Why back pain occurs between the shoulder blades: causes and treatment methods

Almost everyone has had to deal with painful sensations in the spine. Usually appears in the lumbar region, in rare cases in the cervical region. Under the influence of certain factors, pain between the shoulder blades may also occur.

Most often, people ignore this pain syndrome and simply take a painkiller to eliminate it. However, this symptom may indicate the development of serious diseases that require quick help. You should not ignore such sensations, even when they are insignificant. If pain occurs between the shoulder blades, you should consult a doctor and undergo an examination, and then treatment of the spine.

Factors contributing to pain between the shoulder blades

Painful sensations in the interscapular area can occur against the background of some vertebral pathologies:

• osteochondrosis of the thoracic region;
• problems with posture (kyphosis, scoliosis, kyphoscoliosis);
• spondyloarthrosis;
• humeroscapular periarthrosis;
• protrusion and intervertebral hernia in the thoracic region;
• intercostal neuralgia;
• radiculitis;
• spinal column injuries.

Problems in the functions of the spine can develop:

• during sedentary work;
• in the absence of sports;
• under significant loads for which the body is not ready.

More than one spine may be the source of the problem. Painful manifestations may occur against the background of disturbances in the functioning of internal organs. For example, the presence of cardiac pathologies: angina pectoris, coronary artery disease.

In addition, pain syndrome can develop against the background of:

• hepatitis A;
• cholecystitis;
• peptic ulcer in the stomach;
• pulmonary diseases;
• infectious pathologies.

Often, people who move little due to the specific nature of their work activity have to face a similar problem, since their muscular and ligamentous systems are weakened, and the muscle fibers in the shoulder girdle are tense for a long time. Such pain often bothers drivers, garment factory workers, etc.

What is intercostal neuralgia?

Neuralgia of the intercostal nerves is pain of a different nature that occurs due to various etiological factors. It is more often observed in adult men and women over 30-35 years of age. Symptoms of neuralgia may appear suddenly on one or both sides of the chest, along one or more intercostal nerves. The disease has an ICD code - M.79.2.

To understand what intercostal neuralgia is, you should understand the anatomical features of the thoracic nerves. There are 12 pairs in total. Each intercostal nerve contains motor, sensory and sympathetic fibers. It originates from the anterior roots of the spinal cord of the thoracic spine, passes along the lower edge of each rib, reaching the sternum. The parietal pleura covers the nerve fibers on top.

Thoracic nerves transmit impulses to the skin, the musculo-ligamentous apparatus of the chest and the anterior wall of the abdomen, partly the pleura and peritoneum, and the mammary glands. Sensitive fibers of neighboring nerve trunks actively interact with each other, creating cross innervation.

Nature of pain

When contacting a doctor, the patient must describe in detail the pain he is experiencing. This will help make the diagnosis easier.

The duration of the pain syndrome can be:

• acute course - characterized by a sudden appearance and the same disappearance;
• chronic course - the sensations are usually mild, aching in nature, disturbing for a long time.

Painful sensations in the interscapular region near the sternum may indicate the presence of an intervertebral hernia, scoliosis or kyphosis. The severity of pain varies. In the mornings they usually do not bother you, but in the evening hours they begin to increase. In the morning, pain may bother you with osteochondrosis, when the patient was resting in an uncomfortable position. Discomfort increases while turning the head.

When pain between the shoulder blades is caused by coronary heart disease, taking nitroglycerin should help relieve it. Against the background of pulmonary pathologies, elevated temperature, cough, and intoxication are observed. Pain that appears when inhaling during a cough may indicate intercostal neuralgia. Painful sensations of a girdling, paroxysmal nature. When you feel the damaged area between the shoulder blades, a feeling of pain appears. The pain increases with physical activity and when walking.

Painful manifestations during inhalation can also occur with pulmonary diseases. In this case, the patient notes the occurrence of general weakness, fatigue, and possibly lack of appetite. If the pain syndrome in the shoulder blade on the right increases, even during a shallow inhalation, the development of a diaphragmatic abscess can be suspected.

The appearance of sharp pain indicates an inflammatory process or infringement of nerve receptors. An increase in pain when tilting the head indicates inflammation of the muscle tissue and damage to the ligamentous tissue in the interscapular region.

Pulling, dull pain is characteristic of problems with ligaments and the musculoskeletal system (with osteochondrosis of the thoracic or cervical region, myofascial syndrome). An aching pain syndrome almost exclusively indicates the presence of problems with the spine (kyphoscoliosis, fibromyalgia, spondyloarthrosis, etc.).

When painful sensations are associated with eating food, the source of the problem is dysfunction in the digestive tract (ulcer). Against the background of this pathology, a Ranitidine tablet or a warm heating pad applied to the back area will help relieve discomfort. In addition, this disease is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, heartburn, and flatulence.

In pregnant women, pain is often caused by an increase in the load on the spine. To eliminate it, it is usually enough to just rest. If you experience rapid fatigue or an increase in temperature, you may suspect the development of more serious problems (for example, pyelonephritis, pneumonia).

Symptoms accompanying painful manifestations

Using additional signs, you can quickly identify the cause of pain between the shoulder blades.

A feeling of numbness in the back appears against the background of:

• osteochondrosis;
• curvature of the spinal column;
• humeroscapular periarthritis;
• pleurisy;
• cardiac ischemia;
• biliary dyskinesia.

The appearance of itching in the back area is characteristic of diseases such as herpes zoster and biliary colic. If a feeling of chills occurs, we can talk about an exacerbation of pyelonephritis or infringement of nerve receptors in the spinal canal.

High temperature is characteristic of pathologies of internal organs:

• pancreatitis;
• pneumonia;
• tuberculosis;
• hepatitis;
• cholecystitis;
• jade.

Cough syndrome in combination with pain in the interscapular area appears against the background of problems with the lungs and bronchi. A typical symptom of impaired pulmonary function is difficulty breathing.

The appearance of vomiting is characteristic of peptic ulcers in the stomach, liver and kidney diseases, and myocardial infarction. The appearance of belching may indicate damage to the upper digestive tract.

Pain in the interscapular region is only a symptom. To achieve positive results and eliminate discomfort, you need to begin treating the underlying disease.

Is osteopathy effective for intercostal neuralgia?

The causes of neuralgia in the rib area can be different. However, in many cases, a pinched nerve is caused by the consequences of various injuries a person has received in the past. The capabilities of fine diagnostics using hands make it possible to identify and eliminate these disorders, which leads to the elimination of compression of the nerve and the restoration of its normal blood supply. As a result, inflammation and its integral companion – pain – go away. Osteopathy shows high effectiveness in the treatment of both unilateral and bilateral intercostal neuralgia.

Effective therapeutic techniques

After determining the root cause of interscapular pain, the patient may need to consult with a cardiologist, neurologist, or gastroenterologist. Until you receive medical help, you can try to relieve the pain syndrome on your own; you should not endure it for long. There are some harmless methods to relieve pain.

Gymnastic exercises

A gymnastics complex will help relieve discomfort:

• We place our palms on our shoulders and perform several circular movements back and forth.
• We raise our palms to the top, then our arms completely, lock them together, lower our heads, and concentrate our gaze on the fingers.
• We bring and spread the shoulder blades.
• We perform body turns alternately to the right and left.

Medicines

Taking medications without medical advice is contraindicated, as this may worsen the situation.

In cases where the cause of pain in the intervertebral region is associated with spinal diseases, the doctor may prescribe treatment with drugs from the NSAID group:

• Diclofenac;
• Indomethacin;
• Movalis;
• Ibuprofen;
• Nimesulide;
• Meloxicam;
• Naproxen;
• Voltaren, etc.

As an auxiliary therapy, the affected area can be treated with external agents: Fastum gel, Capsicam, Amelotex, Nise gel.

After the pain has eased, you can resort to local medications with an irritating effect:

• Efkamena;
• Menovazina;
• Finalgona.

Therapeutic measures in a hospital setting

It is not recommended to treat yourself. It is better to seek the help of specialists and undergo complex treatment, which will be selected by the doctor according to an individual scheme.

Complex therapy involves the use of medications in combination with physiotherapeutic procedures and therapeutic exercises.

If there is an inflammatory process, the doctor prescribes a course of NSAIDs (Movalisa, Dicloberla). To eliminate muscle spasms, muscle relaxants (Baralgin, Mydocalm, Sirdalud) are indicated. When the cause of pain in the interscapular area lies in problems with internal organs, the doctor selects medications from certain pharmacological groups. In this case, antibiotics, hepatoprotectors, diuretics, analgesics, etc. are indicated.

Along with medications, physiotherapeutic procedures may be recommended:

• laser therapy;
• acupuncture;
• electrophoresis using lidase and novocaine;
• massage;
• magnetic therapy.

The gymnastic complex is prescribed on an individual basis, taking into account the characteristics of the pathology, the nature of the pain, and the patient’s well-being.

Treatment options

To begin with, the diagnosis of interscapular osteochondrosis is used. It is needed in order to be able to understand what exactly we are dealing with. Often people can make a mistake in diagnosis and treat a completely different disease. To prevent this from happening, you must undergo professional diagnostics and find out exactly your pathology.

People are often referred for x-rays because the images can clearly see the spine. All existing problems with it will be reflected, so it will be possible to accurately diagnose. However, this method is not used in cases where a person is a child, pregnant, or has serious illnesses that can be affected by x-rays. In such a situation, a medical specialist can refer you to safer diagnostic methods.

The doctor may prescribe a CT scan and magnetic resonance imaging. Using these procedures, it will be possible to analyze the condition of the spine from different angles. However, both methods are safe and approved for many people. If you need to use contrast, then the situation becomes more complicated, because the substance can cause an allergic reaction, and is also not recommended for people with heart and liver diseases.

If the diagnosis is confirmed, then you will need to move directly to the treatment of osteochondrosis that has arisen under the scapula. For this, different techniques are used. For each person, a specific option is selected depending on his state of health. Only a doctor can definitely say which regimen will be most effective. Options:

• Medicines . They are prescribed in all cases because they give good results. You may need to take chondroprotectors, painkillers, and anti-inflammatory drugs. Muscle relaxants are also often prescribed to ease muscle spasms.
• Physiotherapy. It gives good results, which is why many people are prescribed special gymnastics. It eliminates pain, as well as reduces inflammation and swelling. If you do exercises regularly, the elasticity of the intervertebral discs will increase.
• Massage. It is advisable that it be performed by a professional, then there will be maximum effect. You will have to work with the back muscles to relieve their tension and also activate blood flow. In some situations, manual therapy is needed, which affects certain points.
• Physiotherapy. It is often supplemented with drug treatment. A person can be referred for electrophoresis, hirudotherapy, as well as electromagnetic influence.

If conservative treatment does not produce results, then more serious measures will have to be taken. Surgery may be required to relieve the pain and return the spine to its normal state.

It is important to prevent osteochondrosis of the scapula so as not to encounter the disease or to stop its development. In this situation, a person should not overexert himself, walk more, eat right and give up bad habits. In addition, it is recommended to avoid drafts, because they can negatively affect the back and provoke inflammatory processes. If negative symptoms do appear, then you will need to immediately visit a doctor so that you can start treatment on time.

Adviсe

Since the cause of pain is often spinal diseases, in order to keep the spine healthy, it is recommended:

• try not to stay in one position for a long time;
• play sports (but in moderation);
• avoid hypothermia;
• ensure uniform load distribution;
• do not strain muscle tissue too much;
• ensure that your diet is balanced.

Pain in the interscapular area can indicate the development of many diseases. This can be either a disease of the spinal column or problems with internal organs. It is impossible to determine the source of the problem on your own. To do this, you need to consult a doctor, undergo an appropriate examination and begin treatment prescribed by the doctor.

How to treat intercostal neuralgia?

Treatment of any neuralgia, including intercostal neuralgia, is aimed at eliminating the clinical manifestations and causes of the disease. Therapy includes a whole range of activities. If a patient is diagnosed with neuralgia, you can find out how to treat it from the specialists of our clinic. The doctor will select the optimal therapeutic course, taking into account the characteristics of the disease and the individual characteristics of the person.

As a rule, intercostal neuralgia requires long-term treatment and further measures to prevent painful attacks. The doctor prescribes specific methods of therapy, determines the duration of each course, and gives his recommendations on lifestyle and regimen. The treatment plan may include:

• painkillers;
• etiotropic therapy aimed at combating the underlying disease;
• anti-inflammatory drugs;
• neurotropic drugs;
• physiotherapy;
• osteopathy;
• massage;
• Exercise therapy.

The doctor always chooses how to treat neuralgia, based on the clinical picture, the stage of the process, the results of diagnostic examinations and the individual characteristics of the patient.