Upper back pain after shoveling snow is usually caused by repetitive twisting under load, which irritates the joints and muscles of the thoracic spine. Most cases respond well to heat, gentle mobility work, and hands-on physical therapy. If your pain is sharp, travels down your arm, or makes it hard to breathe deeply, it’s time to get evaluated right away.
You finished the driveway. Maybe the sidewalk too. You came inside, sat down, and within an hour your upper back locked up like someone turned a bolt too tight between your shoulder blades. Now you’re stiff, you’re sore, and you’re frustrated — because you had plans today that didn’t involve lying on the couch trying to find a position that doesn’t hurt.
If you’re dealing with upper back pain after shoveling, you’re not alone. It’s one of the most common injuries we see at In Motion Physical Therapy in Farmingdale every single winter — and it almost always comes from the same mechanics problem.
The good news: this type of pain typically responds fast when you address it the right way. Here’s what’s actually going on in your back, what you can do right now, and when it’s time to stop toughing it out and get some real help.
Why Shoveling Causes Upper Back Pain
Shoveling looks simple, but it’s actually one of the most mechanically demanding things you can ask your body to do — especially first thing in the morning, in the cold, when nothing is warmed up, after 20 inches of heavy snow.
Here’s the movement pattern that gets most people in trouble: you load up a heavy shovel, and instead of turning your whole body to throw the snow, you twist from the spine while your lower body stays planted. Do that fifty times in a row and you’ve put serious repetitive rotational stress through your thoracic spine — the section of your back that runs between your shoulder blades.
The structures that take the hit most often are the thoracic facet joints (the small joints that connect each vertebra in your mid-back) and the muscles and connective tissue around the ribcage. When these get irritated, it can feel like sharp, stabbing pain between the shoulder blades, a deep aching knot that won’t release, tightness that wraps around toward the chest, or a stiff neck that you can’t turn without wincing.
Clinically, we call this thoracic facet irritation or rib dysfunction. You’ll probably call it “my back is completely locked up.” Both descriptions are accurate.
One more thing worth mentioning: if you’re the type of person who went out there and just powered through the whole driveway as fast as possible — we see you. That athlete mentality is usually what leads to overdoing it. Your body needed a warm-up and some load management, and the blizzard wasn’t going to wait for either.
5 Ways to Find Relief Right Now
1. Heat or Ice — Get This Right First
The choice between heat and ice depends on what your back is actually doing. If your muscles are in spasm — meaning they feel hard, seized up, and won’t relax — heat is your friend. A heating pad or warm shower for 15-20 minutes will help calm the nervous system and get blood moving into those tissues.
If the area feels swollen, hot to the touch, or the pain came on very suddenly with a specific movement, start with ice wrapped in a cloth for 10-15 minutes to reduce acute inflammation before switching to heat.
When in doubt after snow shoveling, most people do better starting with heat. Muscle spasm from the cold and repetitive loading is the more common culprit.
We always recommend alternating and finding the solution that works best for your body.
2. Cat-Cow to Get the Spine Moving
Get on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Slowly arch your back up toward the ceiling, tucking your chin and tailbone (cat), then let it drop toward the floor while you lift your head and tailbone (cow). Move slowly, breathe through it, and do 10-15 repetitions.
This is not a stretch so much as it is a movement signal to your nervous system that it’s safe to move again. It gently mobilizes every segment of the spine without loading it, and most people feel some immediate relief after a few reps.
3. Child’s Pose for Thoracic Decompression
From kneeling, sit your hips back toward your heels and reach your arms forward on the floor, letting your upper back round and decompress. Hold for 30-60 seconds. You can walk your hands to one side and then the other to get a gentle side stretch through the lats and mid-back.
This position takes the compressive load completely off your thoracic spine — the opposite of what shoveling was doing to it for the past hour.
4. Thoracic Extension Over a Foam Roller
This is the move that most directly reverses the “shoveling hunch.” Place a foam roller horizontally on the floor. Sit in front of it and gently lean back so the roller sits at the mid-back, right between the shoulder blades. Support your head with your hands and let gravity extend your spine over the roller for 30-60 seconds.
No foam roller? Roll up a thick bath towel and use that instead. Move the roller or towel slightly up and down your thoracic spine to find the spots that need it most. This is one of the fastest ways to get some relief from that locked-up feeling between the shoulder blades.
5. Stay Moving — Gently
The instinct when your back hurts is to lie down and not move. For most cases of upper back pain after shoveling, gentle movement throughout the day is actually more effective than rest. Short walks, gentle shoulder rolls, and postural changes every 30 minutes will keep the area from stiffening up further.
What you want to avoid for the next 24-48 hours: any heavy lifting, repetitive twisting, and sitting in a slouched position for long stretches.
How to Shovel Smarter Next Time
Since Long Island doesn’t appear to be done with snow anytime soon, let’s talk about what to do differently the next time you head back outside.
Use a hip hinge, not a spine bend. When you pick up a loaded shovel, think about pushing your hips back and keeping your chest tall, and your core engaged — the same mechanics as a deadlift. Your legs and glutes should be doing the work of lifting, not your lower or mid-back.
Keep the shovel close to your body. The farther away from you the weight is, the more leverage it has against your spine. Think short controlled scoops instead of wide, loaded throws.
The no-twist rule. When you go to throw the snow, pivot your whole body — feet, hips, and all — toward where you’re throwing. Don’t let your feet stay planted while your spine rotates under a loaded shovel. That single movement pattern is responsible for more shoveling injuries than almost anything else.
Do a 2-minute warm-up before you go outside. A few cat-cows, some standing hip circles, and 10 thoracic rotations (hands behind your head, rotating side to side) will wake up the joints and muscles before you ask them to work in the cold. It sounds unnecessary until the one winter you do it and realize how much better your back feels afterward.
Take breaks. Every 10-15 minutes, put the shovel down, stand tall, and do a few gentle backward bends with hands on your lower back. This interrupts the repetitive forward flexion cycle before it becomes a problem.
Warning Signs That Mean You Need to Be Seen Today
Most upper back pain after shoveling is a musculoskeletal issue that will improve with the strategies above and some time. But there are situations where you need to get evaluated sooner rather than later:
Go to urgent care if you experience: pain that travels down one or both arms or into your hands, numbness or tingling in your arms, fingers, or chest, pain or pressure in your chest that feels different from muscle soreness, significant difficulty taking a deep breath, weakness in your arms or hands, or pain that is getting noticeably worse rather than better over the first few hours.
These can indicate nerve involvement, a rib issue, or in rare cases something that needs medical attention beyond physical therapy. Don’t wait those out.
How We Help Farmingdale Residents Recover Faster
If your upper back is locked up and you’ve already tried heat, gentle movement, and a day of rest without improvement, that’s exactly when hands-on physical therapy makes a real difference.
At In Motion Physical Therapy in Farmingdale, we use manual therapy techniques to directly mobilize the thoracic facet joints that get stuck after shoveling. When those joints are restricted, no amount of stretching on your own will fully release them — because the problem is a joint mobility issue, not just muscle tightness.
We also use IASTM — a technique our patients usually call “scraping” — to address the connective tissue restrictions and muscle tension that build up around the mid-back and ribs after repetitive strain. Most patients feel a significant difference in mobility and pain after a single session.
Frequently Asked Questions about Upper Back Pain from Shoveling
How long does upper back pain from shoveling usually last?
Should I use a heating pad or ice pack for upper back pain after shoveling?
Can shoveling snow cause a rib injury?
Is it safe to exercise with upper back pain after shoveling?
Why does my upper back hurt more the day after shoveling?
Ready to relieve upper back pain after shoveling?
Whether you’re an athlete trying to get back to training, a parent who needs to be able to wrangle your toddlers, or someone who just needs to function without pain — we’ll figure out exactly what’s going on and put a plan together that gets you moving again fast.
Don’t wait for the next storm to feel better. Contact Us to request an evaluation at In Motion Physical Therapy in Farmingdale today.
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Laura Sommer has been practicing as a Physical Therapist since 2011. She graduated from Northeastern University, where she was a member of the Women’s Soccer Team. Laura is the owner of In Motion Physical Therapy located in Farmingdale, NY.
