“How do I get rid of pain in between my shoulder blades?”
I have pain between my shoulder blades. What could be the cause? How can I get rid of the pain?
6 Answers
Physiatrist(PhysicalMedicine)Physiatrist
This can only be answered after a thorough physical examination to determine the cause. Recommend seeing a physiatrist, a rehab doctor, to help you diagnose and treat the problem.
There are multiple reasons to have pain between the shoulder blade and most of those are not serious though can persist for a very long time.
The most common source would be related to muscles and often termed myalgias. These can be related to your posture, nutrition, electrolytes, strength. The symptoms are often described as a burning sensation that worsens as long as the posture persists and is most commonly experienced with a prolonged car ride.
Pain between the shoulder blades however may also stem from the neck. these symptoms are often brought on by neck movements or at least worsened. They may be from cervical joint dysfunction and or discogenic pain from the cervical spine may also cause these symptoms. This would be termed as a referral pain pattern though may be an underlying source for myalgias as well.
A disc problem in the thoracic spine most commonly does not cause pain between the shoulder blades unless it is also accompanied with some radiating pain around the chest following the lines of the ribs. Pain from the joints in the thoracic spine can cause pain between the shoulder blades which can usually be sorted out by palpating over the spine itself with some additional provocation procedure to see if the pain alleviates. If so it would support a joint dysfunction.
We cannot forget pain from an internal organ such as gallbladder that can cause pain usually on the right side or pancreas causing pain on either side. An ulcer can also be a source of pain as well, These cases are more of an urgent matter and should be evaluated by a medical provider. Usually these symptom are not related to posture, position, activity or movement.
Hopefully this provides some insight. Just to let you know, I provide course to Personal Trainers on several topics to better understand the source of pain in different areas of the body and how to apply a specific training to address those areas. An example would be in regards to low back pain where we discussed the anatomy using radiographs CT scans, MRI's, Bone scans etc along with anatomy models and diagrams to demonstrate the various structures and sources of potential pain. We then explore how to Identify If there is a dysfunction and or the source of the symptoms along with a specific program to address those issues to bring an individual up to an optimal functioning status. If interested you can send an email to info@sportandspine.com to gain additional information.
The most common source would be related to muscles and often termed myalgias. These can be related to your posture, nutrition, electrolytes, strength. The symptoms are often described as a burning sensation that worsens as long as the posture persists and is most commonly experienced with a prolonged car ride.
Pain between the shoulder blades however may also stem from the neck. these symptoms are often brought on by neck movements or at least worsened. They may be from cervical joint dysfunction and or discogenic pain from the cervical spine may also cause these symptoms. This would be termed as a referral pain pattern though may be an underlying source for myalgias as well.
A disc problem in the thoracic spine most commonly does not cause pain between the shoulder blades unless it is also accompanied with some radiating pain around the chest following the lines of the ribs. Pain from the joints in the thoracic spine can cause pain between the shoulder blades which can usually be sorted out by palpating over the spine itself with some additional provocation procedure to see if the pain alleviates. If so it would support a joint dysfunction.
We cannot forget pain from an internal organ such as gallbladder that can cause pain usually on the right side or pancreas causing pain on either side. An ulcer can also be a source of pain as well, These cases are more of an urgent matter and should be evaluated by a medical provider. Usually these symptom are not related to posture, position, activity or movement.
Hopefully this provides some insight. Just to let you know, I provide course to Personal Trainers on several topics to better understand the source of pain in different areas of the body and how to apply a specific training to address those areas. An example would be in regards to low back pain where we discussed the anatomy using radiographs CT scans, MRI's, Bone scans etc along with anatomy models and diagrams to demonstrate the various structures and sources of potential pain. We then explore how to Identify If there is a dysfunction and or the source of the symptoms along with a specific program to address those issues to bring an individual up to an optimal functioning status. If interested you can send an email to info@sportandspine.com to gain additional information.
Using a heating pad and Aleve and stretches are a good start if this does not work over two weeks and physical therapy would be very helpful.
Have an X-Ray to find out.
Cause could be poor posture--try PT.
That pain usually comes from a pinched nerve in the neck. Go see a doctor.
