Why Mid-Back Pain May Actually Be Coming From Your Stomach
Most people assume mid-back pain is caused by poor posture, muscle strain, or spinal issues. While those can certainly play a role, there’s another commonly overlooked source that can create pain between the shoulder blades and even radiate into the neck: stomach inflammation.
The connection lies in how the nervous system—particularly the vagus nerve—links the digestive system to the spine, ribs, and neck.
The Overlooked Gut–Spine Connection
Your organs don’t exist in isolation. They constantly communicate with the brain and spinal cord through nerves. When an organ becomes irritated or inflamed, it can create referred pain—pain felt in areas far from the actual source.
The stomach sits just beneath the left rib cage and is heavily innervated by the vagus nerve, one of the most influential nerves in the body.
How Stomach Inflammation Triggers Mid-Back Pain
Conditions that irritate the stomach lining—such as gastritis, acid reflux, ulcers, or chronic irritation from stress or food sensitivities—can stimulate visceral pain receptors.
Because of how the nervous system is wired, that irritation is often perceived as pain:
Between the shoulder blades
Along the mid-thoracic spine
Under the left rib cage
This happens because spinal nerves serving the stomach share pathways with nerves that supply the mid-back muscles and joints. The brain can misinterpret the signal, creating pain where the stomach itself isn’t consciously felt.
The Role of the Vagus Nerve
The vagus nerve runs from the brainstem down through the neck, chest, and into the digestive organs. When the stomach is inflamed, the vagus nerve can become irritated or overactivated.
This irritation can lead to:
Increased muscle tension in the neck and upper back
Stiffness between the shoulder blades
Headaches or neck tightness
A sense of pressure or discomfort in the upper spine
Because the vagus nerve influences muscle tone and autonomic balance, digestive inflammation can easily show up as neck pain or upper back tightness, even when imaging of the spine looks normal.
Why the Pain Can Travel Upward
Unlike local muscle pain, nerve-mediated pain often spreads. When vagal signaling is altered, it can:
Increase sympathetic (stress) tone
Reduce parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) signaling
Promote chronic muscle guarding
This is why patients with digestive complaints often report:
Mid-back pain that doesn’t respond fully to stretching
Neck pain that returns quickly after treatment
Pain that worsens with stress, meals, or bloating
Common Digestive Triggers That Contribute
Stomach inflammation may be driven by:
Chronic stress
Acid imbalance
NSAID use
Food sensitivities
H. pylori infection
Poor blood sugar regulation
These factors can quietly irritate the stomach while the primary symptom shows up as musculoskeletal pain.
Why Addressing the Spine Still Matters
Even though the stomach may be contributing, spinal dysfunction often develops alongside it. Irritated nerves can increase muscle tension and joint restriction in the thoracic spine and neck.
Chiropractic care can help by:
Reducing mechanical stress on spinal nerves
Improving thoracic and cervical mobility
Supporting vagal tone and nervous system balance
Decreasing chronic muscle guarding
When digestive health and spinal function are addressed together, outcomes are often far better than treating either in isolation.
The Takeaway
Not all back pain starts in the back. Stomach inflammation can refer pain into the mid-back and send tension upward into the neck through the vagus nerve. If pain is persistent, stress-related, meal-related, or resistant to typical treatments, the digestive system may be an important missing piece.
Understanding the gut–nerve–spine connection helps explain why some pain patterns don’t respond to conventional approaches—and why a more integrative view of the body matters.
