“Sharp upper back pain?”

You should have this looked at by a health care professional who will take a detailed history and do a thorough examination to uncover the cause of your pain.

Sounds like a rib subluxation

Get an exam and X-ray.

It may go away as quick as it came, but because of underlying factors that caused it to do that in the first place, I would see a chiropractor for a few sessions to improve the mechanics and balance the muscle pull. Maybe a massage if you can find anyone doing that these days.

I would recommend going to a Chiropractor for an examination, specifically a Sports Chiropractor. This sounds like either a pulled muscle, or your spine has torsion in it.

This is a very common occurrence. You may have strained an upper back muscle during your workout or slept funny and produced a slight misalignment in the upper back causing the joint to be inflamed and the associated muscle to become tight. Try to stretch the affected muscles, ice the area and take some ibuprofen if you are okay with that to decrease some of the inflammation. Once the acute pain diminishes some, try to release the upper back vertebrae by either using a foam roller or place a soccer ball between your upper back and the back of a hard chair you are sitting in and push your back over the ball causing you upper back to extend over the ball. You may feel a few "cracks," that is good. It should calm down in a day or 2. If not, consult a local chiropractor and get some manipulation to ease the problem.
I hope you feel better soon.

Take care and be well,

Dr. Eric Miller

This is most likely due to a muscular sprain or strain. Ice alternating with heat with over-the-counter analgesics should resolve the symptoms in 7-10 days. Further pain beyond this period warrants a visit to the physician.

Good luck,

Keith

I’d recommend trying shoulder/upper back stretches, ice pack therapy, and warm bath with epsom salt. If it doesn’t improve, go see a chiropractor for an evaluation.