Quite often, people complain that their back hurts in the area of the shoulder blades. Attributing it to overwork, work associated with sitting for a long time or moving heavy objects, they postpone a visit to the doctor.
However, any pain may indicate the presence of serious diseases of the spine, which threatens the development of complications.
main reasons
Pain in the spine in the region of the shoulder blades is explained by the fact that it is here that a large number of receptors are located that respond to any pathological changes. With the inflammatory process, the production of leukocytes increases, edema forms, nerve endings are compressed, which causes pain.
When the back hurts in the lumbar region, shoulder blades, the possibility of a disease that requires a therapeutic course is not excluded. Often, diseases that affect such important organs as the heart and lungs become the cause of severe pain.
An exacerbation occurs under the influence of provoking factors: a violation of posture, overweight, lack of physical activity. If the back hurts under the shoulder blades, this may be one of the symptoms of a stomach ulcer.
Most often, the root cause is a disease, injury, psychological state of a person.
Do not try to remove the unpleasant symptom yourself, using various 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 consult a doctor and undergo an examination.
Scapula injuries
This bone is located on the side of the spine, is protected by many muscles, and is damaged in very rare cases. His injury is often combined with a fracture of the ribs, so it is not always possible to make a diagnosis in time.
In this case, the victim feels severe pain in the area of the shoulder blades, sometimes bleeding and the development of hemarthrosis of the shoulder is possible.The cause of the damage is a fall, a traffic accident, a blow.
If your back hurts below the shoulder blades or above, redness and swelling appear, you should immediately see a doctor. This may be an inflammation of the synovial bag, which is often accompanied by a crunch, a feeling of heaviness.
Dislocation, or rather displacement of the humerus and scapula relative to each other, is another reason why the back can hurt in the area of the shoulder blades. The injury occurs with a strong pull of the arm, upon impact. The dislocation 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 has a noticeable protrusion of the axillary margin.
intervertebral hernia
This is the name of a degenerative disease, accompanied by deformation and destruction of the fibrous ring. Any part of the spine is susceptible to pathology.
If the back hurts under the shoulder blades, this may be a sign of a lumbar intervertebral hernia. A thoracic hernia causes a variety of symptoms.
The most frequent of them:
- pain between the shoulder blades, which increases sharply with coughing or physical exertion. Its nature is different: it can be a dull, sharp pain in the back.
- Paresthesia.
- Shortness of breath, difficulty breathing.
- Muscle weakness, trouble lifting your arms.
The intensity of the symptoms depends on the size of the hernia and the stage of the disease.
Osteomyelitis
Aching pain between the shoulder blades can be a sign of osteomyelitis. This is the name of a purulent infection that affects bone tissue.
This disease is usually very difficult. The tissues located above the bone are thin enough, so symptoms at the site of injury appear immediately. The main sign of pathology is the presence of a suppurating wound, edema of soft tissues with hyperemia. A person complains that his back hurts in the region of the shoulder blades, sometimes chills are added to it, the body temperature rises, the pulse quickens.
There are several varieties of this pathology. Osteomyelitis that occurs when bacteria enter bone tissue through the blood is called hematogenous. Its acute form is more common in children and adolescents.
Microorganisms penetrating from the environment cause exogenous osteomyelitis. The reason for this is a wound, trauma, or an open 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 area of the shoulder blades is scoliosis of the thoracic segment of the spine. Since this section is associated with the ribs, there is a chest deformity.
In addition to the main symptom, when the back hurts below the shoulder blades and above the waist, increased fatigue should be noted, at different levels of the shoulders.
Diagnosis is carried out solely by X-ray. When the stage is running, the back hurts in the spinal region almost constantly.
osteochondrosis
Back pain in the region of the shoulder blades is the main symptom of osteochondrosis, when the upper part of the spine is subject to degenerative processes. The disease is often confused with pneumonia, tuberculosis.
An experienced neurologist determines osteochondrosis by several cumulative signs. The localization of the pain syndrome depends on the part in which the nerve endings are pinched. Therefore, a distinction is made between left-sided and right-sided pathology.
If your back hurts in the area of the shoulder blades, you should definitely be examined in order to start treatment at an early stage. This guarantees a faster recovery.
spondyloarthrosis
This is the name of a polyetiological disease that often occurs together with osteochondrosis, intervertebral hernia and spondylosis. Spondyloarthrosis is an arthrosis that affects the intervertebral joints and develops due to injuries, congenital malformations, excessive overloads.
The suspicion of a pathology causes pain in the back below the shoulder blades that appears for no apparent reason, especially when the weather changes, when moving. The advanced stage is determined by the characteristic crunch.
Subdiaphragmatic abscess
This is the name of a rare but serious complication following inflammation that engulfs the abdominal cavity. The main symptoms are burning in the back, especially in the area of the shoulder blades, shortness of breath, hyperthermia, cough.
In addition to the fact that the pain in the spine is localized under the shoulder blades, it can also pass to the right hypochondrium.
Diseases of the internal organs.
If the back hurts a lot in the area of the shoulder blades, this may cause suspicion of existing diseases of the heart, bronchopulmonary system and gastrointestinal tract.
Therefore, these symptoms should not be ignored.. It is necessary to immediately pay attention to pulling 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 in a timely manner.
intercostal neuralgia
The cause of the phenomenon, when burning in the area of the shoulder blades, there is a feeling that the back burns, it is often intercostal neuralgia.
Unpleasant symptoms are formed due to the fact that pathological changes affecting the spine cause compression of the intercostal nerves.
Pain in neuralgia occurs at the level of the shoulder blades and has different intensity. They can get worse when you cough or take a deep breath.
Psychological problems
Back pain below the shoulder blades often occurs due to psychological reasons. The patient feels compression and tingling, feels a sense of anxiety and inexplicable fear. The pain may radiate to the right arm, neck.
Diagnostics
Often pain in the back under the shoulder blade is a consequence of professional activity. Machinists, drivers, seamstresses, athletes, designers are people whose work is associated with daily strain on the back muscles.
When the first symptoms appear, you need to 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 your back hurts in the area of the shoulder blades, the doctor will prescribe modern diagnostic methods, which include X-rays, CT and ultrasound.
It is almost impossible to determine the exact cause of the pain on your own. Since it can often occur with a heart attack, postponing a visit to the doctor is extremely risky.
Treatment
What to do if your back hurts in the shoulder blade area? Do not forget that the basis for the appearance of such a symptom can be a variety of pathologies. Therefore, the treatment should be prescribed only by a doctor and carried out under his supervision.
The traumatic and articular origin of the pain requires specific clinical therapy, which includes:
- Anti-inflammatory medications. Painful sensations are effectively eliminated with the help of corticosteroids, non-steroidal agents. They can be used externally by applying doctor-recommended ointments to the shoulder blade area, or by injection. The combination of these methods allows you to achieve the best result.
- Chondroprotectors. They are used to treat the scapular region of the back, when pain is caused by intervertebral hernia, protrusion. Preparations containing mucopolysaccharides, glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate will help improve the nutrition of cartilage tissue and increase its elasticity.
- Physiotherapy. With damage to joint tissue, physiotherapy procedures show good results.The most popular shock wave technique, in which infrasound acts on the tissues of the body.. It can destroy bone growths, improve blood flow, which leads to increased nutrition of cartilage, reduces muscle tone, 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, hot compresses with 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 scapular pain, but they only perform an auxiliary function.
Prevention
To avoid such an unpleasant symptom as back pain in the area of the shoulder blades, it will help to follow certain rules.
For this you need:
- Eat properly. The deficiency of microelements necessary for cartilage tissue leads to degeneration of the intervertebral discs.
- Maintain correct posture. Uneven load on the spine is one of the first causes of pain.
- Move more. This helps prevent excessive muscle tone, normalize blood circulation. Useful walks in the fresh air, sports games, gymnastics.
We must not forget about the regular passage of medical examinations, thanks to which it is possible to detect the development of any pathology at a very early stage.