In the human body, the shoulder blade is one among the types of bone which connect your upper arm bone along with your collar bone.
It is commonly known as scapula. It is present on both right and left sides of your back bone which would resemble like a mirror image. Also, considered to be triangular in shape by appearance.
When you have a shoulder pain it will be a difficult task to find why it is painting. This is because there are many reasons for causing pain between the shoulder blades.
The pain can be due to a simple reason like not sleeping in proper positions to a serious condition like lung cancer.
To analyze this you have to know about the causes which lead to shoulder pain between the blades in your body in detail. In this post, I will explain you about the causes, symptoms and the treatment in detail.
Table of Contents
PAIN BETWEEN THE SHOULDER BLADES:
To understand where we are talking about, you have to know the apt place where the shoulder bone is located in your body. You can see it clearly when you bend or extend your elbows towards your back.
The main function of the blade present in-between your shoulder is to support the pivotal movement in your body.
When you suffer from pain in the blades present in-between your shoulder, do not get tensed. The pain may be due to many reasons ranging from very simple to very serious.Sometimes the pain may be due to some swellings caused in the blades, shoulder or may be the pain in the other parts of your body.
Some of the causes can affect the right side of the shoulder and cause pain. While some causes may affect the left side.So, both the side of your shoulders are likely to be affected by many other symptoms and others areas of your body.
Many people confuse themselves when they have a shoulder blade pain as shoulder pain. You must clearly know that shoulder blade pain is entirely different from the shoulder pain.
Some reasons may be the same but you have to distinguish it clearly according to the symptoms and the pain you have in your body. You have to follow the treatment according to that.
In this article, I am going to explain you only about the pain caused in blades present in-between your shoulders. So, clearly distinguish the problem you have and then follow the necessary steps.
CAUSES FOR THE PAIN IN-BETWEEN THE BLADES OF YOUR SHOULDER:
There are many causes for the pain you have in-between the blades present in your body. You can vary and find the apt cause for the pain by knowing the area where you feel the pain.
In certain cases like diseases related to your gall bladder, you will have the pain in your right side blades of your shoulder. In cases like heart diseases you will feel the pain at the left side blades of your shoulder. Some of the causes are listed below.
1. Poor Posture
There are distinctive reasons why you may encounter pain in your shoulder bones and your poor stance is one reason.
Your poor stance may have contributed from the way that you have been driving for quite a while or you may likewise have poor stance since you have been working for a significantly long time and you have not changed position.
- If you might want to diminish the sort of pain that you are feeling, you might need to ensure that you will change your position every once in a while.
- You may likewise need to stay away from a portion of the exercises that might make you feel pain
2. Pulled Muscle:
Pulled muscle is commonly referred as muscle strain and it usually occurs in certain conditions like when your muscle is overstretched or torn out. When you overuse your shoulders, the blades present in between can get swelled and it causes pain.
Some simple reasons like sleeping in the wrong position can cause pain in the blades. When you sleep turning on a single direction for the whole night, all your body weight will be put up on the single side of your shoulder.
This will cause greater pain in the blades present in-between your shoulders.Sometimes you may start your gym workouts and weight lighting all of a sudden. This will have a greater chance for causing pain in the blades present in-between your shoulder.
The pain will last until the muscle present in your shoulder gets used to the weight and other instruments.A small tear in the tissues through which your muscle is connected to the bones will surely cause a pain in your shoulder blades.
This tear in the tissues is commonly referred as Rotator cuff tear. This will literally affect your daily activities like combing hair, brushing your teeth etc.
3. Cold Or Flu:
There can be even more simple reasons for the pain in your shoulder blades such as like fever, cold or flu. You can easily notice and identify when the pain you have is because of cold and flu.
Whenever you are affected by flu or cold and you have running nose, you will feel a small discomfort in doing all the works. You will have body pain especially in areas such as shoulder blades.
This pain will not exist for a longer time. It will get cured along with your fever or cold. You need not fear for these types of pains.
Either you will have fever followed by shoulder pain or pain in your shoulder blades which will be followed by fever and cold.
You can easily find this and get cured by hot compress technique. Curing your cold and flu will automatically cure your shoulder pains.
4. Degenerative Disc Diseases:
Discs are the one which makes up the spine in your human body. The discs present in your body can become damaged by any injury or may be due to the displacement of the discs.
The discs can go in out of position during any accidents or injury.
When the discs get misplaced then it will cause a severe pain in your spine and in shoulders. The discs present in the neck or upper spine is known as herniated discs.
This can cause pain in the blades present in between your shoulder. This will make even a movement of your arms and neck very tough.
The disc which has got out of position in your body can be easily identified through X-rays and MRI scans. Sometimes you will be in a position to undergo a surgery to take out the disc from your body. This can give you a great relief from the pain.
5. Shingles:
Shingles, a disease created by a similar infection that causes chickenpox, may bring about shoulder bone pain. The agony is generally a consuming pain which is taken after inside a couple days by a rash.
6. Compressed Nerve:
The pain in your shoulder blades due to the compressed nerve will be one of the most severe ones which will cause a greater pain when compared to others.
At first, this pain will start from your backbone and then finally it will reach your arm causing the pain in your shoulder blades.
In such cases, it is better to consult a physiotherapist. A physiotherapist can actually have a better knowledge about this and about the treatment for this type of pain. You can also cure this pain by using certain lotions and creams which would reduce the pain.
7. Bone metastases
Spread of tumor to the scapula from diseases, for example, bosom growth, lung malignancy, esophageal growth, and colon tumor, and in addition, a few different malignancies may bring about pain in the shoulder bones.
8. Spinal Stenosis:
In medical terms, stenosis refers to narrowing of a channel or a body part. When it comes to spinal stenosis it refers to narrowing of spinal cord and nerves present in the spinal area.
Most of the time, it is considered to be a degenerative one. Some may not feel the effects at a younger age but they will feel the effects of it when aging occurs.
This will further lead to the pain in the blades present in your shoulder. The symptoms for this will be similar to the symptoms of a compressed nerve. You can consult a doctor and follow the medications regularly to prevent further problems.
Sometimes certain exercises can really help you to a greater extent than the medications to get relief from the pain.
9. Lung tumors:
Pancoast tumors are a type of lung malignancy that develops on the highest points of the lungs and commonly causes pain in the shoulders, shoulder bones, and arms, instead of the more run of the mill side effects of lung growth.
10. Frozen Shoulder:
Frozen shoulder is one among the major causes of shoulder blade pain. This is the cause because of Synovia. Synovia can also be termed as synovial fluid. These are found in the cavities of synovial joints present in your body.
The main function of the synovial fluid is to reduce the friction in the synovial joints which will be caused due to the movement.
When the composition of this fluid in your body gets decreased then there will be no friction in your joints during a movement.
Thus, your shoulder becomes frozen and you will be not able to do any work. It is better if you consult a doctor as soon as possible. You can take some medications and therapies to get relief and reduce the pain.
11. Heart Conditions:
Most of the people think that heart attack has the symptoms like severe pain only in chest and fainting. But this is actually a completely wrong one. It is not that you will have only a chest pain during the heart attack.
Sometimes the pain in the blades present in-between your shoulder can be a symptom to denote that you might have the heart attack after three to four days of the shoulder or back pain.
The other symptoms which will be accompanied with this are dizziness, vomiting, breathlessness, fatigue, pressure in chest etc.,
Not only heart attack but also some other diseases related to heart such as pericarditis, aortic dissection can also cause severe pain in your shoulder, back pain, and spinal cord pain.
This type of symptoms is usually caused in women. Women may not feel the acute chest pain during heart diseases. You will feel the pain only in their shoulder blades.
Do not leave it as a simple issue and it is better to consult a doctor explaining the issue you have. Leaving it as a simple shoulder pain can literally affect your life all of a sudden.
This will lead to death and there are many chances for the person to be dead when they are affected by heart diseases and has not undergone any treatment related to it.
12. Lung conditions:
Lung conditions, for example, pneumonic emboli (blood clumps in the legs that server and go to the lungs) or a pneumothorax (a crumpled lung) are additionally conceivable causes.
13. Fractures And Bone Damage:
Scapulae are bones present in-between your shoulders. These are bones where the injury is a bit difficult one. The fracture or injury in such bones can happen only during car accidents or a fall from a height.
When you get a fracture or damage in such areas, it is difficult to get recovered. It will take a long time than the usual time to get cured.
The dislocation of bones will happen due to this. This will happen mostly in the joints present in your shoulder. This will create a severe pain in the blades present in between your shoulders.
You will feel uncomfortable and a greater pain in your blades. This might result in many problems in your shoulder.
14. Osteoarthritis:
Osteoarthritis is one among the types of arthritis. It is a very common disease prevailing in the human’s body. There are about more than nearly hundreds of arthritis that can cause severe effects in the human body.
People starting from the small aged to the old age can be affected by arthritis.Arthritis is mostly caused in women and people with older ages. Osteoarthritis occurs in people who are older than 65.
Osteoarthritis can result in the swelling of the joints and the blades present in your shoulders. It will cause redness and an acute pain in the blades present in your shoulder.The symptoms will vary from age to age. The older age people will have severe effects when compared to other ages.
This will start from small effects initially but it will get worse when time goes. It might even continue to months and even years also. Leaving it by considering it as a simple problem will finally result with a greater effect.
This can cause inability to do normal activities and you might even face difficulty in lifting your hands. You may not have a sound sleep because of the pain in your shoulder blades and joints.
15. Cancer:
The types of cancers which can cause pain in the blades present in your shoulder are as follows
- Esophageal cancer
- Mesothelioma cancer
- Lymphomas cancer
- Liver cancer
- Lung cancer
- Breast cancer
- Pan coast tumors
These types of cancers in your body can cause severe pain in the blades present in your shoulder. Sometimes, the cancers like breast cancer can cause a severe pain in your shoulder blades all of a sudden without any other symptoms.
This can also be one among the symptoms or intimation that you are affected by breast cancer.
In other cases like pan coast tumors, it pushes the nerves on top of the lungs. This will cause severe pain in the blades present in your shoulder.
The pain in-between the blades present in your shoulder can be a symptom to indicate that you are affected by esophageal cancer, lung cancer, and liver cancer.
When the condition gets worse MRI scans and CT scans can be taken to identify the cavities present in your human body. When this doesn’t work or when you can’t find the exact reason, then your physician might take your tissue to identify the type of cancer you are affected by.
In many cases, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation treatments are provided to cure cancer or to destroy the cancer cells present in your human body.
16. Inflammation In The Diaphragm:
This might be a new and a different reason for the pain in your shoulder blades. However, the diaphragm and the shoulder blades have a connection in your body.
The diaphragm is the muscular portion present in your body which is responsible for the breathing process in your body. When you breathe the diaphragm muscles gets contracted and expanded. The muscles present in your back are also involved in this process.
So, inflammation in the diaphragm can make your breathing tedious. You will feel acute pain during inhaling and exhaling. This will further cause pain in your shoulder blades.
So, preventing your diaphragm from getting swelled can prevent you from shoulder blade pains.You have to consult a doctor when you get this problem. It is better to prevent you from the effects before it gets severe.
17. Acid Reflux:
Acid reflux is a condition prevailing in your human body which will make the valve which holds the food and acids present in your stomach very weak. This will create a flowing black of acids present in your stomach into the esophagus.
This will cause a burning sensation and also the pain in the chest as soon as you consume the food.This type of severe pain in your body can get extended till the blades present in the shoulders in your human body.
During night times the chance for the pain in the blades present in-between your shoulders are very high. Acid neutralizers can help you to get recovered from the effects of acid reflux.
Severe effects of the acid reflux in your human body will lead to many changes in your human body. This can also be a reason to cause esophageal cancer and lung cancer in your human body.
18. Gall Bladder Problems:
The gall bladder is an organ in your human body which is present in the upper part of your abdomen. This organ is responsible for digesting the food in your body.
It can get affected by certain reasons and the organ might face problems in carrying out the digestion process in your body. Some of the reasons are a stone formation in the gall bladder and swelling of the gall bladder.
This will cause pain in the right side of your abdomen that will further cause pain in the shoulder blades present in your body.
This type of problem is caused mostly in people with age above 40. This pain can be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, tiredness. Following regular medications for this can give you a great relief from the pain very soon.
Signs and Side Effects Of Pain Between Shoulder Bones
As said, the particular way of back agony between the shoulder bones makes it something that ought not be overlooked. We’ve delineated a portion of the conceivable results of what that pain may involve, and those oblige you to make more move than simply “relaxing.”
Below are a portion of the more typical side effects of back pain between the shoulder bones that you ought to know. Any of these without anyone else or in conjunction implies you ought to in any event counsel with a specialist or medicinal expert.
a. Chronic pain that goes on for anyplace from half a month to a couple of months. That ought not be viewed as ordinary.
b. Any sharp blasts of pain in the terIf the pain begins in the middle of your shoulder bones, then reaches out to different zones of your back and even your arms, there’s presumably an issue.
- Almost cutting like agony in the middle of the shoulder bones is another marker.
- Lingering pain that stays with you for the duration of the day, consistently.
Once more, both of these side effects are not to be trifled with. Better to discover what’s wrong early instead of hold up till the condition exacerbates. Know the signs and follow up on them promptly.
WHEN SHOULD YOU CONSULT A DOCTOR?
The pain caused in-between the blades present your shoulder holds a variety of reasons. It might be a simple reason and also a very severe one too. It depends on what effect or problem you have in your body. Sometimes the reason may be a simple one and the pain may get cured within few days.
But, this will be not in all cases. Sometimes the pain might be continued for several weeks or months and the pain might become very severe from day to day. In such cases, it is very important to you consult a doctor. Leaving it as a simple problem can also become a life threatening one at the end.
When you consult a doctor please be sure that you have a complete medical record of your body. If you have undergone a surgery or any treatment before, take all the medical records related to it.
It is also important that you explain about the problem you have very clearly and also specify the duration or the period of time you are being affected by this problem.
A small pain in the shoulder blades for a series of time can literally affect all our day to day activities. We will not be able to even lift our hands for simple things when the condition becomes very severe.
So, it is better to consult and get diagnosed by the doctor before it affects our life much.
DIAGNOSIS
Your specialist will start by taking a cautious history and doing a physical exam. Many causes can be analyzed in view of your history. She will play out a watchful physical exam, however, thinks about propose that it’s hard to analyze the cause in light of physical exam alone. Contingent upon this, different tests may include:
- Radiological Study-These may incorporate a trunk x-beam, a CT sweep of your trunk or different districts of your body, an MRI of your trunk or different areas, as well as a PET output in the event that you have a background marked by malignancy.
- Heart tests. On the off chance that she is worried that you may show some kindness condition, tests, for example, an EKG or stress test might be suggested.
- Abdominal exams. Tests, for example, endoscopy might be done to assess your stomach and small digestive system.
- Blood tests may likewise be done to assess your liver, to test for a few sorts of joint inflammation, and a few different conditions.
Treatment choices for pain between shoulder bones
Treatment for the pain between shoulder bones relies on upon the seriousness and the peripheral condition. A portion of the treatment choices includes exercises or activities you can do at home to help deal with the agony.
After first affirming with a specialist to analyze the wellspring of your pain you can proceed onward to attempt some of these cures.
i. Stretching –
A feline extend to be more exact. It includes adjusting your shoulders while pushing your spine back so you extend the upper back region. The best time to do this is after a hot shower on the grounds that the muscles will be generally flexible.
ii. Heat–
Heat is awesome for soothing the strain in the harassed territory of the back. A warmed towel or warmth pack ought to be proper.
iii. Pose –
Better stance implies less weight on the spine.
iv. Rest –
Put a reference mark alongside this one. We don’t just mean rest, however, rest soundly on a decent sleeping cushion. Considering a poor sleeping pad can really add to back pain. In the event that you get yourself not resting soundly all the time and can’t indicate whatever other outside components, take a stab at changing your sleeping pad.
Precaution for pain between shoulder bones
Rejecting the pain as something coincidental is not going to make it leave. On the off chance that you are encountering any of the indications we have talked about, then realize that there could possibly be a more difficult issue.
In any case, in the event that you are wanting to keep any back pain, or diminish the odds of serious back issues, then there are two stages that you can take at this moment to offer assistance.
1. Eat better
People think little of exactly how much eating diet is identified with general well-being. It’s not quite recently useful for overseeing weight, but rather it affects your physical capacities too. Honing great dietary patterns will fortify your body, making it harder to separate.
2. Practice consistently
It doesn’t take strenuous exercise to feel the advantages. Simply reliable exercise will help reinforce your back muscles and help you better use the supplements from your eating diet.
