Shoulder Blade Pain: Your Guide to Pain Relief
By Krista Bugden, Human Kinetics & Rehab Exercise Expert
The area under your shoulder blade is achy. It’s sore. It may even get worse when you perform certain activities, such as turning your head or reaching for an object with your arm. Pain, in general, poses an irritating problem.
Yet, shoulder blade pain doesn’t have to take over your life. There are various treatments and methods that may ease your pain. However, your specific way to pain relief may depend on what is causing your discomfort or injury in the first place.
Before we dive into how you can relieve your shoulder blade pain, let’s briefly explore the common causes of pain under the shoulder blade. After all, the best way to solve your pain dilemma is to get to the root cause of the problem first.
Common Causes of Pain Under the Shoulder Blade
There are various possible reasons why you may be experiencing a nagging ache or soreness under the shoulder blades. It may hurt due to inflammation from injury or overuse. This is often noticeable at onset or gradually after halting the activity. It may feel painful due to radiating pain from another body part or structure, such as from the neck, spine, or shoulder. Let’s take a closer look at the most common causes.
You Have a Muscle Knot
A muscle knot happens when your connective tissues and muscle tissue stick together. This forms a lump called an ‘adhesion’ or knot. The area around this may feel tender to touch. It’ll feel tight. It’s kind of like when you have a loose thread in a sweater and you pull on it. It creates this hard bunch in the fabric.
Why do muscle knots happen? They often arise from injury, such as a muscle strain, which we explore in more detail below. It may also happen from doing too much, too soon, which is often the case in sports or exercise. For example, repetitive throwing activities may result in a muscle knot or tender spot under the shoulder blade.
These knots often limit your functionality and impact your day-to-day life. You may find it hard to reach for an object on a high shelf. You may also have difficulties moving or twisting your torso, such as when you turn to check your blindspot when driving. Luckily, muscle knots are often easily treated via a massage technique known as myofascial release. Myofascial release is where moderate pressure is applied to the spot to release the “stuck” tissues. A popular example of this technique is foam rolling. However, we’ll talk about how to relieve your shoulder blade pain in later sections. For now, it’s all about getting to the root cause.
You’ve Injured a Muscle
The most frequent and common reason for shoulder blade pain is a muscle strain, also known as a pulled muscle. This may result from overuse or stress on the arms or upper back.
A muscle strain may occur if you’ve slept in a new bed, a new position, or even recently started a new exercise program. Bad posture may also play a part. When you slouch forward, it places stress on the muscles in the back. As a result, you may feel pain under your shoulder blade.
Further, a rotator cuff tear may lead to pain under the shoulder blade. If you’ve recently experienced a shoulder injury, it may also be causing your shoulder blade pain.
If it isn’t a new pain and the pain comes and goes, you may have a more chronic condition, such as fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a common condition affecting 3–6% of people. It is categorized by widespread pain and fatigue. It may pose similar symptoms to that of a muscle strain. If you suspect you may have fibromyalgia, book a consultation with your doctor.
You’ve Fractured Your Shoulder Blade
A fractured shoulder blade is usually obvious. You’ll experience pain at the onset of injury. It is often caused by a direct blow or trauma, such as a car accident. When this happens, it’s critical to seek out immediate medical attention. Avoid using the affected side. A sling may help until you are able to get the treatment you need.
In addition, osteoporosis is a condition that impacts the bones. This condition causes the body to lose bone or make not enough bone tissue, resulting in decreased bone density. This makes the bones brittle and easy to break or injure. However, if you have osteoporosis, strength training goes a long way when it comes to strengthening the body and its joints. Strength training further loads the joints and bones, increasing bone density — which will add future support.
You Have a Condition Affecting Your Spine
Interestingly, arthritis may affect your shoulder blades. Not only that, but pain may radiate from arthritis, impacting your spine, neck, or shoulders. Spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal cord, and problems with the discs in between the bones of the spine may also cause radiating pain in the shoulder blades.
You Have a Specific Heart or Lung Condition
If your left shoulder blade is hurting, it could be a sign of certain heart conditions, such as pericarditis or aortic dissection. Lung cancer may further manifest as shoulder blade pain.
If you have any other symptoms, such as shortness of breath, dizziness, or chest pain, seek emergency medical attention. These are not symptoms you want to ignore. Such conditions could lead to a life-threatening situation. Go to the nearest emergency room near you.
How Can You Reduce Your Shoulder Blade Pain?
It should be noted that exercise may further contribute to alleviating your pain. Exercise builds strength to help support the injured area. It further helps relieve tension in the muscles via certain stretches.
However, exercise should not be continued if pain occurs. Err on the side of caution. Go slow. The preventative exercises in the following section offer examples of exercises you may try to bounce back after shoulder pain.
1. Rest it out
Surprisingly, your body is fairly capable when it comes to healing itself. It just may need the time to actually do so. For instance, if the pain has occurred after a particularly intense workout, your body may need time to adapt. Likely, micro-tears have occurred in the muscle tissue. The body will heal these tears, as well as adapt the muscle tissue to withstand similar future loads.
In a couple of days, try to ease back into your regular activities. If the pain continues, it may be a good idea to seek out some professional advice, such as that of a sports medicine specialist.
2. Try out cold or heat therapy
Some individuals prefer heat over cold. Go with what feels best for you, or alternate between them. Heat, in particular, may offer relief, if your muscles feel tense. Heat promotes blood flow in the applied area and also causes the local muscles to relax.
3. Take over-the-counter pain relievers
Over-the-counter pain relievers are a quick route to reduce inflammation and pain. Aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, and acetaminophen are all viable options. Make sure not to use these medications for longer than 10–14 days. Long-term use is associated with gastrointestinal issues and other adverse effects.
Most of these medications are intended for short-term use. If your pain or condition doesn’t improve in due time, get it checked out by your doctor or a physical therapist. Further, if you’re continuing exercising during this time, be careful! It may dull your perception of your pain, since exercise stimulates your body’s natural pain relievers.
4. Give yourself a massage
Or better yet, book yourself a massage. If this isn’t an option, there are easy home remedies you can try. A foam roller or massage ball is your best bet. Roll the foam roller or ball under your shoulder blade until you find that tender spot.
Once you find the spot, slowly roll side-to-side, up-and-down, or in a circular pattern. Do this for a minute or more. It should feel like a good pain — as if you’re releasing something. Feel free to use this method once or even twice a day.
5. Consult with the pros.
If none of these offer pain relief, book an appointment with your doctor or physical therapist. They will assess your condition, diagnose it and guide you through a treatment plan unique to you and your situation.
Preventing Your Shoulder Blade Pain
Make sure you slowly ease into exercise. Start with once every two days. In a week or so, bump it up to twice every two days. In about 4–6 weeks, try doing these exercises 2–3 times a day every other day.
So, what exercises should you be doing? We outline the best ones to start with below. Make sure you go slow. If any pain occurs, back off and adjust. Try again and if it happens again, avoid the pain-causing exercise for now.
The trapezius muscle makes up the upper back and shoulders. It’s a common area for individuals to experience tightness, especially if the cause is posture-related. By stretching out this muscle, you can also relieve tension or pain under the shoulder blades.
Interestingly, pain under the shoulder blades may arise from a tight chest causing bad posture. The pectoral stretch counteracts this by stretching out the chest muscles, preventing them from becoming tight. This further prevents shoulder and upper back issues.
The shoulder pull builds strength in the upper and mid-back. If these muscles are weak, overuse or repetitive movements may contribute to a muscle knot or a pulled muscle. The shoulder pull increases the strength of these weak muscles, as well as corrects bad posture associated with many shoulder injuries.
This pistol exercise is similar to the shoulder pull. It also works to strengthen the weak postural muscles in the upper back. By correcting your bad posture and strengthening these often weak muscles, you can significantly reduce your chances of re-injury.
Other exercise that may help improve your posture and reduce shoulder blade pain includes yoga or pilates. These types of exercise routines focus on posture and core work to help realign the body. In fact, many rehabilitation programs for the shoulder and back involve yoga or pilates poses.
The InjuryMap app offers both stretching, range of motion, and strengthening exercises. That way, you know you’re giving your body exactly what it needs.
Start Living Your Life — Free of Pain!
Find what works best for you and your shoulder blade pain. And remember, what works best for someone else may work differently for you. Everybody is different. Use the above advice to determine what could be causing the pain under your shoulder blade, as well as a guide to determine what the next step for you and your pain should be.
Prehab is just as important as rehab. If you’ve experienced shoulder blade pain in the past, make sure you get those exercises and methods down pat to prevent pain in your future.
About the author
Krista Bugden has worked as a Rehab Exercise Expert at a physiotherapist clinic in Ottawa, Canada for the past 4 years. She has an Honours Bachelor Degree in Human Kinetics from the University of Ottawa. She uses her extensive knowledge in this area to educate others through well-researched and informative articles. Her passions include helping others and inspiring each person she meets to get the most out of their life.
Originally published at https://www.injurymap.com.
