Can Front Body Work Help Relieve Back Pain? Exploring the Role of Breath in Posture, Tension, and Stress

It never ceases to inspire me when I see someone's face light up, as they make the connection in session between the chronic pain they've been struggling with for so long in the back of their body and the actual root cause which is often in the front of the body; And how relieved they look when they realize that just by doing a little subtle work in some of those areas in the front, a deep release can occur in the overall tension pattern they've grown accustomed to suffering through in the back.

Even though people often feel pain in their back, it's crucial to also work on the front of the body because:

1. The body is connected—front and back work together

Muscles don’t function in isolation. For example, the hip flexors on the front of the body (like the psoas and iliacus) can pull the pelvis forward when tight, putting strain on the lower back. So, someone might feel pain in their lower back, but the root cause might be tension or imbalance in the front.

2. Posture is a whole-body pattern

Modern posture (thanks to sitting, driving, phones, etc.) often leads to a collapsed front body—tight chest, shortened hip flexors, weak core. That can create a chronic strain on the back muscles, which have to work overtime to keep you upright. Releasing and opening the front can give the back some much-needed relief.

3. Fascia connects it all

The superficial front and back lines (as described by Tom Myers in Anatomy Trains) are fascial chains that run through the body. A restriction in the front line (say, in the abdomen or chest) can create compensations or tension along the back line. Working the front helps release these patterns holistically.

4. Breathing and core support

Tightness in the diaphragm, abdominals, or intercostal muscles can limit breathing and weaken core stability. This often shows up as back pain, especially in the thoracic or lumbar regions. Addressing those front body structures helps improve breath and core engagement.

To dive a little deeper into one example of how the muscles of the front and back body work together, or against each other when out of balance, and how the breath, along with these antagonistic muscles, contribute to overall postural restrictions, let's look at a common pattern that comes through my practice.

Pectorals & Rhomboids: The Push-Pull of the Upper Torso

The Muscles:

• Pectoralis major and minor (front of the chest)

• Rhomboid major and minor (between the shoulder blades)

  
  

The Relationship:

These muscle groups are in an antagonistic relationship—meaning they perform opposite actions:

• Pecs pull the shoulders forward (protraction)

• Rhomboids pull the shoulders back (retraction)

  
  

Postural Impact:

When the pecs are tight (which is super common from texting, typing, driving), they pull the shoulders forward and inward, leading to:

• Rounded shoulders

• A hunched upper back

• Overstretched, weakened rhomboids trying to counterbalance

  
  

This often results in:

• Mid to upper back pain

• Neck tension

• Limited shoulder mobility

• “Tech neck” or a forward head posture

  
  

Massage therapy that releases the pectorals and activates or supports the rhomboids can help re-align the upper body and improve posture dramatically.

Now let's take a deeper look at the breath and the front and back muscles of the neck, which usually make some contribution to this overall problem.

Frontal Neck Muscles & Breathing: A Deep Connection

The Muscles:

• Sternocleidomastoid (SCM)

• Scalenes

• Platysma

• Hyoid muscles

These muscles are often overactive in people with poor posture or chronic stress, and they are considered accessory breathing muscles—they help during labored or shallow breathing.

How They Affect Breathing & Posture:

When someone is stuck in chest or shallow breathing (instead of diaphragmatic breathing), these muscles can:

• Become tight and hypertonic

• Pull the head forward

• Contribute to a shortened front neck, affecting cervical spine alignment

  
  

This “forward head” posture disrupts the entire postural chain, leading to:

• Thoracic kyphosis (rounded upper back)

• Cervical strain

• Reduced lung capacity and inefficient breath

  
  

It’s a vicious cycle: poor breathing mechanics tighten the neck, and tight neck muscles reinforce bad posture and shallow breathing.

Bringing It All Together:

When the pectorals are tight, and the frontal neck is shortened, the upper body collapses forward:

• The ribcage becomes compressed, limiting breathing

• The diaphragm can’t fully expand

• The back muscles compensate, often painfully

  
  

So, a balanced approach looks like:

• Releasing the pecs and frontal neck

• Strengthening the rhomboids and deep neck flexors

• Restoring full, diaphragmatic breathing

• Encouraging open chest posture and a neutral head position

I often get strange looks when I recommend deep breathing to clients struggling with chronic tension or postural imbalances, but here you can see that muscle tension, postural imbalances and dysfunctional breathing patterns are deeply, holistically intertwined.

I could even go a step further and bridge the gap between the body, the nervous system and the breath. Remember in my last article where I outlined the different branches of the nervous system, the stress response and how/why massage helps? Well...how we breath is one of the most direct indicators of what state the nervous system is in, and being able to work with the breath is one of our best tools for nervous system regulation. Muscles like the Psoas and the Pectoralis Minor are so deeply intertwined with the stress response of the nervous system and the breath, that it can be a total game changer to learn to work with the breath in order to affect deep transformation in the chronic pain patterns these muscles play a part in.

But hey... maybe that is better left for another article. I think we've covered enough for now.