How to Relieve Shoulder Blade Pain 5 Home Remedies

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Shoulder blade pain spreads across the back of the shoulder and shoots every time you lift weights. It may interfere with your day-to-day activities. You may feel a tight knot or a sharp burning sensation between the spine and the shoulder blade. The pain may spread to your upper back and shoulders if left untreated. Luckily, several home remedies can help manage the pain and provide relief.

Multiple factors can trigger shoulder blade pain. However, the major causes are sitting in an incorrect posture, sitting for extended durations, and sleeping in the wrong posture. While it is mostly due to physical trauma, continuous shoulder blade pain may sometimes indicate an underlying medical condition.

This article discusses natural remedies that are effective for shoulder blade pain management and prevent shoulder blade pain. Continue reading to know more about them in detail.

  • What Is Shoulder Blade Pain?
  • Where Is Your Shoulder Blade?
  • What Causes Pain Between The Shoulder Blades?
  • How To Diagnose Shoulder Blade Pain
  • 5 Home Remedies To Relieve Shoulder Blade Pain
  • How To Prevent Shoulder Blade Pain

What Is Shoulder Blade Pain?

Pain that occurs between the shoulder blades is quite common. This condition is medically known as interscapular pain, and its causes may range from simple strain to serious conditions like heart or liver problems.

Those with a painful shoulder blade usually experience a dull, aching, sore, or shooting pain in the upper back, between the shoulder blades.

Where exactly are your shoulder blades located? Let’s find out.

Where Is Your Shoulder Blade?

The shoulder blades are triangular-shaped bones that are located at the back of your shoulders and are medically termed as scapulae. Each of your shoulder blades connects the collarbone to the upper arm bone. It also has about three groups of muscles attached to it to aid in moving the shoulder joint.

You must have noticed that your shoulders have a wide range of motion. This is all thanks to the muscles that connect them and allow the shoulders to rotate, move up and down, side to side, and in a circle. Since your shoulders can move in so many ways, it is quite easy to injure them, leading to shoulder blade pain.

However, injuries are not the only cause of shoulder blade pain. In some cases, this pain could be an indication of distress to the nearby organs.

Discussed below are some of the main triggers of shoulder blade pain.

What Causes Pain Between The Shoulder Blades?

A muscle or tendon injury is one of the main causes of shoulder blade pain. Such injuries could result from:

  • Poor posture
  • Heavy weightlifting
  • Working in an incorrect posture, like in the front of a computer, for several hours
  • Exercising
  • Physical trauma from a hit, accident, or fall

Certain medical conditions could also trigger shoulder blade pain. This is called referred pain as it occurs in the shoulder blades but due to a problem in another part of your body.

Some of the causes of a referred pain in your shoulder blades may include:

  • Pulmonary issues, like a collapsed lung, clots that tend to travel from the legs to the lungs, or lung cancer.
  • Cardiac causes, like a tear in the aorta of the heart, inflammation of the heart’s lining, or heart attack, especially in women.
  • Problems in the back, like a slipped disc.
  • Gallbladder diseases
  • Liver problems
  • Bone and/or joint problems, like osteoporosis, arthritis, scoliosis, etc.
  • Musculoskeletal issues triggered by strain, poor sleeping posture, and overuse of muscles.
  • Surgery
  • Abdominal issues from nerve pain, peptic ulcers, liver disease, or pancreatitis.

If the shoulder blade pain has become too unbearable for you, the best possible option is to consult a doctor to find out the cause of the pain.

[ Read: 15 Best Shoulder Exercises For Women ]

How To Diagnose Shoulder Blade Pain

Your doctor may begin by asking you a few simple questions regarding your symptoms and try to figure out the possible reasons for your pain.

If the simple/common causes have been ruled out, the doctor may go ahead and perform different assessments. They may include tests like:

  • Abdominal tests like an endoscopy
  • Heart tests like a stress test or an electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG)
  • MRI or CT scan to carry out radiological tests of the chest and back
  • Blood tests to test the functioning of the liver

Once the cause of your shoulder blade pain is discovered, your doctor will discuss the treatment options with you. Serious underlying medical conditions like cancer or a heart problem may need specific treatments, for which you may be referred to a cardiologist or an oncologist.

If the cause of the pain is found to be a result of some form of physical trauma or poor posture, painkillers or ointments may be prescribed. Certain natural remedies may also assist in reducing shoulder blade pain caused by overuse or strain of muscles. They are as follows.

How Often You Should Do This

You may do this 2-3 times daily until the symptoms improve.

Why This Works

A cold compress can help alleviate pain and swelling due to its analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects, whereas, a hot compress improves circulation, thereby helping in reducing pain (1).

How Often You Should Do This

You may do this once daily or every alternate day.

Why This Works

The 27257' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' >magnesium content of Epsom salt can help relieve shoulder blade pain with its inflammation-reducing properties (2).

3. Stretching

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You must be familiar with the term ‘warm-ups.’ These are done before beginning any intense exercising routine. Doing a few stretches before and after workouts can help a great deal in avoiding muscle soreness post exercising, which is one of the many triggers of shoulder blade pain (3). Ask your physical trainer to suggest stretching exercises to help your muscles become more flexible.

4. Massage Therapy

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Therapeutic massage therapies can also be of great help in alleviating shoulder blade pain and the inflammation associated with it (4). While this effect may last for a short time, it is almost immediate. However, be sure to get the massage done by a professional for best results.

[ Read: 14 Body Massage Oils And Their Benefits ]

How Often You Should Do This

You can keep it on for about 5 days. Reuse it only if the pain persists.

Why This Works

Taping using kinesiology tapes is aimed at improving or controlling scapular movements for patients who have shoulder problems. Its main function is to provide support to the injured individual while moving around. It can also help with short-term pain management (5).

These remedies will help a great deal in getting rid of that stubborn pain in your shoulder blades. However, it is better if you take some precautions to prevent this pain from recurring every now and then.

How To Prevent Shoulder Blade Pain

These tips and remedies should do the trick in helping you deal with shoulder blade pain. If the pain persists despite these attempts, further medical intervention can help to diagnose the underlying condition that could be triggering the pain, and it can be treated accordingly.

Hope you found this article helpful. Do you have any doubts or queries related to this post? Post them in the comments section below.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can shoulder tendonitis heal on its own?

Mild to moderate cases of shoulder tendonitis usually heal on their own, without the need for medical intervention. However, severe and chronic cases need medical intervention.

How should I sleep with shoulder blade pain?

If you have shoulder blade pain, you will need to sleep with a pillow tucked under the underarm of the affected shoulder. You will also need a pillow underneath your head to keep your upper body aligned properly. You may also consider placing a rolled towel underneath your neck for extra support.

How long will it take to fix the pain between the shoulder blades?

It will take about two weeks for shoulder blade pain triggered by any physical trauma to ease away. However, if any underlying medical condition is the cause of the pain, it will take longer and needs medical attention.

Why does it pain under the left shoulder blade while breathing?

Many conditions can trigger a pain under the left shoulder, especially while breathing. Pericarditis that causes the sac covering your heart to become inflamed, a muscle strain or even pleurisy that is caused by inflammation of the tissues that line your lungs and chest cavity can trigger such aches. Indigestion or acid reflux is also often associated with such pain. In some cases, such aches could also be an indication of a heart problem or an impending heart attack.

When should you see a doctor for shoulder blade pain?

See a doctor for left shoulder blade pain if you notice symptoms like: • Chest pain • Pain or inflammation in the legs • Difficulty in breathing • Irregular/ rapid heartbeat • Coughing up blood • Fever • Problems with vision • Sweating excessively • Losing consciousness • Paralysis

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