Too often, people complain of back pain in the shoulder blade area. Attributing this to overwork, work related to prolonged sitting or moving heavy objects, they postpone a visit to the doctor.
However, any pain can signal the presence of serious spinal diseases, threatening the development of complications.
The main reasons
Back pain in the region of the shoulder blades is explained by the fact that here are a large number of receptors that respond to any pathological change. With the inflammatory process, the production of leukocytes increases, edema is formed, the nerve endings are compressed, which causes pain.
When the back hurts in the lumbar region, the shoulder blade, the possibility of a disease requiring a therapeutic course is not ruled out. Often, diseases affecting such important organs as the heart and lungs cause severe pain.
A deterioration occurs under the influence of provocative factors - a violation of posture, overweight, lack of physical activity. If your back hurts below the shoulder blade, this could be one of the symptoms of a stomach ulcer.
Most often, the main cause is an illness, injury, psychological state of a person.
Do not try to eliminate the unpleasant symptom yourself, using different poultices and ointments. It is necessary to identify the reasons why the back hurts in the area of the shoulder blades, for which you will need to see a doctor and undergo an examination.
Scapular injuries
This bone is located on the side of the spine, is protected by many muscles and is damaged in very rare cases. Her injury is often combined with a rib fracture, so it is not always possible to make a timely diagnosis.
In this case, the victim feels severe pain in the shoulder area, sometimes it is possible hemorrhage and the development of shoulder hemarthrosis.The cause of the injury is a fall, a traffic accident, a collision.
If your back hurts below the shoulder blades or above, redness and swelling appear, you should see a doctor immediately. This can be inflammation of the synovial sac, which is often accompanied by a crackling, a feeling of heaviness.
Displacement, or rather displacement of the humerus and scapula relative to each other, is another reason why the back can ache in the shoulder blade area. The injury occurs with a strong jerk from the arm, after the blow. Displacement of the scapula does not allow active movement of the upper limb.
When palpated, severe pain is felt. Visually, the asymmetry of the shoulder blades is clearly visible, one of them having a noticeable extension of the axillary border.
Intervertebral hernia
This is the name of a degenerative disease, associated with deformity and destruction of the fibrous ring. Every part of the spine is susceptible to pathology.
If the back hurts below the shoulder blade, this may be a sign of a lumbar intervertebral hernia. A chest hernia causes a variety of symptoms.
The most common of them:
- pain between the shoulder blades, which increases significantly with coughing or physical exertion. Its nature is different - it can be dull and acute back pain.
- Paresthesia.
- Shortness of breath, shortness of breath.
- Muscle weakness, problems with raising the arms.
The intensity of the symptoms depends on the size of the hernia and the stage of the disease.
Osteomyelitis
Pain between the shoulders can be a sign of osteomyelitis. This is the name of a purulent infection that affects the bone tissue.
This disease is usually very difficult. The tissue located on the bone is quite thin, so the symptoms at the site of the lesion appear immediately. The main sign of pathology is the presence of an irritated wound, soft tissue edema with hyperemia. A person complains that his back hurts in the area of the shoulder blades, sometimes chills are added, body temperature rises and the pulse speeds up.
There are several types of this pathology. Osteomyelitis that occurs when bacteria enter bone tissue through the bloodstream is called hematogenous. Its acute form is more common in children and adolescents.
Microorganisms that penetrate the environment cause exogenous osteomyelitis. The reason for this is an open wound, trauma or fracture. When a purulent lesion passes from the soft tissues to the bone, they talk about the contact form of the disease.
Scoliosis
One of the most common causes of back pain in the shoulder area is scoliosis of the thoracic segment of the spine. Since this section connects to the ribs, a deformity of the chest is observed.
In addition to the main symptom, when the back hurts below the shoulder blade and above the waist, the added fatigue, different levels of the shoulders should be noted.
Diagnosis is made only with X-rays. When the scene is running, the back hurts in the spinal region almost constantly.
Osteochondrosis
Back pain in the shoulder area is the main symptom of osteochondrosis, when the upper part of the spine undergoes degenerative processes. The disease is often confused with pneumonia, tuberculosis.
An experienced neurologist diagnoses osteochondrosis with some cumulative signs. The localization of the pain syndrome depends on the part in which the nerve endings are stuck. Therefore, a distinction is made between left and right pathology.
If your back hurts in the shoulder area, you should definitely be examined to start treatment at an early stage. This guarantees a faster recovery.
Spondyloarthritis
This is the name of a polyetiological disease that often occurs along with osteochondrosis, intervertebral hernia and spondylosis. Spondyloarthritis is an osteoarthritis that affects the intervertebral joints and develops due to injuries, congenital malformations, excessive overload.
Suspicion of a pathology causes back pain below the shoulder blade that appears for no apparent reason, especially when the weather changes, when moving. The advanced stage is determined by the characteristic crisis.
Subdiaphragmatic abscess
This is the name of a rare but serious complication after inflammation that grips the abdominal cavity. The main symptoms are burning in the spine, especially in the shoulder area, shortness of breath, hyperthermia, cough.
Aside from the fact that the pain in the spine is localized below the shoulder blade, it can also pass to the right hypochondrium.
Diseases of the internal organs
If the back hurts a lot in the shoulder blade area, this may cause suspicion of existing heart disease, bronchopulmonary system and gastrointestinal tract.
Therefore, these symptoms should not be ignored.. It is necessary to pay immediate attention to traction pains, especially chest pains that hide coronary heart disease and other equally serious diseases of the internal organs. It is important to diagnose and start treatment at the right time.
Intercostal neuralgia
The cause of the phenomenon, when burning in the area of the shoulder blades, there is a feeling that the back is burning, is often neuralgia between the ribs.
Unpleasant symptoms are formed due to the fact that pathological changes affecting the spine cause compression of nerves between the ribs.
The pain in neuralgia appears at shoulder level and has different intensity. They can get worse when you cough or take deep breaths.
Psychological problems
Back pain under the shoulder blades often occurs for psychological reasons. The patient feels tightness and tingling sensation, feels an inexplicable feeling of anxiety and fear. The pain may spread to the right arm, neck.
Diagnosing
Often, back pain under the shoulder blade is a consequence of professional activity. Drivers, drivers, tailors, athletes, stylists are people whose work is associated with daily tension in the muscles of the back.
When the first symptoms appear, you should visit a doctor and undergo an examination.When the disease is detected early and treatment is started in a timely manner, many serious complications can be avoided.
If the back hurts in the shoulder blade area, the doctor will prescribe modern diagnostic methods, including X-rays, computed tomography, and ultrasound.
It is almost impossible to determine the exact cause of the pain itself. Delaying a visit to the doctor is extremely dangerous, as it can often occur with a heart attack.
Treatment
What to do if your back hurts in the shoulder area? Remember that the basis for the appearance of such symptoms can be a variety of pathologies. Therefore, treatment should only be prescribed by a physician and performed under his supervision.
The traumatic and articular origin of pain requires specific clinical therapy, which includes:
- Anti-inflammatory drugs. Painful sensations are effectively removed with the help of corticosteroid, non-steroidal agents. They can be used externally by applying ointments recommended by the doctor in the shoulder area or by injection. The combination of these methods allows you to achieve the best result.
- Chondroprotectors. Used to treat the scapular region of the spine, when the pain is caused by intervertebral hernia, elongation. Preparations containing mucopolysaccharides, glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate will help improve the nutrition of cartilage tissue and increase its elasticity.
- Physiotherapy. With articular tissue damage, physiotherapy procedures show good results.The most popular shock wave technique, in which the infrasound acts on the tissues of the body. It is able to destroy bone growths, improve blood flow, which leads to increased cartilage nutrition, reduces muscle tone and eliminates pain in the shoulder blades. In addition, electrophoresis, massage, paraffin applications and manual therapy are widely used.
If a vertebrogenic cause of pain is established, heat compresses using a solution of dimethyl sulfoxide, turpentine, and alcohol will have an effective effect. By improving blood circulation, muscle spasm is relieved and pain is reduced.
Folk remedies can also be used for shoulder pain, but they perform only an auxiliary function.
prevention
To avoid such an unpleasant symptom as back pain in the shoulder blade area, following a few rules will help.
For this you need:
- Eat properly. Lack of micronutrients necessary for cartilage tissue leads to degeneration of intervertebral discs.
- Keep the right attitude. Uneven load on the spine is one of the first causes of pain.
- Move more. This helps to prevent excessive muscle tone, normalize blood circulation. Useful walks in the fresh air, sports games, gymnastics.
We should not forget the regular passing of medical examinations, thanks to which it is possible to detect the development of any pathology at a very early stage.