Back pain in the area of the shoulder blades connect people with the condition of the spine. However, upper back pain sometimes occurs due to diseases of the heart, vascular and respiratory systems, and upper abdomen. The pain is deceptive, it is localized in one place, for example in the chest, and it can radiate to the back, making people think that it hurts in the spine. By listening to the sensations, knowing the nature of the pain and possible symptoms, you can try to distinguish between spinal and mediastinal disease. To do this, you need to know what diseases cause back pain.
to form
By nature, back pain between the shoulder blades is:
- Acute form - is felt on the rise, becomes strong over time, passes quickly enough;
- Chronic aching pain, long worries, won't stop until corrective action is taken.
Pain can occur after sports or when a person is in a forced position for a long time, such as sitting on a chair. B. when she sleeps without a pillow. Pain of any kind: severe pain, aching, dull pain between the shoulder blades is not a disease, but a symptom of a disease. Therefore, before starting any treatment, it is recommended to find out the causes of back pain between the shoulder blades.
No need to immediately run for pills, consult a doctor first. The specialist will assess the nature of the pain, make a diagnosis and help answer the question of why the back hurts between the shoulder blades. It is not worth bothering with spinal injuries, because when a person falls, the cause of pain in the spine between the shoulder blades is clear. And if a patient complains of pain of unknown etiology, the doctor will associate these diseases with the intervertebral column.
With a hernia
Intervertebral hernias are rarely located in the thoracic spine. This segment of the spine does not carry a large load. Nevertheless, sometimes it hurts in the spine between the shoulder blades for this very reason. To exclude such a possibility, it is worth contacting a neurologist and doing research - CT, MRI.
With hernias, a pathological process occurs between the vertebrae - part of the disc protrudes and pinches the nerves.
The disc cracks, the core, which is a shock absorber, crashes against it because the weight is now misdistributed and the nerves are injured, there is back pain in the shoulder blade area. If this pathology is detected during the examination, treatment with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is carried out. The doctor will prescribe exercise therapy, physical therapy. If the hernia is large and cannot heal, surgery is indicated.
A characteristic feature of pain from a hernia is severe pain in the same place when irradiating the chest, as if the heart were stinging. If the treatment is not carried out for a long time, there is a curvature, paresis of the legs, an imbalance in the pelvic organs. In addition, the patient is plagued by constant chronic pain between the shoulder blades in the back.
Hypothermia of the spinal muscles and overload
Often you can hear that the patient had "lumbago". It is a symptom or pathological condition, not a disease. However, if "lumbago" occurs, this indicates the risk of developing osteochondrosis, scoliosis and hernia. Such back pain in the areaof the shoulder blades are felt by people who work several hours a day in the same posture.
The risk group are representatives of professions: clerks, dressmakers, dentists, drivers, surgeons. Work in conjunction with a forced posture, which is combined with hypothermia - drafts or air conditioning, reacts on the muscles and spine, pain in the spine appears. Treatment is carried out with non-steroidal drugs, ointments, massage. Individuals suffering from such conditions are shown preventive measures:
- Regular massage courses;
- yoga or exercise therapy;
- Avoid hypothermia and drafts;
- Go more often.
Preventive measures can avoid unpleasant symptoms associated with lumbago.
With scoliosis
Scoliosis is a very common condition. Statistics say that 60% of every hundred people suffer from this disease. The thoracic region is more commonly affected by scoliosis. Causes of scoliosis:
- Congenital pathologies associated with the development of the skeletal system, ligamentous apparatus;
- sedentary work;
- Injury when the strain on the back was hysterical.
With scoliosis, the back between the shoulder blades hurts a lot, the spine begins to curve. The initial stage is almost imperceptible, but as the disease progresses, the twisting of the vertebrae is clearly visible. The back quickly gets tired with this disease, during a visual examination the patient's shoulders are at different levels.
The pain is localized between the shoulder blades in the back and is given behind the sternum. By nature, the pain is constant, like pain, but when physical overload occurs, the pain will be strong and sharp.
Treatment of the disease is long. Scoliosis is corrected by stretching the vertebrae with a special corset worn on the back. The doctor prescribes massage and exercise therapy. Analgesics and anti-inflammatory therapies help reduce back pain between the shoulder blades.
With osteochondrosis
Now osteochondrosis is found even in children who have not yet reached puberty. And recently it was believed that this is a disease of an elderly person.
In any case, the cause of osteochondrosis - inactivity. There is a joint change in the spine, namely dystrophy. Inflammation begins and the nerves of the intervertebral disc are pinched. That is why the back hurts in the area of \u200b\u200bthe shoulder blades with osteochondrosis.
The pains are felt by nature - pains, when sneezing, when standing up abruptly or when coughing, they become very strong.
Patients are immobilized, breathing is difficult, there is weakness in the upper limbs, numbness and inability to move them. With osteochondrosis, they prescribe intramuscular, oral, anti-inflammatory drugs, as well as distracting ointments, analgesics and special exercises for warming up the diseased area. For the prevention of diseases - activity and sports.
Manifestations of intercostal neuralgia
The cause of intercostal neuralgia is the appearance of pressure on the roots of the nerves of the chest region. The culprits of this condition are injuries, infectious diseases, osteochondrosis, back strain. With neuralgia, the spine between the shoulder blades rarely hurts, one side of the sternum between the ribs often hurts, but in some cases there can be pain and whine in the shoulder blades. The pain symptom intensifies when you press your hands on the sternum.
Treatment will be: physiotherapy, acupuncture, B vitamins, they can restore nerve structures. If the disease worsens, they put novocaine blockade, prescribe sedatives and distracting ointments.
Manifestations of muscle myositis
Myositis occurs with a cold, overload of the muscles of the spine, injuries, hypothermia. The inflammatory process of muscles occurs in the acute phase and chronic. The back can hurt in different places and in the spine between the shoulder blades, the lower back can also hurt. The pain is inherently painful and increases with every movement. What to do with myositisPainkillers and warming ointments help.
Manifestations of spondylarthrosis
By the manifestation, the disease resembles osteochondrosis, in which the pain in the spine between the shoulder blades is chronic, and the load on the back increases. In addition, the shoulder blades hurt more as the disease worsens. The hallmark of spondyloarthrosis is the destruction of the cartilage of the vertebrae, in which cartilage is replaced by bone. During diagnosis, these changes are observed on X-ray or MRI, and when we examine the affected vertebra, bony protrusions are found on it.
Treatment is prescribed complex. First of all, pain is relieved - it can be analgesics, nonsteroidal drugs, novocaine blockades.
Magnetotherapy and electrophoresis, lasers, currents are prescribed. There are many physiotherapeutic procedures for this disease, so we leave this choice to the doctor. Traction is traction therapy. The areas where inflammation occurs are affected by electricity, which reduces spasms and produces endorphin, which serves as an analgesic. Back massage relaxes, eliminates pain.
A special massage is indicated for diseases of the spine, but it cannot be used with exacerbations, then an effect on the vertebrae is contraindicated. The same rule applies to acupuncture.
The main method of treating and preventing diseases of the spine is physiotherapy exercises - exercise therapy, exercises on the horizontal bar, namely pull-ups. Swimming has proven to be very good, so it would be nice to go to the pool. All these methods must be guided by experienced professionals, then the benefits are likely.
Pain in internal organs
If pain occurs between the shoulder blades in the back, that does not mean that the cause lies in the spine. All pathologies of organs located in the mediastinum have symptoms in which there is pain in the area of \u200b\u200bthe shoulder blades. Improper processes in the heart organ, the onset of myocardial infarction, angina pectoris cause pain under the shoulder blade. An acute attack is accompanied by a drop in blood pressure. Be sure to call an ambulance.
The characteristic pains for these conditions are acute, but their duration is about 5 minutes. The pain is relieved by taking nitroglycerin.
With ulcers and pancreatitis, the back also hurts in the area of \u200b\u200bthe shoulder blades, but with these diseases, the pains can still be localized in the stomach, epigastric region, and dyspeptic disorders appear, so you need to carefully listen to the nature of your feelings and try todistinguish all symptoms.
If the back hurts in the area of the shoulder blades and coughing occurs, then it is possible that there are pathological changes in the airways - pneumonia. With respiratory diseases, the temperature rises, the pain between the shoulder blades increases with deep inhalation. Any person who has had the flu or acute respiratory infections can develop pleurisy or pneumonia. If there is no temperature during the pain, then they are not accompanied by cardiovascular manifestations, cough and dyspeptic disorders.
How to relieve pain
Before the doctor arrives, you can try to relieve your suffering yourself. You can do self-massage and special exercises to relieve pain:
- We put our fingers on our shoulders and start twisting our elbows;
- Raise your hands and clasp your palms above your head. head down. turning the body to the right and left;
- Sit in a chair, lower your head so your chin touches your chest, and place your fingers together on the back of your head. Slowly press your hands on the back of your head. If there is severe pain, stop the exercise;
- Slow rotation of the head - sideways, backwards, sideways, forwards;
- After throwing your right hand back behind your head, while seated, make slow inclines to the left side. Switch hands and lean in the opposite direction.
It is worth remembering that massage is contraindicated during the acute form of any disease. Hands clenched, thumbs out. Starting from the lower back, circular movements of the fist go up over the skin. You can perform motions with the second and third fingers by stroking the spine in a circular motion. It is important not to put pressure on the area where the pain is localized. If during the massage movements the pain only intensifies, the procedure should be stopped.
Home remedies for pain relief include applying ointments and gels. It must be remembered that all these activities are only for pain relief, not treatment. The actual therapy should be prescribed by a doctor. So if there is a temporary improvement, it does not mean that the disease has receded. See a doctor immediately and stay healthy.