A difficult period of life occurs for a person when his back often begins to hurt. It is not easy to bring discomfort and brings a lot of inconvenience, but it can also trouble a person for a long time.
With the modern pace of life, the population often neglects their health, citing lack of time. People try not to ask the question: why does the back hurt in the area of the shoulder blades?
They prefer not to waste valuable time in the clinic and are treated at home, not suspecting that this signal may be a symptom of the presence of serious or even dangerous diseases.
Main reasons
Why can there be a dull ache between the shoulder blades? The symptoms of back pain in many people are related to various mechanical injuries of the spine, pinched nerves or muscle tension.
It should be borne in mind that the pain syndrome can be caused by pathologies of the chest organs.
The causes of back pain between the shoulder blades can be conditionally divided into three categories:
- Diseases of the spine;
- diseases of internal organs;
- Other factors.
It should be clearly and clearly understood that pain is a symptom and not an independent disease. Before you start using the medicines available in your home medicine cabinet, you need to understand the reason: why does the back hurt between the shoulder blades?
To do this, you need to visit a medical institution, consult a doctor and describe in great detail the symptoms, the time of their occurrence and possible provoking factors: injuries, professional activities, etc.
This information should help specialists determine the direction of the study and make a diagnosis.
Incorrect or untimely diagnosis can harm human health. Therapy may be prescribed that will not lead to a positive effect and will lead to the loss of valuable time to treat the underlying cause of the pain.
It is important for a person to understand the causes of pain himself and to know the possible list of pathologies that cause it.
muscle stretching
Spasm or overtension of muscle tissue does not belong to pathologies, but rather is a symptom of excessive physiological stress or, conversely, its absence.
According to experts, back pain in the area of the shoulder blades is often felt by patients whose professional activity is associated with prolonged static muscle tension.
The risk group primarily includes people with the following specialties:
- cashiers;
- Office workers;
- Programmers
- Drivers, etc.
However, doctors say that a person's professional activity is not always the main cause of this symptom. In many cases, when examining patients who had complaints of pain in the area of the shoulder blades, most of them had dysplasia.
Hereditary pathology, which is characterized by a defect in fibrous structures due to insufficient production of collagen - a substance responsible for the strength and elasticity of connective tissue.
For this reason, muscle fibers and ligaments are simply unable to withstand prolonged physiological stress.
Injuries
Perhaps the most obvious factor that causes scapular back pain is injury. Various types of hematomas, fractures, sprains that appear on the back as a result of mechanical damage are necessarily accompanied by a strong pain syndrome.
Spinal injuries can pose a real threat to human health. The displacement of the spinal discs or the disorder of the spinal cord can cause complete or partial sensitivity of the limbs, limitation of motor functions and in special situations lead to complete paralysis.
If the spine between the shoulder blades hurts for a long time due to mechanical injury as a result of emergencies, you should immediately seek medical help, even if the injury seems minor.
Any bruise or failed landing from a height can cause damage to the spinal discs, which can only be diagnosed with the help of special equipment.
Only a specialist after a visual examination and additional X-ray examination, magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography can assess the severity of the injury and prescribe appropriate treatment.
Intercostal neuralgia
The second name of this disease is thoracalgia. A disease that practically does not develop in children, but affects the elderly due to age-related changes, bruises and hypothermia.
It manifests itself with a sharp and painful pain in the rib area. Back pain in the area of the shoulder blades is also a concomitant symptom, often occurring and intensifying when changing the position of the body.
Patients may hear complaints of pain during breathing, especially during a sharp inhalation or exhalation.
attention! Back pain between the shoulder blades and other symptoms similar to neuralgia can be a signal that the patient has heart pathologies. It is important to recognize the problem in a timely manner and take appropriate measures - this will save valuable time and possibly save the patient's life.
The main factor that causes bursting pain in the upper back with this disease is pinching or compression of the nerve roots.
This disease develops against the background of many factors: bruises, osteochondrosis, excessive physiological stress, metabolic disorders, stress, colds.
Muscle spasms or, conversely, excessive muscle tone of the extensors of the back, shoulders and shoulder blades can also contribute to the development of the disease.
The symptomatology of neuralgia is very similar to the manifestations of some pathologies of the heart - ischemic disease, angina pectoris. Timely diagnosis and timely response can save a person's life.
First you need to learn to distinguish between neuralgia and heart disease. Two main differences between these pathologies are used for rapid diagnosis.
Neuralgia is characterized by:
- The pain syndrome lasts for a long time;
- Symptoms are aggravated by body movements when you try to take a sharp breath or exhale and press on the ribs.
The difference, for example, angina pectoris, is that neither body movement nor sneezing increases the pain syndrome. However, dynamic physical movements can affect heart rate and blood pressure.
Symptoms partially or completely disappear within a few minutes after the use of vasodilators, such as nitroglycerin. To exclude the possibility of heart disease, contact a cardiologist and have an electrocardiogram.
Osteochondritis of the spine
Pain in the spine between the shoulder blades is considered one of the main symptoms of osteochondrosis. The disease is characterized by damage to the intervertebral discs.
In the process of development, the disease begins to affect other areas of the musculoskeletal system and can also affect the body's nervous system. According to the localization of the development of the disease, lumbar, thoracic and cervical osteochondrosis are distinguished.
The main factor in the development of the pathology is the malnutrition of the cartilage tissue of the joint. Previously, it was believed that this disease affects only the elderly group of patients, associating this with age-related changes in the body.
However, today experts note an increase in patients at a younger age.
Experts indicate the main factors for the development of the disease: sedentary lifestyle, hereditary factor, salt deposition, unbalanced diet.
attention! If your back hurts in the area of the shoulder blades due to the diagnosis of osteochondrosis, remember: physical activity, organizing a comfortable workplace and a balanced diet are effective methods of treatment and prevention of the disease.
Therefore, severe pain due to osteochondrosis of the thoracic region rarely occurs. This section of the spine is the least mobile, and degenerative changes in the tissues there proceed much more slowly than in the cervical or lumbar region.
Often, cervical osteochondrosis is a very common cause of pain between the shoulder blades in the spine. The pain "pierces" the entire spine, descending from the upper parts of the spine to the waist.
Disc herniation of the spine
Herniated intervertebral discs, according to some experts, occur in 30-40% of the population at one stage or another.
Most often, this pathology affects young people who lead an active physical lifestyle. It is injuries or heavy physical exertion that are the main reason for the development of the disease.
The mechanism of the disease is simple. The intervertebral disc is a semi-liquid jelly-like substance that is surrounded by a fairly dense shell. The main task of the disc is to cushion and absorb the movement of the vertebrae.
Due to various factors: injuries, skeletal muscle weakness, strong physiological stress, spine pathology, etc. There is compression or decompression of the spine and a tear in the outer covering of the disc.
At the same time, the jelly-like contents protrude into the spinal canal and press on one, two or more nerve endings, causing numbness in the extremities and pain.
important! In the acute phase of the course of the disease, massage or warming sessions are categorically contraindicated.
Contrary to popular belief, in the treatment of the disease, in no case is it recommended to give up physical exercise.
Refusal of physical activity has been shown to lead to muscle atrophy and prolong the duration of the disease.
In the initial stages of development, the hernia is treated conservatively, but in the absence of positive dynamics of recovery within six months, the question of surgical intervention can be considered.
Pathologies of internal organs
Pain between the scapula and the spine can cause disease of a person's internal organs.
First of all, this applies to the organs of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. The most common respiratory problems are: tuberculosis, pneumonia.
Common pathologies of the cardiovascular system are ischemic disease or, in ordinary people, "angina pectoris". It refers to potentially life-threatening pathologies.
There are similar symptoms to neuralgia and it is important to learn to distinguish between them.
If you have symptoms: severe pain in the back between the shoulder blades, shortness of breath, cold sweat and rapid heart rate, seek medical help immediately.
In some diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, the back between the shoulder blades also hurts. The main reasons for this: peptic ulcer, gastroesophageal reflux, diffuse spasm of the esophagus.
These pathologies often cause the following symptoms: burning in the esophagus, chest pain.
Patients complain that it hurts in the middle of the solar plexus and gives in the back between the shoulder blades. It should also not be ruled out that back pain in the area of the shoulder blades can be caused by oncological causes.
Prevention and treatment
In order to determine an effective course of treatment for a particular disease, it is first necessary to answer the question: why does the back hurt between the shoulder blades? To do this, you must undergo a comprehensive examination by a specialist.
Treatment is prescribed after passing all the necessary procedures and based on a diagnosis made by a specialist. With the development of certain diseases, self-medication can be not only ineffective, but even dangerous.
As you know, any disease is easier to prevent than to cure. Back pain in the shoulder blades can have various causes. What to do to remove them?
The answer is simple - to deal with prevention. Most diseases develop against the background of an unhealthy lifestyle: give up bad habits, exercise, eat a balanced diet, and this will reduce the risk of developing various diseases by at least half.