Why does the spine hurt between the shoulder blades?

Causes of pain

Back pain occurs for various reasons, but it is mainly provoked by:

• low physical activity;
• sedentary work, keeping the body in one position for a long time;
• back overload;
• improper execution of exercises, sudden movements that create additional stress on the back;
• back injury: bruises, sprains, failure to comply with safety precautions;

The causes of back pain between the shoulder blades may also lie in the presence of certain diseases:

1. osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine;
2. kyphoscoliosis;
3. intervertebral disc protrusion;
4. kyphosis;
5. infectious pathologies.

Also, such discomfort often occurs in late pregnancy, when the fetus grows and begins to put more pressure on the spine.

Thus, the causes of pain between the shoulder blades can be either not very serious or quite dangerous. Therefore, if you feel discomfort in the upper part of the spine, you should undergo a medical examination. If what provoked the malaise is not serious, then eliminating the malaise will not require spending a lot of effort. But if the provoking factor is a disease, then it is useless to treat discomfort without eliminating the causes of its occurrence.

Pain due to diseases of internal organs

Pain between the shoulder blades sometimes occurs due to a malfunction of the heart muscle. With ischemia or angina, the blood supply is disrupted. The pain also radiates to the left upper limb.

A sign of the disease is formed during degenerative processes, cancer, and injuries to the respiratory system. It is a common phenomenon when pain radiates to the shoulder blades due to problems in the trachea, as well as with pathology of the pulmonary system. Sometimes symptoms of the disease can appear with pancreatitis, ulcers and cholecystitis.

Other reasons include working conditions. The development of various diseases occurs affecting connective tissues. This is due to a constant sitting position or heavy loads.

Pain in the spine when inhaling indicates dry pleurisy. It most often occurs with pneumonia, when the membrane that lines the inside of the chest cavity becomes inflamed. The sensation is usually relieved by lying on the affected side.

Doctors note that pregnancy is often the cause, especially in the last stages. Pain occurs due to increasing stress on the bones and back. Such pain does not require treatment and often goes away on its own.

Pain between the shoulder blades

Pain in the upper back between the shoulder blades manifests itself in different ways: it all depends on what triggered it. So, it can be aching in nature or strong and harsh. Typically, discomfort in the upper back becomes stronger with inhalation, bending and movement and goes away during periods of inactivity.

If the factor contributing to the appearance of aching pain between the shoulder blades is incorrect body position or prolonged exposure to an uncomfortable position, then it is enough to do a short warm-up and rest, after which the discomfort will quickly pass.

If the factor provoking the appearance of unpleasant sensations in the upper back is a disease or injury, it will not be possible to get rid of it without eliminating the catalyst. Typically, discomfort between the shoulder blades of this origin increases gradually, becoming stronger each time. At first, you hardly feel any discomfort, but over time it begins to bother you much more often and becomes more pronounced.

Prevention

To prevent pain between the shoulder blades in the back area, you need to take into account the following recommendations:

• You should eat right, avoid unhealthy foods and overeating. If you are overweight, it is necessary to take measures to reduce it, since extra pounds not only negatively affect the functioning of the digestive system, but also create additional stress on the spinal column.
• If you have a predisposition to spinal diseases, you should periodically visit a specialist and go for a massage, as well as physiotherapeutic procedures prescribed by your doctor. Also in this case it is necessary to sleep on an orthopedic mattress and pillow.
• Hypothermia and drafts must be avoided.
• It is important to constantly monitor correct posture, not to slouch, or to bend the spine.
• If the patient has a sedentary job, he needs to get up every 30-60 minutes and stretch for at least 5 minutes. It is enough to walk a little, make light movements with your arms and legs, swings.
• Women should avoid shoes with heels higher than 6 cm. However, wearing shoes with completely flat soles is not recommended, as this can cause the development of flat feet.
• When lifting heavy weights, you need to soberly assess your capabilities and avoid using too much weight.

If pain occurs in the area between the shoulder blades, you should consult a specialist as soon as possible. This symptom is rarely associated with bruises and injuries: as practice shows, it indicates serious pathologies of the spine and internal organs.

1. After the course of treatment, it is necessary to exclude various physical activities.
2. Do gymnastics every day, including exercises to strengthen the back muscles.
3. Try to avoid overworking your thoracic muscles and lifting large, heavy things.
4. Maintain your physical fitness and be active.
5. Learn the correct movements.
6. Watch your posture.

If you have problems with posture, we recommend that you pay attention to the articles in the section: “

Means for the prevention and treatment of postural disorders

».

Here you will find tips on choosing the most suitable back corset: semi-rigid lumbosacral or magnetic.

Which doctor should I contact?

If you experience discomfort in the upper part of the spine, you should immediately undergo a medical examination, since the cause of discomfort in the spine may be a serious illness.

First of all, you need to see a therapist. He will examine the primary signs and refer the patient to a specialist.

Or a person can immediately go to the right doctor:

1. If the cause of pain between the shoulder blades is an injury, then you should contact an orthopedist or traumatologist.
2. If there is reason to believe that discomfort in the spine is caused by a pinched nerve, then you should consult a neurologist for help.
3. For osteochondrosis, arthrosis and other joint diseases, you will need the help of a chiropractor.

Also, in some cases, you will need to consult a surgeon and an infectious disease specialist.

To determine the cause of the malaise, the patient will be prescribed:

• X-ray of the upper back;
• chest tomography;
• Ultrasound of the upper body organs;
• computed tomography of the spine;
• magnetic resonance imaging;
• myelography;
• discography;
• electrocardiography;
• gastroscopy;
• blood tests and, if necessary, urine tests.

Based on the examination results, the therapist will determine the cause of the pain and prescribe adequate therapy.

Spinal injuries

The nature of the pain in the spine between the shoulder blades will help the doctor establish a preliminary diagnosis and prescribe the patient the most informative examination. There are certain pathological conditions that are accompanied by different pain syndromes.

Sometimes a heart attack causes pain in the spine between the shoulder blades, aching, sharp and burning

A full medical examination will be required to confirm the diagnosis. You cannot ignore pain and take painkillers without prescriptions from a specialist. A serious illness may be hidden behind a pathological condition.

When your back hurts between your shoulder blades as a result of an injury, you can assume a back injury. This is a soft tissue injury. Appears when dropped or directly hit. Unpleasant sensations occur immediately after a traumatic event and swelling forms. Skin hematoma may form. The symptom intensifies when changing position, straining or palpating. In this case, you need to ensure yourself peace.

In the thoracic region, fractures of elements of the spinal column occur rarely, but are very dangerous. This area contains a narrow canal for the spinal cord. With a compression fracture, the pain is weak at first, but it increases every day. The danger lies in the fact that any displacement leads to pathologies in the spinal cord.

Sometimes there is an unpleasant feeling between the shoulder blades in the back due to a dislocation. The top element is displaced. This pathology is detected during severe trauma. Symptoms are similar to those of a fracture. The final diagnosis will be made by the diagnostician only after an x-ray.

Treatment of discomfort in the upper spine

The treatment for upper back pain depends on the underlying cause.

So, treating back discomfort caused by incorrect body position is quite simple. You need to monitor the position of your body and back, and when working at the computer for a long time, you need to take short breaks and warm-ups from time to time.

Back ailments caused by pregnancy are useless to treat. You can relieve back discomfort by reducing the load on your body and adopting a comfortable position while sleeping.

Discomfort caused by joint diseases of the back must be treated carefully, since incorrectly selected medications and treatment methods can cause even more harm. Therefore, to treat the back, it is recommended to use ointments, tinctures and other products that act directly on the affected area.

In case of viral diseases, it is not recommended to take any measures on your own; treatment must fully comply with the doctor’s recommendations.

You can treat back pain separately using the following methods:

1. Painkillers. You should not overuse painkillers, as they can further harm your health. This is especially true for NSAIDs, the long-term use of which can provoke intestinal bleeding. Medical products should be used only in case of severe discomfort and strictly according to the instructions.
2. Massage. Massage using essential oils has a calming effect, and this allows you to relieve discomfort in the back for a while. It is forbidden to massage the back in case of acute and severe pain.
3. Gymnastics. Light circular movements of the head and arms, as well as squeezing and unclenching the shoulder blades, relieve spasm and restore mobility to the limbs.
4. Water procedures. Water has a calming effect, so if you have severe spasms between your shoulder blades, you should take a hot bath.
5. Mud and salt baths. If possible, the procedure should be carried out not in clean water, but in herbal decoctions. A few days of such therapy will allow you to forget about the pain caused by certain diseases for a long time.

Pain between the shoulder blades should be treated after the cause has been determined. Therefore, you will need to undergo a medical examination. After this, you must completely follow the doctor's recommendations. To eliminate an individual symptom, you can use the methods described above.

Causes of back pain

Heart pain often radiates under the shoulder blade and manifests itself as a burning, nagging pain . But most often pain appears due to problems in the spine. Such symptoms are characterized as chronic, temporary or regular. If pain occurs periodically, this situation usually results from:

• sedentary, sedentary lifestyle;
• lack of regular physical activity;
• overeating;
• excessive physical activity without preparation;
• injuries, bruises.

Diagnosing the nature of periodic pain is much more difficult. Often a person simply ignores such symptoms, attributing it all to a temporary phenomenon. But later he begins to notice that the spine between the shoulder blades hurts more and more often. This situation already indicates that pathological changes occur in the spine, which lead to the development of chronic diseases.

Today, most people spend the whole day in a desk chair in front of a computer monitor. The body is not always in a comfortable position. And if not by evening, then in the coming months it will definitely manifest itself. It is necessary to control the height of the table and chair in order to create more comfortable conditions for yourself. Otherwise, there is a real danger: problems with the spine cannot be avoided.

But body position during the working day is not the only problem. There is a whole list of diseases that are characterized by similar symptoms:

• curvature of the spine (scoliosis);
• osteochondrosis;
• intervertebral hernia;
• neuralgia;
• spondyloarthrosis;
• spinal tuberculosis;
• kyphosis;
• disc protrusion;
• radiculitis;
• spinal myositis;
• angina pectoris, ischemic disease;
• pneumonia;
• polio;
• injuries.

This is an incomplete list of diseases that cause back pain between the shoulder blades; the reasons that cause this are more extensive.

Mechanical damage, injuries

The most common cause of pain in the spine. Mechanical and traumatic injuries, dislocations, falls from a height, accidents provoke displacement of the vertebral discs, which is necessarily accompanied by pain.

The situation is dangerous, posing a threat to a person’s physical activity. Sometimes this even poses a danger to human life. If the spinal cord is damaged as a result of an injury, this can result in complete or partial loss of motor functions and paralysis of the limbs. Simply put, a person may be bedridden forever.

Scoliosis or curvature of the spine

Common pathology. This is what doctors diagnose most often when patients complain of back pain. Almost half of the entire population of the planet has pathology at one stage or another. The worst thing is that children most often suffer. The disease affects three parts of the spine:

• chest;
• lumbar;
• cervical.

The disease is insidious, it simply twists the main pillar, causing a person to suffer and experience severe pain in the back, lower back, and chest.

The disease may be congenital or acquired . Active progression occurs if a person does not monitor his posture or subjects the body to heavy physical activity. Preventive measures are only a correct, active lifestyle and control over the position of the body at the desk. The treatment is complex, long-term, and takes place under the supervision of several specialists - an orthopedist, a surgeon, a neurologist.

Osteochondrosis - the disease of the century

These are pathological changes in the cartilage tissues of the spine. The process is natural, if it occurs in older people. The first symptoms may appear after 35 years. But recently the disease has become significantly “younger”. This fact can easily be explained by the fact that most young people lead a sedentary lifestyle.

Healthy eating is ignored, and instead beer and other alcohol are consumed in large quantities. This leads to the fact that calcium and collagen are washed out by alcohol, the discs become fragile and easily injured. The progressive disease is accompanied by pain that appears in the back and can radiate to the limbs. It is difficult to move, pain in the spine intensifies in the evening and may be less pronounced in the morning. Long-term treatment using non-steroidal drugs. The process does not always end successfully; surgical intervention may be required.

Intervertebral hernia

An inflammatory process in the spine, leading to deformation of the spinal discs and rupture of the fibrous ring. This causes part of the nucleus pulposus to protrude beyond the spinal column. This situation not only causes severe pain. A person feels weakness, drowsiness, fatigue, and dizziness.

Neuralgia (inflammation of peripheral nerves)

This is an inflammatory process that occurs in the intercostal nerves. During the period of exacerbation, a painful, aching syndrome is felt in the chest, back, and patients begin to look for causes from the heart. They take packs of heart pills, not realizing how harmful the situation is. A thorough diagnosis and immediate professional treatment are required.

Neuralgia often appears as a consequence of osteochondrosis. In addition to treatment, simple rules will help you get rid of pain. It is necessary to establish proper rest, eliminate alcohol consumption, limit physical activity, and introduce foods rich in calcium, B vitamins and collagen into the diet.

Pain due to spondyloarthrosis

The disease is dangerous because it progresses without much pain. The first pain may appear at a time when the disease is already at an advanced stage and requires long-term complex treatment. The pain is not severe. They may appear after a sudden movement or when changing position during sleep. Therefore, most patients do not associate this with serious pathology. But the disease progresses, and soon a person’s gait may change and a stoop may appear. The pain forces you to constantly change your position during sleep, preventing you from getting full rest.

There are many diseases of the spine. Most of them manifest themselves as acute or aching pain in the back and discomfort. Today, about 85 percent of the population suffers from such pathologies. Doctors attribute this to the lack of activity and poor lifestyle of most people. Even minor discomfort in the back should make a person pay attention to his health. You may not need treatment, but you need to monitor the condition of your spine regularly.

Causes of pain in the scapula area

The shoulder blades are a part of the body that is related to many serious internal organs, so when discomfort occurs you need to find out:

• what is the cause of the discomfort;
• correct diagnosis;
• clarify treatment if necessary.

If you delay in clarifying these points, you can get serious exacerbations, and in a very protracted period, death.

But there is no need to hide the fact that there is pain that is not accompanied by serious diseases, and can be obtained during:

• bearing a child;
• serious physical activity.

Serious reasons include:

1. Diseases caused by infections;
2. Neuralgia – exacerbations provoked by nervous breakdowns and stress;
3. Heart functions are impaired;
4. Fracture of the scapula;
5. Tracheitis is a lung disease provoked by incompletely cured bronchitis or pneumonia;
6. Osteomelitis of the scapula – inflammation of the bone marrow;
7. Hernia localized in the diaphragm;
8. Myocardial infarction;
9. Pancreatitis is an exacerbation caused by eating at different times;
10. Ulcer;
11. Subphrenic abscess.

Scapula injury

This is a very common phenomenon and occurs in 2% of all fractures. Usually occurs as a result of a traffic accident.

The symptoms are:

• Impaired functioning of the upper limbs;
• Unbearable pain;
• Swelling;
• Difficulty breathing.

winged blade

Separation of the lower angle of the scapula itself from the chest. The reasons may be:

• Nerve damage;
• Dysfunction of muscles that have a fixing function;
• Dystrophy;
• Polio.

Symptoms:

1. Impaired functioning of the upper limbs;
2. Protruding wing;
3. The pain radiates to other organs and intensifies over time.

Scapular crunch

Congenital or acquired function of the scapula, the symptoms of which are:

• Crunch;
• Clicks.

Causes:

1. Inflammatory process of joints;
2. Amyotrophy;
3. Malunion of fracture.

Osteomyelitis of the scapula

A complex disease consisting of the accumulation of purulent discharge in the bone. Divided into:

• Hematogenous;
• Post-traumatic.

Signs:

1. Pain in the area of ​​the shoulder blades;
2. Fever;
3. Redness;
4. Movement disorder;
5. Mixing bones.

The reasons are:

• Injuries;
• Infections;
• Pathogens;
• Burns.

Diagnostics

Since there are many factors preceding the pain syndrome, diagnostics to identify the causes of the pathology is a complex procedure. Diagnosis is carried out comprehensively, using several methods. At the first stage, the doctor carefully listens to the patient for complaints and makes his assessment. Second stage: palpation of the sore area of ​​the back, orthopedic testing to identify symptoms.

Depending on the factors, an X-ray of the chest or spinal column is performed, an MRI is performed, a cardiogram is taken, and the heart is examined with ultrasound. If the factors that caused the pain lie in gastrointestinal diseases, then the patient is offered to undergo fibrogastroduodenoscopy. If the cause is pathology of the respiratory system, then doctors perform a bronchoscopy. Additionally, the patient undergoes a number of tests: urine, feces, blood, etc.

Since pain in the scapular area of ​​the back signals one of many diseases, the examination is carried out using different methods:

• Chest X-ray;
• Laboratory research;
• Ultrasound;
• Magnetic resistance or computed tomography;
• ECG.

All examinations are prescribed by a surgeon - if you have back pain, go to him first. But in the future, based on the research results, he will need consultation:

1. Orthopedist;
2. Gastroenterologist;
3. Neurologist;
4. Pulmonologist.

If for any reason the doctor did not pay attention to the accompanying symptoms, go for a consultation on your own initiative.

How to quickly relieve pain at home?

It takes very little effort to remove the pain.

If you work in an uncomfortable position, then you just need to change it and warm up a little.

To do this, it is best to make several circular movements with your shoulders, turn several times, and also move and move your shoulder blades apart.

You can also do the following exercise: while sitting or standing, hug yourself tightly so that your shoulder blades open, then take a deep breath so that your shoulder blades open even more, hold your breath for a few seconds and exhale. During these exercises, muscle spasm is relieved, after which the pain quietly goes away.

Nature of pain

Night pain indicates problems with bones - tumors, injuries

The possible type of discomfort is indicated by the nature of the pain:

• Pressing pain indicates angina pectoris. Subsequent rest and lying on a horizontal surface reduce the severity of discomfort.
• Tingling often occurs with neuralgia, pleurisy, myositis, myocarditis.
• Intense pain can spread from myocardial infarction, dissecting aortic aneurysm.
• Shooting is a sharp, short-term pain. It can shoot through osteochondrosis or a herniated disc.
• Intermittent, migrating pain, in which the top or bottom of the scapula bothers you, occurs due to psychological causes.
• A burning sensation develops when nerve fibers are damaged, including against the background of aseptic inflammation. Aching in the area of ​​the shoulder blades can occur with chronic pathology.
• When the back begins to ache, aching discomfort appears with numbness of the skin, muscle weakness, and problems with the musculoskeletal system in the chest area have probably developed, due to which the nerve fibers can become jammed next to the bone.
• Discomfort that increases in the evening and at night occurs with degenerative-dystrophic pathology of the musculoskeletal system.

Based on the nature, location, and intensity of pain, one can suspect their origin. To reliably determine the cause, an objective diagnosis is required.