Back pain in the shoulder area is reported by both the elderly and the young. Pain in the intercapsular region does not indicate any particular disease, but is a manifestation of numerous abnormalities in the work of organs located outside the area of pain concentration.
If the back hurts in the area of the shoulder blade, then the muscles, nerves, facial joints, ligaments, pathological changes in internal organs, the consequences of blows and injuries, etc. , may be a possible pretext for pain.
The nature of pain
In medical practice, the rational description of the patient's pain in the lower back is of great importance. Pain between the shoulder blades is a symptom of a variety of diseases or pathologies; it is possible to discover the cause of the occurrence with an accurate description of its nature, its type, frequency of occurrence and disappearance. An accurate diagnosis will eliminate a burning sensation in the back, pain in the shoulder blades, the reasons, with the help of the doctor, will be determined and future diseases will be prevented.
By the nature of back pain syndrome is:
- chronic - mild pain is typical, bothers for a long time, practically does not stop;
- Acute - specific pain, which strikes suddenly and fades, much stronger than chronic.
When back pain in the area of the shoulder blades, the localization of painful sensations occurs in different places. This gives reasons to classify shoulder blade pain into three types:
- pain below the shoulder blades (right or left);
- pain between the edges of the shoulders;
- pain in the right or left shoulder.
The back hurts under the edges of the shoulders
The causes of pain can have absolutely nothing to do with the spine. If a person has a back pain below the shoulder blade, then from a series of accompanying signs, without examinations and tests, it can be implied that he has the presence of typical common diseases.
Pathologies that cause pain under the blade of the left shoulder:
- Stomach ulcer. It is characterized by regular pain, increasing, weakening or disappearing after vomiting. Pain sensations in the epigastrium are localized but penetrate the left scapula.
- Psychological problems. They cause barely visible or acute sensations of heaviness, congestion in the chest, tingling in the heart region, chest tightness. There are cases when such symptoms occupy the neck area, spreading under the blade of the left shoulder.
What caused the pain under the right shoulder
The way a symptom manifests determines their causes.
The list of reasons that explain the pain under the blade of the right shoulder is extensive. Common examples:
- Dull, persistent, persistent pain on the right side of the back can be caused by the usual muscle spasm due to uncomfortable prolonged posture of the body, or related to internal organs: kidneys, pancreas, gallbladder. In most cases, the pain appears suddenly, with a sharp turn of the head, sneezing, coughing.
- Acute, piercing, sharp or increasing pain, localized to the right in the region of the heart or in the intercapsular space may be the result of a disease of the internal organs and is not associated with the spine. Many body systems due to deviations from the norms of functioning cause pain under the blade of the right shoulder - cardiovascular, excretory, digestive, etc.
- The pain of pulling and cutting under the right shoulder makes you think about the appearance of diseases of the musculoskeletal system: chondrosis, osteochondrosis, spondylosis, etc. Pain of this type can be caused by neuralgia when the nerve roots are crushed. The reasons for such painful sensations may be oncological tumors, not often, but such phenomena are present in medical practice.
- The patient has pain in the back muscles below the shoulder blades, then you need to think about diseases of the respiratory system. Pain under the shoulder blades can be caused either by muscle overload at this site or by the spine.
- Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine. It often provokes unilateral, dull pains that are concentrated below the occipital part. Their peculiarity is to appear in the morning, waking the patient from sleep. The pain syndrome is particularly strong with sharp flexion - neck extension. Exposure to heat on the painful surface (warm bath) extinguishes the pain. Patients respond to this pathology with a complaint of pain under the shoulder blades, leakage of pain in the arm or head.
Causes of pain between the shoulder blades
Intercostal neuralgia is manifested by pain in the girdle. With a deep breath, a sharp twist of the body, with palpation of the inflamed area between the ribs, the pain increases.
Lung diseases are associated with pain between the shoulder blades during inhalation, with deep breathing, the pain intensifies, there is high fever, cough.
In case of increased pain with shallow breathing, most often given under the right scapula, there may be a diaphragmatic abscess.
When the usual tilting of the head causes pain between the edges of the shoulders, this is accompanied by an inflammatory process in the muscles of the intercapular region, as well as damage to their tendons and ligaments.
Pain between the edges of the shoulders sometimes occurs when swallowed, its origin is caused by diseases of the esophagus (inflammation or ulcer); inflammatory processes in the organs located between the two lungs; damage to the diaphragm.
A burning sensation between the shoulders causes attacks of renal and biliary abdominal pain, osteochondrosis of the cervical or thoracic vertebrae, and reflux esophagus.
Pain in the right and left shoulder
The reason lies in getting a blow to the shoulder blade or falling on it. A hard drop on the arm or elbow will result in a broken scapula. Trauma causes severe pain syndrome, the intensity of the pain increases with the movement of the hands. Edema forms.
Pterygoid scapula. It occurs as a result of muscle paralysis - trapezoidal, rhomboid, anterior dentate gyrus, or is the result of multiple bruises in the forearm region, damage to the long rib nerve.
Scapular crunch - crackling at the shoulder joint.
Treatment methods
At the beginning of treatment, you need to determine the condition of the lungs and heart. The cardiologist and therapist will most likely prescribe an ECG or ultrasound procedure. After consulting a specialist, you can not safely consider these organs as the cause of pain between the shoulder blades.
When pain occurs when the spine moves near the scapula, the cause is usually sought in the spine. The pain is sometimes so strong that it can be confused with the symptoms of panic attacks.
Conventional radiography in diagnosing the spine is often not enough, the full picture is given by MRI of the chest region. At this stage of clarifying the diagnosis a consultation with a vertebrologist is required.
It is possible to get rid of the pain in the area of the right scapula with treatment only when the causes of its occurrence are clarified. When this pain is accompanied by diseases of the internal organs, their treatment is necessary. Which doctor to treat depends on the specific organ. Pain under the blade of the right shoulder will disappear on its own when treatment of the affected internal organ is successful.
If there is a link between pain in the right back and interdulobular region with spinal diseases, then medical care will focus on the focus of inflammation. To eliminate the inflammatory process, analgesics, chondroprotectors, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids are used.
Dull pain that does not go away for a long time, as a result of muscle spasm or neuralgia, is effectively treated with warming ointments with analgesic effect. Also, plasters are used, which offer a warming and analgesic effect.
Prophylaxis
The back in the shoulder blade area will not hurt if a person moves a lot and follows a healthy lifestyle. The movements provide uniform muscle loads, correct weight lifting, massage sessions and various types of physiotherapy. Sport is the best preventive measure.
It is recommended to be careful of currents, hypothermia. And, most importantly, observe the right food.