If a person has back pain in the shoulder blade area, he automatically associates this with the condition of the spine. They are partly correct: the long-suffering core of our skeleton is subjected to heavy loads, which cannot but does not affect its condition.
But often this back pain signals an internal organ disorder. The nature of the pain corresponds to the disease, so when making an appointment with the doctor, it is important to describe its manifestations in as much detail as possible.
Causes of shoulder pain
Pathological changes in:
- backbone;
- Viscera;
- surrounding structures.
Pain in the scaly area and with some rare diseases:
- Spinal fractures and systemic injuries;
- Metastasis to the spine in gastric cancer, and sometimes other organs.
Pain consistent with localized disease:
- Above the shoulder blades;
- Below the shoulder blades;
- Between the shoulder blades;
- At the shoulder.
Symptoms associated with pathology of internal organs
Stomach, lungs, liver, and heart can cause pain below the shoulder blades — right or left side.
If the pain is on the left side, this could be a sign:
- Peptic ulcer disease: cyclical pain associated with seasonal exacerbations. They are accompanied by pain in the upper abdomen. In increasing pain, vomiting occurs;
- Myocardial infarction: the disease is accompanied by acute pain behind the shoulder blade, extending below the left shoulder blade. Myocardial ischemia also has similar signs, but in this case, pain is also felt in the left hand;
- Breakthrough stomach ulcer: the patient's body is filled with cold sweat, may feel nauseous to vomiting. The patient tries to reduce suffering by changing positions, but these actions do not bring the expected effect;
- Intercostal neuralgia: pain below the left shoulder blade intermittently, aggravated with even the slightest exertion. It tingles and burns in the heart area. Pain when coughing and taking deep breaths.
It can hurt below the right shoulder blade when:
- The mind fails in the body. At the same time, the patient feels heat in the chest, may complain of pain and tingling in the heart muscle;
- Pathological changes in the gallbladder: additional symptoms - bitterness in the mouth after fatty, salty and fried foods, pain in the right hypogastrium;
- Pleurisy and pneumonia: pain below the right shoulder blade when coughing;
- Kidney diseases: in this case, coughing also increases pain, but unlike lung diseases, the patient has difficulty urinating.
Pain related to pathology of the spine
Spinal problems can occur after an injury, fracture, or bruise. But there are also diseases with no obvious cause. And all of them are manifested by pain in the area of the fish scales.
With any pathology of the spine, pain between the right shoulder blades is accompanied by:
- stiffness;
- Goosebumps feeling;
- Pangolin.
Vaginal pain when coughing is a typical symptom of heavy smokers.
Bone tumor
If tissue nutrition is disturbed, dystrophic changes occur in them. In the spine, this process affects the discs. They can no longer resist the pressure exerted on the vertebrae. The loss of elasticity of the discs leads to compression of the spine. The nerve endings of the spinal cord are under pressure - this is where severe pain occurs.
The body tries to protect the spine from heavy loads by growing bone tissue along the edges of the vertebral processes. The growth of bone is called osteoclast. They can be removed, but against the background of osteonecrosis, they grow back.
Pain in osteonecrosis is localized at the site of spinal cord injury. If the neck area is affected, the patient has morning pain on the right side of the neck. The pain radiates to the shoulder and arm, felt over the shoulder blade. The head may feel light-headed, and the stinging sensation is aggravated by taking a deep breath and coughing.
Thoracic osteosarcoma presents with pain between the shoulder blades - the right and left sides of the back spine. The pain may be aggravated by sneezing, coughing, and sudden movements. As you try to keep your shoulders straight, your chest and the trochanteric area begin to ring.
A person becomes short of breath from the ribcage, as the mobility of the ribs decreases, and he unconsciously switches to abdominal breathing.
Treatment of osteonecrosis by conservative methods. Patients are prescribed:
- Pain relievers and anti-inflammatory drugs;
- Physiotherapy procedures;
- Physical therapy;
- Acupressure;
- Massage;
- Traction of the spine;
- Manual therapy.
If none of the treatments didn't work, the surgeons went into business.
Spondylolisthesis
The symptoms of this disease are similar to those of osteonecrosis. But in this case, the disc is displaced, not destroyed. Hyalin cartilage is forced to bear the load. Under such extreme conditions, its tissue becomes thinner and loses its ability to perform its functions.
If spondylosis is left untreated, the entire joint can become inflamed, and then completely lose mobility. The patient's condition was aggravated by osteogenic substances.
Scoliosis
Curvature of the spine relative to its axis to the right or left is common - almost half of humanity is affected by this disease. But for most, the disease is not very pronounced, and therefore the pain occurs in cycles - if a person overuses the back, or stands or sits in one position for a long time.
Scoliosis cannot be identified with the naked eye at first, so if pain is present in the scaly area, the patient should consult a doctor. He will order X-rays - direct and lateral.
With further development of scoliosis, it can be detected independently: the "zigzags" of the spine become more obvious. Running scoliosis is also determined by the relative position of the shoulders - one of the shoulders will be lower than the other.
Scoliosis treatment is a long business even when it is intense. Massage, special exercises and wearing a corset will help get rid of scoliosis.
Disc herniation
The disc is made up of:
- Human glue;
- Yarn ring, consisting of yarns;
- Two thin layers of cartilage cover the upper and lower discs.
The nucleus is located inside the ring, and the cartilage tissue, which provides structure, and serves as a conduit for nutrients from the vessels of the vertebral body to the disc.
Pathological changes in the vertebrae lead to the disruption of metabolism in the intervertebral discs. Their thickness decreases, the fibrous ring cracks under load, opening the way to the outside of the colloidal mass of the nucleus. This process is accompanied by intense pain. It is concentrated at one point, but sometimes there is a return to the lung and heart areas.
Herniated disc in the thoracic region is an extremely rare case, so when the pain occurs in the meniscus area, the patient should first check for other diseases.
Herniated discs are treated with anti-inflammatory drugs, physical therapy, and special exercises. In severe conditions, only surgery can help.
Tuberculosis of the spine
Tuberculosis can affect any part of the spine, but 60% of cases occur in the chest area. Most men often suffer from this disease. Basically, a few vertebrae are involved in this process, but there are cases where tuberculosis has spread to three or more vertebrae.
Symptoms of the disease can vary depending on the number of vertebrae affected. But there is one constant symptom - pain. If it is palpated between the shoulder blades, this indicates an injury to the cervical vertebrae.
It also hurts with tuberculosis of the chest area, but in that case the pain will radiate to the chest, groin or abdomen. The patient complains of burning, zigzag, "drill" pain in the back.
Tuberculosis of the spine is difficult to diagnose, with severe pain appearing already at a stage where many complications appear. If you have small doubts about this disease, immediately go to a specialist for an examination.
Overpressure and hypothermia
If the back is overloaded, painful sensations may also appear in the scaly area. The phenomenon itself is not considered a disease, but constant overload can cause osteonecrosis, scoliosis, and the formation of herniated discs.
Tailors, drivers, surgeons, sedentary workers, . . . complain of back pain. If hypothermia (draughts, working air conditioners) are added to the voltage, back pain is possible - severe pain concentrated below the shoulder blades or in the spine.
This trouble is treated with warming ointments, anti-inflammatory drugs and massage.
Myositis
Influenza, SARS, severe hypothermia can lead to myositis - inflammation of muscle tissue. Usually, this disease affects the muscles located in the squamous area. The condition doesn't threaten the body with anything terrible, but the aches and pains make it uncomfortable.
Pain in the shoulder blade
Pain occurs for a number of reasons:
- Fracture or injury from a fall. Swollen shoulder joints, painful limb movements;
- Osteomyelitis (inflammation of bone tissue): accompanied by fever, fever due to total body intoxication;
- Pterygoid scapula: This effect is due to damage to the anterior jaw (located on the side of the chest), paralysis of the rhomboid, trapezoidal muscles or their trauma (which circus and gymnastics athletes, acquired by professional athletes).
If the synovial sac becomes inflamed, the shoulder blades begin to creak. In addition to this problem, the patient is concerned about heaviness and clicking noises in the shoulder joint.
Diagnose
Because back pain signals one of many diseases, the examination is done by different methods:
- X-ray of the lungs;
- Research in the laboratory;
- supersonic;
- Magnetic resistance or computed tomography;
- ECG.
All examinations are ordered by a surgeon - if your back hurts, see your doctor first. But in the future, based on the results of the study, he will need advice:
- Orthopedic doctor;
- Gastroenterologist;
- Neurologist;
- Vascular doctor.
If for some reason your doctor doesn't notice accompanying symptoms, see your doctor yourself.
Treatment
Self-medication for pain relief in scaly areas is contraindicated. The maximum that the patient can pay is to take pain relievers and pain relievers. Reception should be single and only if necessary to prevent pain syndrome before seeing a doctor.
Treatment prescribed by a doctor: usually, to relieve the condition, it is enough to take only analgesics, chondroprotectors, anti-inflammatory drugs. In addition, the doctor also outlines a treatment plan to eliminate the root cause of pain in the psoriasis area.