Sore mid-back when squatting

[Riccardo]

Been getting a sore back when squatting lately but in my mid-upper back not far below where the bar sits on my traps, its sort of located in the lower portion of my traps close to the spine but on the right side.

Area where its sore.

I used to get this when I went back to squatting after a long hiatus but have been getting it frequently since upping my squatting frequency to 2-3x per week. Also my back training frequency has dropped off slightly since squatting so often.

Any one else experience this and know any exercises to alleviate the discomfort? I should probably just try to train back more often and work in some more seated rows.

[Phedder]

Is it actually pain, or just muscle ache? I know my mid back gets sore with high volume squatting, but that's just from keeping it tight for such a large amount of time.

[drizzt]

Is keeping upright a problem for you when the weight gets closer to max? How wide is your grip usually? Maybe head-position related?

I get trouble in that same area sometimes when my grip slips out wider and I start getting lazy with my posture. Also when I begin to tire, that is one of the first places to go. When our Gym Doc cracks my spine a couple of times a week, he barely needs to touch that area and it will set off a massive chain of cracks.

A quick fix I've found is to lie on a foam roller (or pvc pipe), give it a few rolls out to relieve some of it, and if there are particularly stubborn cracks, I'll hold a 25kg disc on the chest and roll over. I've begun to do this before every session while I'm rolling out my legs.

I can target the same area and reproduce that soreness by doing upper back good mornings with a safety bar, which I've added into my program after watching the "So You Think You Can Squat?" videos from EliteFTS again. I figure it is a weakness of mine so I'm starting to try and work on it.

[Riccardo]

Yeah its actually sore but is only reproducable when I stretch my back in weird positions like it doesn't hurt/throb at all afterwards, just with the weight on my back pretty much.

With regards to technique I think my head position is good but I do have a tendency to not keep my chest up when the weights get heavy although this is improving and is usually just a matter of consciously telling myself to keep my chest high. My back is pretty strong however, doesn't really give way, round or anything. Grip is narrow, high bar usually.

Sounds Like I have the same sort of thing you're describing Drizzt doing some mock goodmornings now reproduces the discomfort so will also give those a go to strengthen that area.

Will give those a go and report back will also work to strengthen the mid traps I suspect this is contributing to giving me grief