A Hidden Source of Back & Neck Pain
- ResonantEquus
- Jun 29
- 7 min read
WHAT IF THE SOURCE OF YOUR BACK PAIN WAS HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT?
THE THORACIC SPINE
The thoracic spine consists of twelve vertebrae in total, starting with your 8th spinal segment down from the cranium.
Since the thoracic spine is attached to your entire ribcage (that's what defines the thoracic vertebrae: they're each connected to a rib), it tends to lack mobility when compared to the lumbar and cervical regions. We modern humans spend way more time sitting at computers, in cars, and slumped over our cellphones than our bodies were originally designed for. This abnormal posture, over the long term, can lead to even more stiffness in the thoracic area.
If the thoracic spine "locks up" on the more severe end of the spectrum, or if it just gets a bit more stiff than it already is, this lack of mobility in the middle segment of the body can put excess pressure and strain on the neck and low back. You'll fee pain there in the neck when it's really coming from the middle back.
In this case, pain is experienced as a secondary effect of the primary dysfunction. Discomfort can be emanating from the over-compensating discs or over-used facets in the low back instead of the area that is actually causing the pain. Because of this, people can spend weeks — and even years — chasing the symptoms ... when the source of the problem has been right between their shoulder blades all along.
The good news is there are many ways you can help with this spinal mobility, and many of them are D-I-Y. Here are a few of my favorites:
MENINGEAL / DURAL ADHESIONS
I have been shocked in my Physical Therapy practice to realize just how many of my patients present with back pain when the root cause turns out to be meningeal Dural adhesions.
WHAT IS THE DURA?
The Dura Mater is a meningeal layer inside of the cranial vault and spinal canal that encases the brain and spinal cord. Think of it as a flexible yet strong 'bag' that holds the brain, spinal cord, and cerebrospinal fluid cushioned and safe inside of your body. Every spinal nerve in your body pierces through the Dura Mater after it exits the spinal column and travels to its destination. The dura can get adhered to the structures that it contacts, and instead of sliding and gliding, it gets tugged or stretched. Because of the close relationship between dura, nerves, and its blood supply, this can be quite uncomfortable.
Here's why:
Nerves hate being stretched. If scar tissue forms around a nerve, this can mean trouble! Scarring, fibrosis or adhesions can be created by something as benign as chronic low-grade inflammation over time, or bruising, an epidural, an injury, or a surgery. If the nerve is adhered or stuck to an adjacent structure, like the Dura Mater, or the meningeal artery, or both, it can be painful.
HOW DO I LEARN IF I HAVE DURAL ADHESIONS?
There is a simple Cervical Retraction & Cranial functional test that we can perform in a PT Visit that quickly (takes about 5 minutes) establishes this diagnosis. The test is performed laying supine on a treatment table with knees bent. Dr. Jessie will place her hands at the base of your skull, at the sub-occipital muscles. Next, we have you move your eyes to determine if there is tension in the cranial / visual system. We may gently pull on your ears or simply sense the changes in your dural structures while having you rotate your spine. We can discern if the adhesions present are in a central or peripheral location, and then we get to treat accordingly.
In general, you may notice the following symptoms of Dural adhesions:
Chronic tension between the shoulder blades
Chronic headaches
Sensitivity to barometric changes (weather, flying, driving into the mountains)
Saddle anesthesia (numbness at the inner thighs / perineum)
Shoulder or neck pain that gets worse after a massage or after being in a hot tub
History of any head hit, head injury, or concussion
History of epidural or spinal puncture / spinal tap
Dural tear history
Had a fall where you landed on your tailbone
Had a fall where you twisted your spine
CSF Leak
WHAT IS A DURAL ADHESIONS TREATMENT LIKE AT RESONANT FREQUENCY MEDICINE?
The treatment is similar to the testing, but with treatment we add in Frequency Specific Microcurrent (FSM) & PEMF dual-channel frequencies that can dramatically help reduce adhesions, fibrosis and scarring while we mobilize the tissues. The body guides the treatment as we are exploring for areas of sensation and moving them through gentle ranges. The gentle movements and subsensory electrical pulses will help the adhered hydrogen bonds to break and restore what is usually lasting relief.
The best part about treating the dura in my practice is that Frequency Specific Microcurrent enables us to be so much more effective at what we could call "melting" adhesions & scar tissue than we are when just using our hands. I love manual therapy, and I also love how much more effective it is when we utilize FSM to expedite and enhance its effects.
Unfortunately at the time of this writing there is not great research that I can point you to regarding the effects of our frequencies for scar tissue, adhesions and fibrosis, but I can rely on my clinical experience to share examples of the effects of this modality. Many patients I see who are on the hypermobile spectrum or who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a connective tissue condition, also present with tethered cord. Tethered cord is a severe form of Dural adhesions. We have had some great successes with utilizing frequencies and functional mobilizations to release restricted dura, connective tissues, fascia, and nerves in these patients with tethered cord.
Beyond mobilizing the bones of the spine and releasing Dural & meningeal adhesions, there is an important factor that we would be remiss not to cover: and that's posture!
POSTURE IS IMPERATIVE
Remember when your grandma would poke the back of your spine and remind you, "Sit up straight, honey!"? Maybe your grandma didn't do that (mine didn't), but the concept is important: slouching, especially over your lifespan, elicits what is called "creep" in a therapeutic setting. See also "Text Neck" and "TechNeck."
Creep is the capacity of connective tissue including ligaments, tendons fascia to lengthen when loaded with a constant tension. The ligaments and tendons that hold your joints in place begin to slowly over stretch over time, like a rubber band that has been pulled too tight for too long. The rubber band doesn't typically return to its original shape once it's been overstretched, and people are left with functional laxity. No fun for your muscles, who have to always be on low tone in order to pick up the slack of these over-stretched connective tissues.
THE GOOD NEWS The good news is that when we use frequencies targeted to fascia, ligaments, tendons, and connective tissues, we can do what nature (so far) does not know how to do: we can un-stretch the rubber band. This is what makes Frequency Specific Microcurrent so miraculous for those with hypermobility or Ehlers-Danlo's Syndrome (EDS). It's also what makes FSM an amazing treatment modality for people who have chronic, unresponsive tendon or ligament injures.
But remember: what's even better than un-doing what time and creep has done to the connective tissues with FSM is preventing if from happening in the first place!
DON'T FORGET: PREVENTION IS MEDICINE
The sooner we can start to optimize our posture, the better our chances to promote happy, healthy spinal alignment and minimize back and neck pain. And there are so many ways to do this! Here are just a few:
Anatomically-precise yoga classes
Strength training, particularly targeting the posterior chain and shoulders
Pilates
Movement Gyms
Set a timer so you get up and move your body every 2 hours if you have a desk job
Axial elongation: move as though there is a string pulling your spine as long as possible from the crown of your head
Rock climbing
IT'S NEVER TOO LATE I have a story I like to share about a client I worked with long before I was a Physical Therapist or a Frequency Medicine practitioner. I had a dear private yoga client who was in her late 70's and had severe thoracic kyphosis. Another term that is sometimes used for this condition is "dowager's hump," or a severely rounded upper back. It was so significant that it was affecting her breathing and her oxygen saturation, plus she had neck pain because of the chronic extension her head was in to compensate for the forward-rounded spine and shoulders. She asked her doctor, concerned about the oxygen saturation, if there was something she could do to reverse this posture that had crept in over time, and her doctor said it just happens with age and that there was no reversing this condition (How frustrating!).
When I heard her story I suggested, "I know a restorative yoga posture that might be able to help, and it's at least worth a try." It was a gentle posture that just took time and commitment. She took her homework assignment very seriously, practicing a form of postural neutral over a foam roller first with a pillow under her forward head. Over time she progressed to using a flattened folded blanket instead of the pillow, then she was able to lie totally flat on the foam roller. 3 months later, after diligently practicing deep breathing and postural correction for 20 minutes per day, she had grown nearly 4 inches taller, her posture was significantly improved, and even her oxygen saturation was sitting at a happy 96%.
I just love proving wrong that "Well, you're getting old..." excuse!
Here is the video that summarizes the type of posture exercise I recommended to this client so many years ago:
I hope this offered a fresh perspective on what you can do for your thoracic spine to help alleviate chronic low back and neck pain that you may not have considered. If you are still struggling and want some support through a physical exam, the Dural Cervical Retraction Test, and treatment with Frequency Specific Microcurrent, I'm here for you!
REFERENCES Apti A, Çolak TK, Akçay B . Normative Values for Cervical and Lumbar Range of Motion in Healthy Young Adults. J Turk Spinal Surg. 2023 Jul;34(3):113-117.
Lubczyńska A, Garncarczyk A, Wcisło-Dziadecka D. Effectiveness of various methods of manual scar therapy. Skin Res Technol. 2023; 29(3): e13272.
McMakin, C. Introduction to Frequency Specific Microcurrent 2025. Frequency Specific Microcurrent YouTube Channel. Published 14 Feb 2025. Accessed Online 29 June 2025.
Silva S. Tech Neck: Signs, Causes, Prevention. Healthline. Accessed Online 29 June 2025.
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