lol) between my shoulder blades.a few days ago it felt like i found it hard to breathe without it hurting but now its easing a bit.i sometimes have problems with a neck/shoulder injury which when ive been lifting a lot aches and feels like ive trapped a muscle in my right shoulder/neck.dont know if this is related to whats happened the other day but it feels tight .
wonder if there are any exercises i can do to strengthen the muscles around my shoulder/neck/back area?
i would be grateful for any advice

Hard to breathe, huh? Ok, that narrows it down a bit... I'm guessing you pulled your longissimus dorsi, but that is merely a guess... This is what I would do: Get 2 tennis balls. Lie down on a bed w/the tennis balls placed at the bottom edge of the part that feels hit w/a baseball bat. The balls should be an equal distance from your spine, about equally on the muscle. Just lie on them for as long as necessary until you feel a release, then move them up about 2 inches on the pain area and repeat this. Don't put pillows or anything else under you: just a flat mattress and then the balls. This ought to help the muscle work the pain out.

For exercises, let me think on this one a bit... Definitely you should be warming up your upper back... Doing the one where you cross an arm across your chest and pull the humerous(not from your elbow) to stretch out your whole arm... Then taking the same arm over your head and stretching it again from the humerous... For exercise, honestly, I would look at yoga or swimming, but warm up your muscles before you begin any exercise or you may strain something again. And usually, we restrain the same area until we build up enough body strength to make the stress points change~move.

It sounds to me like you may have a rib out of alignment. A chiropractor could help you with that, and diagnose if that's the case, or if it's a simple muscle problem.