Pain, regardless of its location, intensity and cause, always signals damage to the body. If it appears regularly, you should not immediately treat yourself, because the causes of the pathology can be different. You need to know first why your back hurts in the shoulder blade area.
What is the nature of the pain?
If you pay attention to what causes discomfort in the shoulder blade area, you need to understand that they have different characters. Back pain should be classified as follows:
- Interesting or sick.It appears as a result of severe compression of nerve roots, changes in muscle tone, and damage to the spine.
- Long lasting, very intense.It is provoked by neuralgia, traumatic lesions of the scapula.
- Severe and unexpected pain.It is typical for complications of stomach ulcers, spastic contraction of the gallbladder muscles, and heart attacks.
- Paroxysmal painwith a gradual increase in intensity. It is also provoked by ulcers.
- If there is no back pain in the shoulder blade area, but the patient feelsnumbness, pressure, then this may be the result of insufficient emotional or physical stress.
As for the localization of the pain, it can be interscapular, subscapular, and can also be located in the joint. Now you can find out why the discomfort occurs.
Diseases of internal organs as a provoking factor
If the discomfort appears in the back below the shoulder blade, it may be a normal muscle strain. However, if it recurs periodically, and its intensity increases, then it is better not to hesitate and see a doctor immediately. The following causes of pain exist:
- Heart muscle infarction.The pain under the shoulder blade in this case is strong and sharp. Additional signs are: the spread of discomfort over a wide area, increased sweating, increased heart rate. A distinctive feature of a heart attack is that even taking nitrates does not help to calm the attack.
- Gastrointestinal ulcers.In this case, the pain syndrome has an increasing and paroxysmal character. Discomfort often appears after eating in the epigastric region. The pain radiates to the sternum, lower back, and heart. Patients also feel heartburn and burping. He becomes nauseous and may vomit.
- Perforation of gastric ulcer.It represents the appearance of a hole in the wall of the organ, which opens into the abdominal cavity. Here the person needs emergency surgery. Pathological symptoms are clearly stated. The patient experienced an unexpected acute pain under the shoulder blade, a state of shock, and a sudden tightening of the abdominal muscles. Cold sweat appeared on the face, and the skin turned pale. The patient's breathing becomes rapid, and when palpating the abdomen he feels severe discomfort.
- Gallbladder muscle spasms.Pain in the scapula area is cutting or stabbing. The unpleasant sensation did not last long. Pain appears in the back on the right side under the ribs, which then radiates to the neck, collarbone, and jaw.
- Subphrenic abscess.It is characterized by the accumulation of pus in the area of the diaphragm. The pain gradually increases, general weakness and loss of appetite appear, and the temperature may rise. There is pallor of the skin, as well as increased sweating.
- Kidney pathology.Here the pain is localized not only in the back area under the shoulder blades, but also in the lower back. The nature of the sensation is interesting, but during the development of renal colic it becomes acute. The patient cannot go to the toilet as usual.
- Pneumonia or pleurisy.This pathology is characterized by increased pain when coughing.
- Neuralgia.Here, the pain is mainly felt under the shoulder blade, more often on the left side. The nature of the sensations is paroxysmal, and they become stronger with any physical activity. Pain syndrome can also burn. When coughing it becomes shingles.
- Pathology of muscles and ligaments.Back pain is painful and appears periodically. After resting, the comfort is gone.
Separately, psychological problems should be highlighted, which also cause pain under the shoulder blade. Severe stress or emotional tension, neurosis or increased anxiety are obvious causes of discomfort. The fact is that a person's back muscles are tense, so spasms occur, which leads to pinching and inflammation of the nerve process. The pain was pressing, radiating to other parts of the body. There is a feeling of pressure and stiffness in the shoulder blade area. A person is worried about fear for his life, he lacks air, his heart begins to pound, and a lump appears in his throat.
Skeletal disease as a cause of pain
There are many spinal diseases that cause back pain in the shoulder blade area. The most common of them are:
- Osteochondrosis of the neck.It causes periodic pain that radiates to the shoulder blade area. This disease develops gradually and cannot be cured. Additional symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis are: stiffness of movement, painful turning of the head. The nature of the sensation is pain, intensifying with any movement. A person's neck area starts to go numb.
- Disc protrusionin the cervical region.
- Radiculitis.
All these diseases cause quite severe pain and prevent a person from moving normally and leading a working life. Naturally, it is necessary to fight them, but this should be done at an early stage of development. If your back often hurts, and the syndrome itself does not go away for a long time, try to see a doctor as soon as possible. Self-medication is dangerous.
Damage to the scapula as a cause of pain
Often pain in the shoulder blade is an independent phenomenon and is not accompanied by other pathologies. The main cause of discomfort is a process that occurs directly in the joint itself. Here are the reasons for the discomfort:
- injury.It looks very rare, because this part of the skeleton is maximally protected by muscles. Broken bones or other types of injuries most often occur as a result of an accident or fall from a height or a very strong impact. Immediately after receiving the injury, the victim experienced sharp pain in the back, hematoma, and swelling. Limb and shoulder joint functionality is impaired or completely absent.
- Pterygoid blade.It develops due to the weakness of the muscle corset. The shoulder girdle completely lost its function, the pain in the back of the shoulder blade hurts. When moving, the discomfort increases.
- Crisp shoulder blades.This is a congenital anomaly of the scapular structure. Rarely it develops as a result of abnormal physical activity. In this case, pain in the shoulder blade is considered an additional symptom.
- Osteomyelitis.This is an infectious bone lesion, which is accompanied by inflammation and the appearance of pus. It causes slight displacement of the scapula, severe pain, inflammation and redness of the skin on the joint, changes in basal temperature, and impaired movement.
It is better not to delay to find out the causes of pain, because this is a serious pathological process, the prognosis of treatment depends on the timeliness of the diagnosis.
Other causes of pain
In addition to the pathology presented, other causes of pain under the scapula can be identified:
- Malignant neoplasm.
- Bone tuberculosis.
- Polio.
- Myositis.
- Mechanical injury to the back, constant adherence to incorrect sitting posture.
- Pregnancy.
- Different types of postural disorders: kyphosis, scoliosis, lordosis.
- Spondyloarthrosis.
- Intervertebral disc herniation.
To start the treatment, and it is effective, it is necessary to check. Based on laboratory tests and instrumental techniques, specialists can make an accurate diagnosis.
Pathological diagnosis
The first thing you should do is consult with different experts. So, if your back hurts, then regardless of whether the discomfort is dull or acute, you need to contact the following doctors: therapists, neurologists, cardiologists, orthopedists and traumatologists, as well as pulmonologists. Consultation with a surgeon is essential. The examination includes the following procedures:
- MRIorCT.
- If your back hurts below your shoulder blades, you definitely need to do itx-ray, which allows you to identify spinal disorders.
- Lab test, making it possible to detect the inflammatory process.
- ECG.
The specialist will also conduct a neurological test. If after a night's sleep your back hurts in the shoulder blade area, you need to change your mattress first. If the problem does not go away, then the problem may be a disease.
Pathological treatment
If your back starts to hurt after sleeping or some kind of movement, and coughing or taking a shallow breath only worsens the situation, you must definitely start treatment for the pathology that caused the discomfort. In addition, therapy should be comprehensive, for example:
- In case of injury, the pain is relieved with painkillers. It is also necessary to limit mobility, which is provided by various bandages or orthopedic devices. In addition, physiotherapeutic procedures are used for treatment: electrophoresis with the use of drugs, ultrasound.
- To solve neurological problems, it is necessary to consult an appropriate specialist. He will prescribe medication, massage, and electrical stimulation.
- If the back hurts in the shoulder blade due to osteomyelitis, the patient needs to take antibacterial agents. Surgery is often used to remove the purulent focus.
- Tuberculosis requires special treatment, which is carried out in special institutions.
- If the patient is diagnosed with malignant bone disease, then it is not possible to do without surgical intervention.
- If the shoulder blade hurts badly due to osteochondrosis, then the treatment should be comprehensive and comprehensive. To eliminate the source of inflammation, non-hormonal anti-inflammatory drugs are used. Manual therapy is considered useful. A good effect is achieved with the help of acupuncture and needle applicators.
- If myocardial infarction is suspected, the patient is immediately hospitalized. Here he received complete rest and appropriate treatment with anticoagulants and fibrinolytic drugs. Glucocorticosteroids are commonly used to relieve pain.
Disease Prevention
In order for pain under the shoulder blade, the main cause of which has been discussed earlier, not to appear, it is necessary to follow preventive measures:
- Leave a passive lifestyle and bad habits.
- Regularly do gymnastics or physical therapy complex after sleep and throughout the day.
- Take a course of therapeutic or preventive massage regularly.
- Pay attention to your posture.
- Strengthens the body's defenses.
- Avoid nervous stress and strong emotional experiences.
- Manage your working time properly so that you have the opportunity to rest.
- Buy an orthopedic mattress.
- Sleep should last at least 8 and no more than 10 hours a day.
- If a person has health problems, they need to be treated at an early stage.
- A pregnant woman should wear a supportive corset or bandage to reduce pressure on the spine.
Thanks to such preventive measures, you can avoid the occurrence of pain in the shoulder blade. But if it already exists, then you can not postpone a visit to the doctor.