Shoulder Blade Pain Is Common
Typically when patients come to our office complaining of pain between the shoulder blades, they have already tried some at home remedies ranging from a few weeks to a couple months, but nothing has proven to be effective. Patients often report that pain between the shoulder blades came on gradually but has continued to linger without relief.
The bones in the Thoracic spine are not as vulnerable to injury as those of the neck or lower back. This is because they are supported by the rib cage. Despite the added protection, however, pain between the shoulder blades is a common ailment and requires expert treatment to prevent a chronic disorder from developing.
Pain Between The Shoulder Blades: Your Self
Why self-massage?
Trigger points and too much muscle tension dont vanish over night.
If you do not treat them, they can persist over years and give you more or less constant trouble.
Via the mechanical forces you apply through self-massage on your muscles, you communicate with your nervous system control station of your body and tell it to let go of unnecessary muscle tension.
Furthermore, you can knead out the trigger points.
- Massage yourself on a daily basis until the pain between your shoulder blades is gone.
- Only focus on tender muscle tissue, as tenderness is a sign that the muscle is too tight and needs to be released.
- Healthy muscle tissue is not painful when pressed on!
In the instructions below I will show you what areas you have to work in order to achieve relief.
Still, at the end of the day you probably wont have to massage all the presented muscles/areas.
You just have to do some upfront work and inspect all of them for tenderness. Afterwards you massage only the painful ones.
Upper Back And Neck Stretch
- Interlace your fingers and extend your arms in front of you at chest level with your palms facing forward.
- Gently bend your neck and draw your chin into your chest.
- Hold this position for 30 seconds.
- Then, on an inhale, lift your head and look up.
- On an exhale, bend your neck and tuck your chin back into your chest.
- Follow your breath to continue this movement for 30 seconds.
- Release the pose, relax for 1 minute, and repeat once or twice.
-
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Problems In Muscles Bones And Joints
When your rotator cuff tendon rubs or catches on nearby tissue and bone as you lift your arm, its called shoulder impingement, which is another very common cause of shoulder pain.
If you are an active athlete, a rotator cuff injury might be the reason for your shoulder blade pain. In rare cases, an accident or sports trauma can cause a broken scapula.
Sometimes, osteoarthritis might be the root cause. Osteoarthritis makes your joints sore and tender. Other diseases that may generate upper back pain between shoulder blades are various disc diseases or fibromyalgia.
Treatment For Rhomboid Muscle Pain
A mild rhomboid strain can heal in as little as a few weeks. A more serious injury, strain, or tear can take longer to heal.â
There are some things you can do at home to help manage your pain:
- Get a massageâ
You can also try stretching out your muscles with different techniques:
Tennis ball. Lay down on the floor and place a tennis ball under your shoulder. Gently roll your shoulder back and forth across the ball. Change positions and repeat.
Foam roller. Lay on the floor and roll your shoulder over a foam roller. This will help loosen and massage the muscles.â
Self-massager tool. You can buy an electric or battery-operated tool to massage your shoulder. Donât use high settings that might make it too painful.â
Warm-up stretches. If you are working out or doing sports, you can help protect your muscles by warming up and stretching before and after exercise. If your muscles are sore from a recent workout, allow them to rest and focus on a different set of muscles.
Taking breaks. If you work at a computer and sit most of the day, take lots of breaks. Stand up, move around, and do some stretches.
Better posture. Find an office chair that has a tall back and sit all the way back with your shoulders against the chair. Keeping your feet on a stool can also help you keep good posture.
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Try Out Cold Or Heat Therapy
Ice is a quick way to relieve pain. Wrap the ice or cooling device in a wet cloth before applying it to your skin. Apply the cold device for 15-20 minutes. Leave about 45 minutes between applications. Ice or cold reduces blood flow to the affected area. By doing so, inflammation and swelling may be reduced. As a result, you feel less pain.
Some individuals prefer heat over cold. Go with what feels best for you, or alternate between them. Heat, in particular, may offer relief, if your muscles feel tense. Heat promotes blood flow in the applied area and also causes the local muscles to relax.
Apply Ice And/or Heat
Cold therapy, such as ice wrapped in cloth, can be applied to your back for about 10 to 20 minutes at a time, with at least a 2-hour break in between sessions. Heat therapy, such as a heating pad, is best used for 15 or 20 minutes per treatment, with no more than one treatment every 2 hours. To protect your skin, always include a layer between the ice or heat source and your skin. Try alternating between ice therapy and heat therapy to see which helps relieve your pain the most.
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Muscle Pain Between Shoulders
While there are many muscles that can cause pain between the shoulder blades, the major muscles often involved are the trapezius and the rhomboids. The trapezius is a large muscle, while the rhomboid is a smaller muscle that runs between the spine and the shoulder blades.
With typical poor postural habits, the head is in a forward distortion and the back becomes rounded. As the upper back becomes rounded, the rhomboid muscles stretch out. This is typically seen with a slumped posture when sitting at a computer or desk for long periods without proper ergonomics. The muscles become overstretched and weak placing abnormal stress on the muscles and joints, altered motion and, over time, can develop scar tissue from small tears which result in chronic pain.
Treatment of the muscles with heat therapy and massage techniques can help. A particular technique called ischemic compression can be used for tender areas often called trigger points, seen in the picture with the X. This technique uses a tennis ball or special muscle release tools. Place the ball on the floor and lay on your back with the ball between the shoulder blades. You can control the pressure and when you find a tender area, hold it until the pain gradually fades about 20 to 30 seconds, although it may take a minute.
For some, the use of a posture bracing can assist the muscles of the upper back and spine to assume the correct posture. This can be a good start by incorporating what I call posture first aid.
What Are Common Upper Back Pain Treatments
How to Fix Muscle Pain Between Your Shoulder Blades for GoodThe range of treatments for upper back pain and neck and mid-back pain, too suggest there is no best option. These are some examples of different approaches that may help you.
In most cases, upper back pain is not a cause for worry; however, it can be uncomfortable, painful, and inconvenient. Furthermore, if pain develops suddenly and is severesuch as from an injury and, certainly if pain and symptoms progressively worsen you should seek medical attention.
Simple home remedies. In general, the following home treatments may help relieve upper back pain. Ignore the hype about special products marketed on TV or social media. Stick with what science says works, at least for most people with minor musculoskeletal strain:
- Gentle stretches
- Over-the-counter medication such as ibuprofen , naproxen , or acetaminophen;
- Ice to reduce pain and swelling
- Heat to improve mobility and ease stiffness
Posture exercises. If your posture is good, your spinal structures should be correctly aligned, which reduces back strain. Start with these strategies to improve the way you stand or sit.
Injections. A trigger point injection is a direct shot of powerful pain medicine. It may solve your problem, or it may just buy you enough pain-free time to pursue other interventions to get your upper back pain in check.
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Tips For Getting The Most Out Of This Lat Stretch:
Youre done with the lat stretch? Great! Get up, move around and see how you feel.
Take note of how much of the pain is gone compared to when you started. For example, maybe it was a 5 our of 10, and after doing this it goes down to 3. Thats good information for you! It means your lats are really part of the problem. If youre still at a 5, maybe you didnt find the best spot; or maybe your lats are not the #1 cause of your pain. Either way, its good info.
Lets move on! Youll like #2.
Now That Youve Addressed The Main Cause Of The Pain Lets Help Your Rhomboids Chill Out
With the above stretch, we are targeting the fascia in your rhomboids.
Typically, the rhomboids complain , because they are actually getting overstretched. I know that sounds a little crazy, because they feel tight as heck and have all those knots in them. But those knots; are your bodys way of trying to get your muscles back where they are supposed to be! Theyre fighting a losing battle, and eventually they get sick of it and demand your attention.
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Herniated Or Bulging Discs
Degenerative disc disease;in the cervical spine or thoracic spine can cause;pain between the shoulders due to nerve or spine irritation or pressure.
Other symptoms may include numbness, tingling, and/or pain in one or both arms. Sometimes pain that’s caused by disc disease in the neck is positional, and it may improve or get worse when you flex or extend your neck.
How To Treat And Prevent Shoulder Blade Pain
If your shoulder blade pain is not being relieved from those stretches, Owens says that cold therapynot heatcan help. “Heat does nothing to loosen up tightness within your muscle tissue,” he says. “If the area becomes inflamed, ice can help with some of the inflammation.” That said, he notes that an ice pack is only going to give you temporary relief.
To make sure you’re not stressing out over shoulder blade pain in the future, the first thing to do is undo the damage. “We have to remove the accumulation of tightness that occurs in your tissue over years,” says Owens. “Once we remove it, periodic pressure into the tissue will help to keep it pliable.” That means making sure to hit up your Thera Cane or lacrosse ball regularly to undo knots and tension that build up over the course of a week of sitting at a desk.
Much like you treat your dental health, Owens says that your muscles should be addressed with a regular regimen. “The model that we use to prevent stiffness is nonexistent. Then, when people hit, say, 40-years-old, they get stiff,” he says. “Before that accumulation of tightness really sets in, we should be applying pressure periodically into the tissue to keep it loose and healthy.” He says that this can be done through a once-a-year appointment with a massage therapist or physical therapist . “What we’re hoping is that it will become common knowledge that we need to be doing something regularly to have healthy muscle tissues.”
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Possible Causes Of Pain Under Your Shoulder Blade
Have you ever had pain under or near your shoulder blade, the bone that hugs the rib cage and makes up the back of your shoulder? Well, I did last week and it was so severe it dropped me to my knees and put me up in the emergency room for six hours. This pain can be sharp or burning, like an ice pick near the spine, or an ache that comes in waves under the right shoulder blade. Different kinds of pain, the frequency of the pain, and if the pain flares up with movement leads to different root causes and different diagnosis.
In my case, the pain started in the afternoon with a dull ache in the right upper quadrant of my abdomen, right underneath my ribs. It was met with a pain referral point under the bottom tip of my right shoulder blade. It was familiar and intense. I couldnt find a comfortable position, not laying on the floor, not sitting, not trying to stand or hunch over. Ive had this pain since I was 21 years old and now 38 years young, this attack was the most intense. Geez, as I write this out, having this pain on and off for the last 17 years feels absurd.
There are many possible causes of pain under the shoulder blade, which is important in figuring out the best method for treatment. Ive broken down the top five possible causes here.
Do You Know The Risk Factors For Upper Back Pain
Though anyone can undergo upper back pain, you can find certain risk factors that make you more likely to develop it. Being older than 30 decades old and leading a sedentary lifestyle are the most frequent risk factors. These and other risk factors include:
- Congenital or acquired back deformities
- Family history of back pain or backbone disorder
- Increasing age
- Weak abdominal muscles
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Gallstones Or Enlarged Gallbladder
Pain in your right shoulder can be a sign of a gallstone blocking a duct in your gallbladder. You may also feel pain in your back between your shoulder blades. The pain may be sudden and sharp.
You may or may not feel the more common symptoms of gallstones or gallbladder inflammation. These are:
- sudden pain in your upper right abdomen
- pain in the center of your abdomen, below your breast bone
- nausea or vomiting
Signs You Should See Your Doctor About Your Shoulder Blade Pain
How We Treat Pain Between The Shoulder Blades | Baltimore ChiropractorAt times, sharp and intense upper back pain in the left shoulder blade may point to a serious health condition. When certain signs appear such as chest pain, irregular heartbeat, difficulty breathing, and too much sweating, call your nearest doctor and get help.
The doctor should take your EKG and will check all your symptoms to ensure that you get the best possible care.
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Visit A Health Care Provider
If the above treatments dont effectively reduce the pain under your shoulder blade, visit a physiatrist, chiropractor, or physical therapist. These health care providers will evaluate you for the source of the pain and can individually tailor plans that will help strengthen and stretch your upper back, neck, and core muscles. They might also provide manual manipulation, using hand maneuvers to loosen stiff muscles or misaligned joints.
You may need to take a trial and error approach with these tips. Try a combination of these treatment ideas to see what reduces the pain under your shoulder blade.
Treatment Of Sharp Pain Between Shoulder Blade And Spine
Since pain can have many different causes there is no single way to treat it. You and your doctor can try a combination of medications, therapies and other treatments, as well as psychotherapy, and this can take time to work. Lets look at a few treatment options;
1. Rest
Since everything you do involves your shoulders from the bed, walking, sitting, moving, it is quite difficult to stop using your upper extremities unless you go to bed rest and have full support from the caregiver. This is not an option for most people. Instead, you should strive to reduce shoulder activity. This includes focusing on your daily activities and knowing what you can change, such as: Reduce the frequency of movements that cause pain. Plan in advance to reduce the number of times per day you should do something, like open the door or reach the cabinet.
Ask for specific help and responsibilities that cause pain.
Try to make your movements as good as possible, such as keeping your body in a position that brings you closer to the object, so you do not have to reach or move your shoulder too much. Positioning is important, even when relaxing. Try to keep your shoulders in an open space, rotated outward, as when sitting upright and squeezing the shoulder straps together behind. This allows for more space for all tendons, arteries and blood vessels coming through the area. When you move your shoulders inwards opposite to the open position there is less space and more space for compression.
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Tips To Prevent Shoulder Blade Pain
Besides regular exercise, resting, and following a healthy diet, you may want to apply these additional tips to prevent shoulder blade pain:
- Maintain proper posture when standing and sitting: stand up straight, with your shoulders back, and sit with a cushion behind your lower back.
- Find a convenient relaxation technique such as meditation, tai chi, or yoga to relieve unnecessary stress.
- Quit smoking, if you havent already.
- Bend your knees and lift heavy objects using proper form.
- Always wear a seatbelt.
- Build your core stability and exercise to strengthen your shoulders and back.;
In most cases, shoulder blade pain goes away on its own. However, even when its caused by a serious illness, it can sometimes be prevented by changing your habits. To strengthen your back and shoulders, begin with small steps and gradually increase the intensity. Stick to your new fitness routine and track your progress. Follow this advice to minimize or prevent future shoulder blade pain.
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