Back Pain – Spasm Between Shoulder Blade and Spine
Mar 18th, 2008 by Kathryn Merrow
You probably know the back pain I mean. It’s that nagging, cannot-be-ignored pain between your shoulder blade and spine. It often feels like a knot or spasm.
It’s usually on the side of your dominant hand. If you’re right-handed, it will probably be on the right side of your back.
There are two likely causes and one that often gets the blame, but usually isn’t the cause.
The rhomboid muscle (there is one on each side of your back)often gets blamed as being the cause of that pain. The reason for this is probably because the muscle happens to be in the same area as your back pain. This is the muscle most massage therapists will probably try to rub out for you, but it may or may not (probably not) be the cause of your pain.
If this massage doesn’t help, or the muscle “won’t release,” then the rhomboid muscle is not the cause of your pain.
A more likely cause is that the muscles where your knot is located are being overstretched. They are complaining about this by causing pain. Overstretched muscles will go into spasm to keep from being stretched further and torn.
Your back muscles can get overstretched when the muscles in front of your body (your chest and neck) are short and tight. Over-stretching can also occur when you work or play alot with your arm stretched out in front.
You can correct this by strengthening the muscles between your spine and shoulder blades. The stronger muscles won’t be so easily overstretched and so won’t go into spasm like they do now. Also, strengthen the muscles behind your neck so you won’t go into “forward-head” posture, which also strains your upper back muscles.
Loosen, relax and open the muscles in front of your body, too, with stretching or massage.
Another likely cause of this back pain are the scalene muscles, which are located on each side of your neck. These muscles can harbor trigger points. Trigger points in the scalenes refer, or cause, pain into the rhomboid area.
Often a massage therapist will try to work out a pain by working where it hurts.
You can see in the two likely causes above, that the problem can be elsewhere. The pain between your spine and shoulder blade may be caused by muscles in front of your body being short or trigger points in your neck.
The first thing I would suggest today would be to begin a strengthening program for your upper back. This will help you get rid of that nagging pain between your spine and shoulder blade.
And, I’d like to invite you to claim your free report, “5 Steps To Get Rid Of Those Miserable Knots In Your Back” (<– click here.)
It doesn’t matter whether you call them “knots” or muscle spasms or contractions, they hurt! And you CAN get rid of them naturally. 
This is good…
Because You Deserve To Feel Better!
Love your site. Could you give a list of suggested exercises and stretches (and how to do them) to strengthen the back and help with shortened muscles in the front of the body?
Thanks,
Susan
Hello Susan,
Thank you for your comments. If you go to http://www.SimpleStrengthening.com You will find all the articles I have done so far about how to strengthen the back of your body. I believe there are also some articles there on stretching the front of your body.
Also, I will be writing about stretching here in the near future.
I am glad you are taking your health into your own hands. Please let me know if you have any more questions.
Kathryn Merrow
I am glad I found your site. I started having pain btw. the shoulder blades in Aug. every night when I sleep and the first few hours I am awake and just started seeing a massage therapist and chiropracter in Jan. My pain is on my dominant side, right side. I started having some tingling and my right arm was falling asleep at night. The message has worked to get the knot out and the tingling is mostly gone, as well as the pain btw. the blades. Occassionally I feel like I am having a spasm that starts in my back but goes right through to my sternum. It feels like a muscle or nerve-like pain and goes up my neck a little. There is no SOB or change in HR and it definitley stems from the shoulder blade area. I am going to make an app. with family DR. but does this sound familiar?
Thanks, Maryann
Hi Maryann,
By now we have talked by email several times, and you are doing better. You were able to release a beginning spasm by stretching. You have had tests which came back normal and that is very good! I’ve made several suggestions to you and you are working to take care of yourself. Most recently, I suggested using “tennis ball therapy” to release the painful area on your back, and also massaging your breastbone and the ribs that attach to it. Those tight muscles “pull” on your back muscles and can cause back pain symptoms. You are going to start taking a B-vitamin complex and I also suggested that you have your vitamin D level checked, because many people are deficient in D.
Thank you for your updates!
Kathryn Merrow
The Pain Relief Coach
hi, my shoulder blade pain began ealirer today!! But its not on my domanint sde. Its on the opposite shoulder more and travels over to the other side. i also am having issude with my stomach which might play a role in this i dont knw yet? dO have any ideas4 pain relief 4 me thanks
Hello. I have an idea that by now you have seen your doctor. You’re not specific about your stomach issue, but problems in the abdomen can refer pain into the upper back. If your pain is continuing, my current suggestion, based on what you have told me, would be to see your doctor and rule out such things as an tubal pregnancy (if you are female) or appendicitis or something similar. If you are still having pain and want to give me more information, I’d be glad to respond again.
Kathryn
Occasionally I have had this pain between my shoulder/spine on my dominant side (right)… I believe the cause to be either a fast whipping of my neck or from weight lifting “chest”. Typically, it just goes away on it’s own after a couple of days. Just recently, I was doing Jiu Jitsu and felt a “tweek” in the same are of my non-dominant side (left). This is the first time for this side that I can remember. The pain is intense, I have to hold my head to lie down and get up. I can turn my head right with almost no pain. Up/Down = some pain, more on the up side. A lot of pain turning head left. Should i assume that this will go away on its own or should i see a doctor??? Do you have any suggestions? Thanks for your help.
Hi Don, I wrote directly to you so that you would have my complete response as quickly as possible. I hope you are starting to feel better by now. Kathryn Merrow – The Pain Relief Coach
Hi Kathryn,
Nice and informative wesite. I just wanted to run my symptoms by you and get your opinion. I have this pain between my sholder blades and up my neck, when it is at its worse I even have difficulty breathing and I can feel every heart beat, I can even feel the pain on my arm(dominant) and tingling in the fingers. It started about 3 weeks ago and I had to rush to emergency care once to get it checked out. From x-rays the doctor said it was just a muscle spash and prescribed a muscle relaxor, it took it for a couple of days and it felt better and so I stopped the medication, the pain returned. It has been a few weeks now and I don’t see much improvement so I I visited with my family doctor and she has prescribed a physical therapy.
Thanks
Glad I found you! Your explanation sounds exactly like my case. I have been suffering with these exact spasms for nearly 20 yrs now. I use to work out with weights heavily, my back was very strong but, the more I worked out, the tighter my back would get until it would seize up and I would be in therapy for weeks, physiotherapy, chiropractic, etc… It got to the point that I had to give up exercise completely, for every hour at the gym, it was four hours of therapy. Now, I’m at the point where just lifting my arm or turning my head causes extreme pain between the shoulder blades, it feels like the muscle is going to rip in half. Can you help????
Hi Jon,
By now you have received my email response which was lengthy. I have probably narrowed your symptoms down (in my mind) to the scalene muscles which are on either side of your neck. I hope you will feel better soon.
I did my millionth web search this morning yet again to try to find solution to my pain. I am healthy, active 48 year old. I have complex history of repeated injury to neck and have had pain as long as I can remember in my right shoulder. I was aggressive in sports activities as a child….waterskiing, gymnastics, etc. I had two successive anterior disc replacements at the c-5/c-6 area with a titanium plate left behind and all objective tests done since indicate I am cured. However, I have constant debilitating muscle spasm and pain in my dominant side (right) neck, shoulder & shoulder blade area with numbness and tingling in arms and hand. I have a headache on that side at base of scull that never goes away. I have over the years tried strenghtening the muscles, rehabilitation and massage. The knots will not – ever – go away. I have been under the care of a pain management doctor for years now and am on a regimen of painkillers (hydrocodone) muscle relaxers, xanax and anti-inflamatories. I have been told that there is nothing I can do but manage the pain, which I can anticipate will get worse as I age. I cannot function if I don’t keep up the regimen, but it gets to me. I’m careful to do everything as prescribed because I have a family and work that needs me. But, honestly, I cry alot and am depressed. Its getting to me and I feel so helpless. Every once in awhile I reach out to see if there is something I’m missing…….but there are never any answers. Should I just give up?
My fiance has had bad back pain for the last 7 years. He was in a head on collision around that time. He was also hit by a train when he was 12. I rub his back almost every night. He has many knots spread throughout his back. Lately knots close to his spine have been hurting him so bad he hardly gets out of bed. The massages I give him dont help at all. Heat hasnt really helped either. I am afraid something is seriously wrong. I want to know your opinion on what we can do to help naturally. I also would like to know if you know of any doctors in the harrodsburg, ky area that would be willing to check him out. We do not have insurance and most doctors want an MRI before they see him and we can not afford it.
hi kathryn, my name is martin and im a 22 yyear old professional kickboxer/mixed martial artist. im writing to you as i am in despair. about a 18 months ago i started to develop a very tight shoulder/blade area, i blamed the amount of weightlifting i was participating in for my sport and basicly (and stupidly) just ignored the problem, after a while it got a little worse and the most major problem was the fact that i would struggle to keep my left hand raised during sparring and it would fatigue very quickly, this was the worst of the problem so i simply put up with it for the sake of competing. then about a year ago, i started to develop a pain in my left side, moving from under my lat up and round to just under my left shoulderblade, as at first it was not too bad i again ignored it till it got so bad i could hardly rotate left it was at this point i had to stop training, a couple of weeks later and plenty of rest i was sitting for a long period in an awkward position and was getting a lot of aching in the back under my shoulder blade, and generating through my chest, so i stood up and walked it off, however as i went to walk down stairs i sort of slipped on the step but managed to correct myself using my balance and core, however as i did something in my chest and middle back left side area, went and caused me a lot of pain, i immediately found it hard to breath in or out and moving was also a challenge. this kept up for about a week or so, but gradually i got to a point where breathing and generall movement did not hurt. however i still could not rotate left without pain. i went to the doctors and after numerous pills and rest nothing was making it better. after about nine months i noticed an inprovement in rotating left but i was not fully healed, at this time i would get a sharp pain just under my shoulder blade radiating round to under my lat on the left side, that felt like my ribs, but after extensive rib examinations it was concluded it could not possibly be ribs. i went to see physios and chiropracters and all of them failed to help me. after several more months i was able to fully rotate left without pain, however i did still feel a tightness under my shoulder blade and down from there to the middle of my left mid back, and it was at this time i decided to see someone about my shoulder. i was experiencing a lot of tightness inbetween my shoulder blade and spine on my left side and rear delt along with under my armpit, which was uncomfortable but never painfull. after seeing a massage therapist for this he managed to free up a lot of muscle spasms around my shoulder blade and delt and i immediately felt a releif, however it did nothing for my uncomfortableness in my lower left side under my sh blade and down to the mid part of my left middle back. since the pain in my back was now minimal and i thought my shoulder blade and inbetween blade and spine was now free of pain and spasm, i tried a little bit off training just some ligght punching and kicking of the bags in my gym, the first bit of training i had participated in in a year. however after only a few punches and kicks i felt the muscles inbetween my left shoulder blade and spine tighten up and become very painfull and sore, and also very sore too touch. i again had them released and expected this to be the end of it so i tried again, and again they spasmed and tightened up almost instantly. to date, when i do not train i feel like a normal human being, i feel like i function normaly, however as soon as i start any type of excercise that involves punching or using my arms above my head or forcefully eg grappling mixed martial arts or kickboxing i feel this tight feeling starting to happen and have to stop or it spasms straight up and takes days to return to normal. the uncomfortable feeling in my side and just under my shoulderblade is now only there when i rotate and force my body to stretch to the left whilst rotating, however i do still feel its presance. i have recently been to a good physio and a private consultant who say that they think i have suffered in the past from an injury to the serratus anterior causing it to weaken (along with my left side rhomboids) and let my scapula wing when doing any type of intense activity using my left arm out infront of my body. and that strengthening these muscles will help stop the muscles spasming during the exercise. i am so sorry for the longwindedness of this peice, but i truly am in despair as these sports are my life, and for almmost two years now i have been away from them and i am starting to get into the deepest pits of depression and im wondering now if i ever will be able to return to competition, as i was seen as somewhat of a prospect for UFC contention. i would be eternally gratefull for your feedback and advice on my problem, as i am trying to gain as much info on this problem so i can try and fix it and prevent it happening to me or anyone i know again. i thank you in advance for your time.
martin
Hi Martin, You gave me a good lot of information to go on. I am responding by email.
Kathryn Merrow
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi Kathryn,
I ran across your site, and I have found it truly informational and beneficial to me! I have a couple questions for you. Regarding your article, you mentioned that upper back pain is usually on the same side as your dominant side. I am right handed, but I have had pain in my upper left side of my back, between the shoulder blades and spine for 3+ years now. I have had 2 anterior cervical fusions (C5-C7 now), with relief to some neck pain, but no relief to any of the upper back/shoulder pain. All scans of my shoulder/arm/throacic spine have come back clear. Blood work shows that I am severely anemic and have a very low vitamin D count. I’ve been on every medicine and homepathic treatment I or my doctors could think of (acupuncture, massage, magnents, nerve blocks, epidurals, chiropractors, PT, etc.) I think, to no avail. Seeing a therapist now for depression, and I’ve been sent to a pain management doctor for chronic pain as the doctors I’ve seen have no idea what to do with me. Do you have any ideas? Thank you for your help.
Thank you for writing, Amanda.
I had several thoughts and so sent a personal e-mail to you. What I suspect is that you have a curvature of the spine–a scoliosis–and that no one, including the massage therapist, has properly assessed and addressed that. Without seeing you, just by your description, that’s my best guess. Of course, I also don’t know why you had your neck surgery but it’s most like all related. And that’s good news that the tests come back showing nothing. That almost always means it’s soft tissue (muscles) and muscles are treatable!
You do have a smart body that wants to be well. It just needs a bit of help right now and that could most likely come from a neuromuscular massage therapist or muscle therapist who specializes in postural assessment and corrective massage.
You’re welcome and please write again if you’d like.
Kathryn
Kathryn
My wife is now 3 weeks into a progressive pain between the shoulder blades which has now led to “crying pain” and sleepless nights. She spent 2 days in the hospital being sure it was not her heart, etc. After the hospital stay she developed the typical knot over the scapula as many have noted here. We are assuming now this is a spasm of the right rhomboid muscle. We have done trigger point pressure,heat, massage and some stretching, but she has found minimal relief. We would value your opinion regarding relief of the acute pain and some stretching she can do when she is no in acute pain.
Thank you for a good question. The rhomboid muscles are often blamed for pain and knots in their area. Actually, that area can be the “symptom” and not the cause at all! You are doing all of the right things but perhaps in the wrong areas.
Work (massage) the muscles at the “outside” of her back–the latissimus or “lat” muscles. Try to mobilize her shoulder blade because the muscles between that bone and the ribs may also be tight. The muscle along the spine from the waist upward toward the rhomboid may need massage, too. The front of your wife’s arms and upper chest, too, and the upper back (trapezius muscle.)
And, of course, there is always the muscle in the neck that causes pain in the rhomboid area. When nothing else works, that is the place to go to. If you go to http://CarpalTunnelPainReliefNow.com and look in the Video Category you will find a video that shows a massage professional treating that neck muscle. Also if you look in the Causes Category while you are there, you will find articles about the “muscle in your neck.”
If you go to http://SimpleStrengthening.com you will find articles about how to simply get strong back side muscles which will help prevent future occurrences by correcting posture. Also, stretches to open and relax the muscles in the front of her chest and arms will help, too.
Even now, if your wife can “squeeze” her shoulder blades toward her spine, that may cause some relief.
I hope this helps and wish you the best.
Kathryn Merrow
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi Kathryn,
I love your website! A lot of these symptoms sound familiar and I wanted to touch base with you about my specific issues. For years, I have had a tight neck, upper back, and right shoulder blade that was merely a nuisance. However, during the past two years, the pain has increased to the point where it can be uncomfortable to just sit for a prolonged period of time. My pain is not severe all the time, but comes and goes. I do not feel anything on my left side. Currently, my pain seems to stem from the right side of my spine and runs through my entire right shoulder blade and is more intense around the edges of my shoulder blade – extending to my right side, under my arm. I also feel tightness in my right lower back, but it is not as acute. I feel pain when I breathe in deeply or do any sort of stretching movements (which feels like a good type of pain). Essentially, I feel like the whole right side of my back is very tight. I have been worried that my pain is coming from an internal source but have not yet been checked out by a doctor. My masseuse says that my erector muscles are very rigid and has found some trigger points. Just wanted your input on my symptoms! Thanks again for your website!
Hi Katie,
Thank you for your kind words. I will write back to you privately to discuss your pain. Look for my e-mail in the next few days.
Kathryn
Hi Kathryn,
I have have a history of back pain. Over the last 12 years I have had several extensive physio treatments for muscle spasms. Originally for the lower back. Several months back being the last. However, over the last month I had been getting niggling pain near my left shoulder blade (not dominant side). I had tried stretching this off, and my girlfriend had kindly been massaging the knot. As bizarre as this sounds, two nights ago I was asleep in bed when I must have moved in my sleep and my head and it came off the pillow (lying on my back). My neck dropped back and I remember waking up with the jolt. Next the muscles in my neck and shoulder went from being relaxed into spasm. I couldn’t raise my head from the mattress. As you can imagine I was unable to sleep for the remainder of that night. As a result I have had severe pain in the shoulder blade area and neck. Very limited mobility of the neck in all direction, most extreme when trying to turn my head right. My left arm feels weak. I also have a radiating pain down my left arm, tingling/ numbness in my left hand. Numbness in the left side of my face, along with aching in my left cheek, gum, ear and eye socket area.
I’m worried about several things:
1) will I be able to get. Rid of the nagging pain in the shoulder blade area when this spasm calms down.
2) I can feel the mid and lower parts of my back starting to tense up. With small spasms starting to happen in the left buttock I’m worried this will result in recurrance of my lower back spasms
3) will I have to stop weight training? At the ripe old age of 32 I no longer lift the sort of weights I used to but the back flair ups seem to be happening with more and more frequency.
I work long hours sitting behind a desk. Can you recommend any exercises I can do in this position to help me be proactive and stop this happning again?
Lastly, and most importantly, I snapped at my girlfriend soon after I had the spasm, and now I’m in her bad books. I’m not sure she understands just how painful this episode was and that trying to cope with her passing stinky wind on top of that was more than I could cope with at that time. Under normal circumstances I would have laughed it off. Is it unusual for someone to be unusually irritable soon after a spasm?
Any help or advice you can give regarding the above is very much appreciated.
N.B my doctor has prescribed Diclofenac and physio for the inflamation and pain.
1)
Hello. Well, Rob, I am going to send you a private email to give you all of my thoughts about your muscle spasm. Please watch for an email from me. Since you are familiar with strength training, though, when this passes please devote more time to strengthening the back side of your body–from knees to skull–rather than the front. I have lots of articles at http://SimpleStrengthening.com but I suspect they may be on the simple side for you.
And, yes, when people are in pain they can tend to become short-tempered for a few reasons. The medicine you are taking is an anti-inflammatory. It is supposed to reduce inflammation in the muscle. Physio (physical) therapy may give considerable relief. Talk to you shortly. – Kathryn
Hi Kathryn,
I am a 40 yo female, and I practic martial arts. A couple of months ago, I started gettin a chronic pain along the backside of my shoulder, in my armpit, and along the tricep. I ignored it thinking it would go away, but eventually I began to notice that my arm was feeling weak. It would tire easy when I was holding something up, and the muscles were weak and the pain along the armpit increased. Then, about a month ago, a muscle under my scapula seemed to spasm, and ever since then I have had chronic shoulder pain. Not just in those areas, but all over, often moving from the tricep, to under the shoulder blade, and sometimes along my bicep, and even my forearm. I have rested, taken motrin and mucsle relaxers, and everytime I think it is improved and I try to train (even a little), it immediately gets inflamed and painful. I also have chronic pain up the right side of my neck, and sometimes under the clavical on the front and along the front of my neck. The PT has said it is essentially a stability issue, and because my shoulder joint is a little loose, the capsule is inflamed and referring pain to all the muscles nearby. The scapula area hurts when I raise my hand up and then back. I have been trying to strenghen it, but I have to be careful how much i do because it gets so easily inflamed, and then spasms. Thank you for any suggestions you might have!
Thanks!!
Oh, one more thing that I forgot to say. It is particularly uncomfortable if I do any quick, whipping movements with my arm.
Hi Lee. Long-distance help is always a little tricky but here are my best guesses. If you are a side sleeper, you may be aggravating the muscles where your pain first started. That happens.
With the weakness, it sounds like muscles in your neck may be involved (because they can press on nerves). You can listen to a 1/2 hour episode about the muscle in your neck that causes carpal tunnel pain and knots in your back, too, at http://CarpalTunnelRadio.com Scroll down and you will find this as a “Featured Episode.” (green header) Another possibility because you mentioned weakness would be a partial rotator cuff muscle tear. A partial tear can heal itself if you take the pressure off the muscle. (Please remember I’m not a doctor, I’m a muscle therapist, and this is a long-distance “guess.”)
If it is a “stability issue” the question is: Why? As a fit, strong woman, it seems likely that you use ALL of your muscles and that is as it should be. Instability would indicate that you are using some muscles more than others.
Since this started, more and more of your muscles have joined in to cause pain. Why? Because they are all attached and when one is in spasm it will pull on others. It’s a domino effect.
Physical Therapy will work best AFTER the spasm(s) is released. Here’s where I think the problem started: There are muscles called teres in your armpit. There is a muscle called subscapularis which is sandwiched between your shoulder blade and your ribs. A skilled massage therapist can release these muscles.
Please check out the Massage Category here at Simple Pain Relief. Just scroll down on the right hand side to the Categories. There are several articles including how to find a massage therapist who can help you.
Another suggestion would be to buy the blue trigger point book (find it in the right hand side, also.) It is a great self-help book which explains very well where to press to relieve pain…yourself.
One more thought: It could be the muscles in front on your chest. The scapula has some attachments in the front toward your arm, above your collar bone, that are reachable. The pec muscles also can pull on the back. Your problem may have started in the front–those muscles usually don’t complain; they just cause pain elsewhere.
I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions about this and how you are doing with this pain around your shoulder.
Best,
Kathryn
I just found this page on google,this page was very helpful! I just wanted to say,Thank You for the information.
Michelle, thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to let me know. My pleasure to help.
Kathryn
hi there this is a very up to date and informative can i put a link on one of my blogs -regards Angela
Hi Angela, Thank you for asking. I would be honored.
Kathryn
Kathryn,
Somewhat similar to the others, I have a severe knot like pain which starts in my left shoulder blade and if I don’t lie on my stomach it will spread across to my right shoulder blade. A trigger for the pain is simply holding anything in my left hand, even something as light as a quart of milk. If I hold my 7 lb dog for a couple of minutes the pain becomes severe and it takes lying down on my stomach for approx. 1 hr. for the pain to somewhat diminish. I have an MRI scheduled later this week but I’m afraid the physical therapy that will follow may not be the answer – based on what I read on your site. Strangely, lifting weights – very controlled but including military press on a machine (pressing weights overhead) doesn’t hurt. I stopped all exercising 3 weeks ago thinking that was the problem. I have been taking muscle relaxers and pain relievers in an attempt to resolve the problem. The MRI is the next step recommended by the spinal specialist I’m seeing. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Hello Keith, Thank you for asking this question.
Of course I cannot see you and don’t know anything else about you but here is my best long-distance guess.
When you are lifting with your left arm, I’m thinking one of two things happens: (1) Either you are contracting your latissimus muscle on the outer side of your back and that is pulling on your shoulder blade (because it is attached.) In turn, that causes the pain on the inner side of your shoulder blade near your spine. (2) You may be hiking your shoulder. That can aggravate the scalene muscle in your neck (which may already be “on overload”) and that muscle can harbor trigger points which cause pain in the same area of your back.
When you lift weights, you are using your body in a balanced way; neither hiking a shoulder, or bringing one shoulder forward, or contracting the “lat” muscle.
An MRI might show that you have bones which are “out of place.” But the question always (in my mind) is Why? And the answer is: muscles pull bones out of alignment. Also, bodies change all the time. Just because a test shows a certain result today doesn’t mean the result will be the same tomorrow. Releasing the muscles that are pulling the bone out of place will allow the bone to move back into its normal location.
Of course, if the spinal specialist you are seeing is a surgeon, be prepared that he or she may suggest surgery. That’s what they know best and offer most often. Is it needed? Will it help? Is it possible that muscles are actually causing this pain? Are there any non-invasive treatments to try first? Those are some of the questions you might ask.
Physical therapists (just like massage therapists) can be terrific or not help at all. It all depends on their training, etc. I have taken classes in St. John Neuromuscular Massage Therapy with physical therapists who were there to learn more “tools” to help patients with. Some understand how bodies work and what causes pain and how to correct it; some don’t.
Medications won’t resolve your problem; they just mask symptoms a bit. Go to “Categories” here on the right hand side of the page and look for the “Massage” category. You will find an article about how to find a massage therapist who can truly help you. The same questions from that article would also apply to a physical therapist.
I hope this helps with your shoulder blade pain. Please feel free to write again. I’d love to know how close my guesses came to being correct.
Kathryn
Hola! I happened upon this web site while I was researching several wellness related terms in google earlier today. Given that I ended up here I thought why not stick around and read a couple of your posts… nice stuff. I am going to make sure to come back in the future some time and get up to date.
Thank you for visiting! I love it that google shares my articles so I can help more people.
Kathryn
I stumbled upon your site while searching about spasms between your shoulders radiating to the base of the skull.
At 5 am this morning it was my first experience and somewhat scary.
I was dreaming a weird dream and I squeezed my shoulder blades together. Right when I did this I woke up hurting. It is on my dominant right side and it radiated into the base of my skull. I was very aware of every heartbeat then and felt a little twinge in the front chest wall on the right side also. I laid there wondering what have I done….I got up and rotated my shoulders, stretched my back and even hung onto the door frame while stretching the shoulder muscles but it still was aching and hurting; even a slight burning sensation. I laid back down and started praying for it to go away and I was able to fall back to sleep.
When I got up a couple hours later it wasn’t hurting as bad but it feels like sore and overstretched muscles by the shoulder blade, right side of the neck and base of the skull. I took two Doan’s pills hoping that will alleviate it soon, but if it still persist by the time I get off work I’m going to see the massage lady in the mall.
The only thing I can think of that could have trigger this, is exercising on my Cardiofit last night. I haven’t used it in awhile but I wanted to start using it again to help lose some weight. I didn’t want to overdo it and work up to 30 minutes, so I only used it for 15 minutes and felt the workout all over. Could this have caused it? I do a lot of lifting anyway so I feel my back and shoulders are already pretty strong. Can this happen by putting your shoulders in an awkward position like I did in my sleep?
Hi Cindy, Good questions.
By now I hope you are starting to feel much better. My best long distance guess is that you were in a strange position in your sleep. Sometimes we do things like that. And when your moved and squeezed your shoulder blades together a muscle spasmed.
There is a muscle on the sides of your neck called the scalene. It will create chest pain as well as a knot in your shoulder blade area near the spine. I think you did all the right things. Maybe it was from the workout, especially if you were straining your neck muscles during the workout. Sometimes we move our heads forward when exercising without being aware of it. But I’m leaning to sleeping in perhaps a “forward head” or head tilted position.
If you were sleeping in an awkward position that may have caused the weird dream. Pain butts into our dreams.
I hope you felt the massage was helpful if you ended up going but if not ask the therapist if she knows how to treat the scalene muscles. This is not done by stretching them but rather by pressing into them to release any trigger points.
I hope this helps and hope you are already feeling much better.
Kathryn
Hi Eric, Thank you for your question. When you are right handed, the muscles on the front of your right side/chest/upper arm tend to be tight. Since bodies work on “equal and opposite” that means that the LEFT side of your back (the opposite side) is tighter. The two areas of muscle that need to be released/relaxed are: the right front side and the left back side.
It’s possible that you do something with your back muscles on the left that cause your knot/tightness. Perhaps you tense those muscles when you carry something?
Yes, nerves can be pinched or compressed by knots or tight muscles or even by bones which are being moved by those tight muscles.
Also, the lower back spasm may be part of the problem with the upper back knot. The upper back muscles actually attach quite low on the spine and the lower back muscles reach up to “talk” to them. You may be very surprised when you relax the muscles on the left side of your waist. It can cause a lot of relief on that whole side!
Hope this helps.
Kathryn
Hey Kathryn,
I was stretching, touching my toes, and really reaching out, when I had a major spasm between my blades.
From what you said I’m going to start stretching my chest and neck instead. I’m also going to learn to keep my head up and work on strengthening the back of my neck. I do a lot of sailing so I’m always pulling on lines under heavy tension, so I’m assuming this area of my back is really strong. I also do a lot of yard work and cutting, hammering, digging, etc. – hands out in front of me I also sleep on my sides equally. Age is 40.
Is there anything else you suggest?
Best Regards,
Greg
One thing to add. I notice when I’m sleeping and move around there is creaking in my neck, so the muscles are definitely too tight. Perhaps this is where I need to focus/stretch? If so, which work best?
Hi Greg, Thank you for asking! If I pretend that I am pulling on lines under heavy tension, I can really feel my muscles in my chest and the fronts of my arms working as well as the back muscles. All of the activities you mention use the front-of-body muscles, too.
Strengthen the muscles on the back side of your body from your knees to the base of your skull. More info on how at http://SimpleStrengthening.com Lengthen your calf muscles with thoughtful stretches.
Lifting your breastbone will take some pressure off your neck by positioning your head more over your body (like a toddler.) Your neck muscles won’t have to work so hard to hold up your head.
Yes, stretching the muscles in the front of your body from your knees to your ears will help complete your “muscle balancing.”
You may find more helpful articles at http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com Also, yoga can be really great for balancing, lengthening and strengthening muscles all over your body. Could be something to consider.
I hope this helps!
Kathryn
wow, so i over did some yoga last weekend and have this pain going on right now …. but i was wondering why my right side was more painful and going down my arm. ive had back pain for years after a car accident but have been doing pilates and yoga to help this is the first time in years ive had something this nagging happen …it SUCKS im more annoyed that i have to miss yoga than anything ….
all i can do is take advil and epson salt baths help ALOT … same with hot water bottles ….
i been doing mild stretches in the shower in the am as well with really hot water that seems to help as well ….
all you can do it take it easy and try not to aggravate it any further wich is what i did …i went to a pilates class and it made it worse …
sigh …..
Hi Leelaa, Probably one of the best long-distance suggestions I can make is to keep not exercising right now. Give your muscles a chance to settle down and get back to normal.
A muscle that I would guess might be causing your right side and arm symptoms is the lat (latissimus) muscle on the right side. If you can get someone to grab the muscle (not pinch–grab a handful of muscle) below your armpit on the right side and squeeze for a minute or two, that may cause the lat muscle to relax. If it’s very tender that could be the problem.
You might also want to try ice. It’s not as pleasant as heat though. There are articles here in the Category called Ice & Heat for more information.
Also you can go to http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com where there are more articles about natural relief for knots in backs and other back pain.
I hope this helps and I think you will recover really quickly.
Kathryn
Hi Kathryn,
I’m so glad I came across your site. I tried the “The Tennis Ball Therapy” and it definitely began to alleviate the pain around my shoulder blade. While this has helped, and I’m relatively certain I know of a few culprits that contributed to this pain, I was wondering if you may be able to clarify something for me.
The morning I woke up with the pain, It was literally unbearable. It faded (Over a month) into discomfort, then almost gone (without me doing anything). The pain seemed reminiscent of a muscle tear or muscle strain. It would come back as mild discomfort if I would help move a table or something like that.
My question is this: Can the muscle knot be bad enough to feel like a muscle strain/tear? Again, the tennis ball therapy definitely helped, and I’m HOPING it’s just a bad muscle knot!
Thanks!!
Hi Mike,
Thank you and you are welcome! I am so glad you had benefit. Perhaps in reverse: The strain in the muscle could feel like a knot (a spasm.) It’s truly amazing that we can hurt ourselves in our sleep.
Sometimes it’s from something we did the previous night but often we just sleep “crooked.” Maybe we laid too long with an arm out in front as we slept on our side and that strained the muscle. Or perhaps you slept with your neck tilted to the side and that caused an unhappy scalene muscle in your neck. If it gets trigger points, the scalene can cause a knot in the same area.
Even though it’s settling down, it could be coming from the neck.
I hope you will be able to take the time to go to http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com and look at the articles about knots there.
This could be an isolated issue that will never happen again after it’s done healing. Or, it could be a sign that there are muscles elsewhere pulling on that area which needs to be “released” to prevent recurrence.
I hope this helps.
Kathryn
Thank you so much for the advice. Over the past two days, I’ve been essentially “Releasing” a lot of tension all over my back and neck. I’ve been making sure that, If it felt like there was a knot there, I hit it with tennis ball therapy. I’ve noticed that since I did that, I’ve felt a lot less pressure in my back, and I seem to have loosened up. I’ve also noticed that I’ve had a sore feeling all over my back. It seems to be a good sore, like the feeling I get after working my back at the gym.
It feels a bit tender, and a good sore. I know that deep tissue massages sometimes leave you sore for a day or two, because you are not used to that level of pressure on muscle tissue. Is this normal, and should I take this as a good sign, for tennis ball therapy??
Again, thanks so much!
You are welcome. And Yay!!! You hit the nail on the head! Good job, Mike! Your muscles are not used to this new pressure or position and you are releasing them effectively.
Thank you for sharing your success. And remember, now it’s time to start stretching the muscles in the front of your body, too, so you will be well balanced muscularly.
Kathryn
Wow am I glad I found this site. I have been having pain in between my shoulder blades for almost a year. The pain only happens when I am actively moving around and goes away if I lay flat. I’ve been to the doctor and no heart problems. I’ve wondered if its from poor posture and started doing a few back strengthening exercises and tried the tennis ball approach too. The tennis ball helps temporarily. I can’t even stand to make dinner without taking a break and laying down now. Any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated! Carie
Hi Carie,
The Tennis Ball Therapy helps most when the muscles or knot in the back is actually tight. Most likely, your problem area is TAUT rather than tight. Taut is like this: Imagine a rope and people are pulling on each of the two ends of the rope. That rope cannot relax because it is being pulled on both ends. Muscles are like that, too.
It’s likely that the muscles on the arm sides (the outside) of your back and the front of your chest and arms are pulling. Also, if you stand, sit and work with your head in front of your body, that causes taut muscles in your upper back (muscle strain.)
If you do too much back strengthening without giving your muscles a change to adapt, you will have soreness. It will be different from your usual pain and it will go away within a couple of weeks.
When you stand at the kitchen sink or counter, try placing one foot on the inside bottom of a cupboard or a small stool. That will take some pressure off your back.
Also, your counter may be too short for you. Perhaps you can put something safe and secure to lift the counter height?
Look down with your eyes rather than your whole head.
Use ice or cold therapy on your neck (all the way from your collar bone notch in front to the back side.) Use heat on the tops of your shoulders. There is a Category here, on the right hand side, which has articles for Ice and Heat.
When you lay down, don’t just lay there. Instead use that time to strengthen your back side. You will find articles to help you do that at http://SimpleStrengthening.com It will help you feel better faster.
And there are even more articles at http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com to explain the causes of upper back pain and natural remedies.
Carie, I hope this helps and thank you for writing. I also sent an email to you so you would have a quicker response.
Warmest,
Kathryn
Hi Kathryn,
I found this page very interesting. A lot of people here seem to be having the same or similar problem to me. I’m 24 and before my back pain I was very active and in good health. My pain is on my right side (dominant) between spine and shoulder blade and have had it for 4-5 months now. It’s a very painful sharp pain when I’m not on medication. I’ve had an MRI scan and it showed nothing, which didn’t make me feel any better! I can’t sit in a chair for more than 30 minutes and standing/walking for any length of time is painful also. I often get a itching sensation, which gets worse when I’m stretching my arm above my head or bending, but I try not to take anti-inflammatorys as I sometimes have a bad reaction. More recently, for the past couple of months I’ve noticed my right arm feels heavy, sometimes with a dull ache, and sometimes very slightly numbed which I found odd. It does sometimes hurt when I breathe in, but it’s not always which I also find odd. When this happens the pain gets worse the more I breathe in. Lastly, I sometimes feel as if the pain is behind my chest rather than in my back, I don’t know if that info helps. I am a tall guy, 6’5″, and my job was in a kitchen which of course means I was bending over/forward a lot because the surfaces are low for me. As well as that I have been told I have a postural problem, I sort of hunch my shoulders forward, perhaps because I feel self conscious about my height. I have had some osteo, it didn’t help but I was told that my back was very tight around the area. Previous to the pain, I had been doing free weights and push ups/sit ups for about a year. I’m scheduled for physiotherapy but honestly I’m not hopeful, and it’s making me very depressed indeed as I feel I can’t function (which upsets me because I have a history of depression, and life was good before this happened!). If I’m not on medication I’m in too much pain to do anything other than lay down, and when I’m on medication I’m pretty much useless! I try not to take too much codeine because I don’t like it’s side effects, but I do notice that if I don’t and I let the pain get worse I become very irritable and emotional. Something else that caught my attention was when you mentioned neck trigger points? For years I’ve had a habit of laying on my bed watching my tv in front of me as I don’t have comfortable chair to relax in, I’ve often wondered if it was bad for me to have my neck angled up like that or for me to be resting on my elbows for such long periods. Also you mentioned about short muscles in the front of your body. Which ones exactly? And how does this happen? I wonder as I’ve been building my chest and stomach up with exercises as best I can.
Thanks for the information thus far and any further points of view would be greatly appreciated!
Hi, I was wondering if you can help. I have been under a lot of stress but then pulled myself into a high truck and felt like I had hurt a muscle between my shoulders. It started with a pinching and then went into a complete spasm. I rested and it felt like it was getting better then someone failed to show up to clean a condo I had so I cleaned it with the same arm, my left. Since then I had had very bad pain across my shoulders and into my chest it is very scary. Should I see a chiropractor or have a massage what should I do. Thanks Helen
Hi Ross,
Lots of good points and questions in your note. You have put your finger right on the potential causes and cures.
Your knot or pain is on your dominant side and that’s the most common location. Yes, your television viewing position is most likely adding to the problem. Yes, your tallness and posture are also part of the problem. Yes, working to create short, strong, tight muscles in the front of your body can also be part of it.
Strong muscles in front pull us farther forward. And a forward head posture causes pressure on the scalene muscles. They, in turn, press on nerves that run from the spine in the neck to the hand. Those are the uncomfortable sensations you are feeling. Nerves HATE pressure!
Physiotherapy will probably be designed to help you get straight and tall with a strong BACK. If it’s not, it should be. And the muscles in your neck are called the scalenes. I wonder whether your therapist will know how to help you “release” or relax those muscles. As I read your note, I thought several times, “must be scalenes.”
Because you are scheduled to go to therapy already I am hopeful for you. With a good therapist you will be able to get beyond this.
You can try laying on your opposite side to watch television. That will give your muscles some balance.
Strengthen the muscles in the back of your body. Include the muscles in the back of your neck and that will help you hold your head up over your body (instead of out in front.)
Muscles get used to the positions that we use most often. The short ones don’t complain but they cause problems elsewhere. The muscles that are weak and a bit too long are the ones that complain–those are the areas in which we feel uncomfortable symptoms.
I put together a program that can help you get rid of this discomfort. It’s called Knots In Your Back. And you can find many more articles about this problem at http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com
And the reason that the MRI didn’t show anything is because it a muscle strain. But that’s good news because that means it can get better!
I hope this helps and please feel free to write again.
Best,
Kathryn
Hello Helen,
In my opinion, your best bet is a massage therapist. And it may be the muscles in your chest that are pulling on the muscles in your back. You can explore your chest and rib muscles yourself by pressing thoughtfully in all of the areas you can reach.
Muscles move bones so, in my mind, the first step is to see a massage therapist. But since this involved your pulling muscles (chest and arm) be sure that the therapist also checks out and treats those areas, too. If the therapist presses only onto your back, and if it seems painful but not like “good pain” (Ow, that hurts, don’t stop) then she is working on the wrong area.
In that case, guide her to the areas in the front of your body that seem tight and painful.
Thank you for writing and I hope this helps! (And feel better soon!)
Kathryn
I have what I think is a slightly different problem from everything I see here. For the past 16 years, I have suffered from very severe pain under and around my right shoulder blade and when it’s really bad, it radiates to my right side and lower side ribs and middle back. Massage therapists think it’s all muscular and doctors think it’s related to a torn rotator cuff (which has been partially fixed through surgery). I have had physical therapy, massages, sports medicine adjustments and now am on pain meds. I would not be functioning without them the pain is so chronic and severe. To me, it feels muscular but how can muscle pain be this severe? And when a massage therapist works enough of the muscles, the pain feels much deeper inside and more intense beneath the shoulder blade. If it matters, I also have sarcoidosis (in remission for years) on that same side), and broke that shoulder thirty years ago and a very slight pinched nerve on C7. I do try trigger point therapy and tennis balls, the works. I feel like I’ve tried everything out there. I can’t live like this. Everything I’ve looked up doesn’t seem to address this “spreading” type muscular problem that is so intense. And why such a stabbing pain underneath it all under my shoulder blade? I’ve had MRIs, xrays, the works.
Hello Anne,
Here’s my best long-distance guess:
Is your pain on the top front of your shoulder?
Do you have pain on the side of your arm that is closest to your your body when your turn your palm forward and your thumb away from your hip?
And do you feel pain or discomfort all around your wrist like a bracelet?
When you said “beneath” the shoulder blade do you mean on the inside of your body?
If so, this is what it is.
There is a muscle that is sandwiched between your shoulder blade (scapula) and ribs. It is the subscapularis. It can refer pain to all of those areas.
If all of the surrounding muscles are relaxed with massage but it is not, it is being allowed to go into even more spasm.
Some massage therapists know how to apply pressure to the subscapularis muscle to allow it to relax. They apply pressure between the scapula and ribs either through the armpit or from the spine side.
Muscles don’t tend to show up on medical examinations.
What can you do for self help?
Do you know how a tiger walks? It walks on all fours and ROLLS its shoulder blades. If you do that you will be stretching, warming and moving that subscap muscle. ‘Walk’ on your knuckles with your wrists straight. If you cannot get on the floor, move and roll your shoulder blades.
Here’s a video that may help: http://budurl.com/CircleArms It moves all of the muscles around the shoulder blade.
If this doesn’t sound like your symptoms, please write again. Give me more details about exactly where you feel your shoulder blade pain and we’ll start over.
Warmest,
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi, I’ve been doing some searching on the net trying to find an answer to what I experienced last night. I had what I think was a charlie horse in my back, under my right shoulder blade and beside my spine. I know it was muscle as I was able to manipulate the pain to either a dull ache or a full spasm. It was hard to take a deep breath when in full spasm but on manipulation it was ok.
I have a history of back problems for the past 20 years or so. Right at this moment I’m dealing with a herniated disc and a trapped sciatic nerve as well as degeneration of the joints/spine/discs. I use a cane to walk when I am able to walk and since I am right hand dominant I lean on my cane that way. I’m used to lower back pain but this pain I experienced last night was the most excruciating pain ever. I have had chest wall muscle pain before too but even that was nothing compared to that.
I called the public health nurse here where I live and she agreed it was muscle since I was able to manipulate it and if it were heart pain it would not be able to be changed. I was very relieved to hear that!
I took some ibuprofen and put heat on it and it eased. Today I have the dull ache that is left behind after a muscle spasm. I’ve done some stretching and even managed to vacuum a little as well. It’s feeling tender but nothing horrendous.
Do you have any ideas what may have brought this on or how to help prevent an onset of another spasm? I’m unable to do much activity with my current back problems.
Thank you so much for all your help.
~JosieH
Hi Josie,
My best long distance guess is that you moved in such a way that it caused the muscle to spasm or contract. I don’t know whether you were asleep at the time. We do things in our sleep that we might not usually do.
You handled it well. Muscles do cause most of our pain. I found that Aleve (sodium naproxin) works very well for me when I have had muscle injuries (like falling.)
Here’s what you can try. The plan is to keep this from happening again so try these things to help the muscle finish relaxing:
1. Use ice or cold on the area, or alternate cold and heat.
2. I’m guessing that you cannot get up and down from the floor, right? But could you possibly lean against the wall with a tennis ball behind your back? If you can do that, apply pressure from the tennis ball (or a similar type of ball) to your area of spasm. Just lean on the painful area for several minutes. Then you will notice that you really don’t feel the ball much anymore. That is because your muscle is relaxing.
You might find more than one tender spot to lean on. It is not necessary to roll around, just lean.
Would it be possible for you to trade off sometimes and use your left hand for the cane? When we always lean or sit in the same positions, muscles can get pretty cranky.
Also try gentle, slow, thoughtful movements. If you watch the video at http://budurl.com/CircleArms it will give you some ideas. You don’t have to do extreme movements but muscles do like to move.
Even breathing deeply helps relax muscles on the chest and back.
I hope this helps, Josie, and I hope you feel better.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Pain sucks.
Hi,
I work 2 jobs; one fulltime 8 hour position with heavy computer work involved and one parttime position at home, but I work it as if a fulltime position (about 40 hours a week). The at home job is also computer based. I spend an average of 14 hours a day in front of the computer Monday – Friday, and Saturday and Sunday an average of 20 – 24 hours. I slacked off about a month ago when I could not hear my alarm sound in the morning. I also started experiencing tightness in my upper back and a painful pull at my right shoulder blade. My office at work is sometimes really cold and when i am there, it seems as though the tightness is worse. I just realized that i was not ergonimically set up at my professional job or at home. At my professional job, i moved out the computer desk with the keyboard tray and put my desktop and the keyboard on my desk. The monitors (there are two) had to be placed to the left of my desk so that i could see the people coming into my office. I realized my elbows were not at a 90 degree position while typing (my desk was too high for that) and my mouse is corded so i always had to reach for it. I have since moved my computer desk back into the office! My keyboard is in the keyboard tray now. At home, i have bought an office chair with arms and i work more at my desktop computer with the keyboard tray rather than at my computer that is positioned on a table. The keyboard is on the table which causes my arms to kept in a awkward position to type. I have started seeing a massage therapist…the first one that i went to, after 3 sessions, i realized she was not hitting the right spot. I went to a chiropractor who told me i was out of alignment and recommended a massage therapist. I went to the new therapist yesteray and the tightness in my upper back and right shoulder seems to have faded away! She said that i had tight muscles in my upper back, and she worked a spasm or knot for a while and it was painful but it hurt good. Today it is a little sore but much better. Also, one last thing that i left out – for about a year i was cradling the phone between my shoulder and ear. I was fed up with buying headsets for my at home job so i did this but it finally caught up with me. The chiropractor and the massage therapist told me to get a headset. I was doing the cradle method at work also and even on personal calls. I am afraid to do the cradle thing now! Also, because I sit for so long, I have to remember to get up and walk around which is what i was not doing. Any suggestions?
Hi Theresa, It sure does!
And that’s exactly why I write and explain WHY we get pain and HOW we can get rid of things like headaches, carpal tunnel symptoms, back pain and other uncomfortable symptoms.
When people understand the why and the how of how muscles and bodies work, then very often you can become pain free.
Best,
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi Angie,
You are a busy lady!
An experiment was done with healthy college students. When they were deprived of sleep, they developed whole body discomfort. I know that either you totally love your work or need the money but sleep is as necessary as water is. I’m glad you slacked off. It’s hard for muscles to function properly and without pain when they aren’t rested.
The office coldness can be remedied by using things like a sweater. You have probably done that but how about a lap blanket or neck scarf? Don’t be shy–it’s your comfort that’s important.
I’m glad you found a good massage therapist. They are not all the same. It’s not uncommon to have some soreness following a massage. The tight areas weren’t used to being touched in that way. Please be sure that she also works on the muscles in the fronts of your arms and chest (you will be covered modestly.) Those muscles cause tight back muscles.
I cannot do the cradling thing either. Necks tend to get cranky when we cradle the phone between the ear and shoulder. Headsets are THE way to go! (Or speaker phones, when possible.)
Try this for your keyboard: I am able to place my keyboard in my lap and keep my elbows at the correct angle (and next to my waist) and my wrists straight when typing. Depending on how you are built, this might also work for you.
You are absolutely right. You need to get up and move around and put all of your muscles in positions which are different from your working position.
In order to be pain free, we need to have balanced muscles. That means we USE them all (we have over 600) and on all sides of the body. There are articles at http://SimpleStrengthening.com which will give you ideas about how to strengthen the muscles in your back. You can do them at home and at work. Once you get the hang of strengthening your back, it will feel so good that you will do it often!
If you set a timer for 15 or 30 minutes, it will remind you to get up and stretch and strengthen. “Just one more minute…” well, you know how that goes. And the next thing is that we have pain.
When you walk, stretch. Stretch your arms up and out and behind your body. Stretch your legs behind your body, too. Those front of body muscles need to be stretched and the back muscles need to be strengthened.
Thank you for writing. I hope this will help.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Thanks Kathryn for the insight and suggestions. I will take heed to what you have told me. I am a “just one more minute” person, and I end up glued to what I am doing. I even miss lunch sometimes trying to give it just “one more minute”. Not anymore. Thanks so much! I am so glad that I found this website. I have marked it as a favorite so that I can visit it regularly. Thanks again.
Hi Angie,
You are most welcome!
If you go to http://KathrynMerrow.com you will find tabs that will take you to all of my pain relief websites.
Thank you for your kind words,
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi Kathryn, I have been trying to find some googe answers and stumbled across your very helpful site.
I have been having problems following a fall at work. I fell backwards down a slight slope landing on my right shoulder and hip, then my head- hitting hard enough to send my glasses flying across the room. I ended up with concussion. I have had right shoulder issues diagnosed as a depressed shoulder, impingement and possible bursitis and have been going to my chiro wich has bought some relief, and physio which has been less succesful. THey have been strapping behind my shoulder blade and upper arm to neck which has helped.
Last week at physio they pressed a spot on my upper back which immediately cramped the muscles. This dissapated, but built up the next day and resulted in a Dr visit and valium. The next day the cramping had extended to the front of my chest and upper abdomin with a pain as bad as childbirth! This would seem to be related, but was wondering how can I avoid it happening again. The rest and valium are helping, but not bringing full relief. I am fed up as this has been ongoing since April.
Is there anything or exercise you could suggest, I am a chef and really need to use this whole arm and shoulder to do any/everything. I was wondering about tai chi or pilates?
Thanks for your time. R
Hi Reb,
Rather than tai chi or pilates how about yoga? The reason I suggest yoga is because it is full-body movement while tai chi tends to be more lower body. Pilates tends to be more aggressive than yoga.
Here are my best long-distance thoughts about the cramp. 1. The therapist accidentally pressed on a nerve which caused the cramp. If nerves are involved, the treatment of choice is ice/cold packs. 2. A trigger point is somehow involved. Trigger points are very irritable areas of muscle that cause pain. Often the pain in not where the trigger point is. 3. All of your muscles act as a unit so when one was aggravated it pulled on others who also became aggravated.
What I would really suggest for you is to see a highly skilled massage therapist. Massage therapists come in all varieties–some know how to do a relaxation massage only. That is NOT the person you need. You need one who specializes in trigger point therapy or neuromuscular massage and pain relief. You need one who can assess the cause of your pain and knows where to work to release the muscles that are at fault.
You might also find relief from a cranio-sacral practitioner since you had the concussion. They work to normalize the cranio-sacral fluid in the brain and spine with gentle, subtle movements.
I do have a video that might help at http://budurl.com/CircleArms Watch it and practice in your mind before you actually do it. Better to do too little at first than too much.
And if you scroll through the Massage Category here, you will come across an article about how to choose a massage therapist.
Also, thoughtfully try shoulder shrugs–up and back and down, up and back and down. Bursitis is often actually muscle pain. But when we feel the pain in a joint, we are diagnosed with bursitis. Muscles cross over joints.
I hope this helps. I look forward to you feeling better soon, Reb.
Best,
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
hi there. I’m 33 and have been working at a desk for 14 years. the last few months I’ve developed a tightness between my shoulder blades. I’m right handed and it’s more off the left side but really feels like it’s generally in the middle. I feel it most when I arch forward and pull my shoulders together like I’m hugging myself. I had a massage done and it felt perfect for like 2 days but came back. I’m a VERY stressful and anxiety ridden person. the therapist said I had lots of knots. I also started lifting weights 4 months ago and worked heavy biceps and chest but never my back. the pain is not “pain” but a tightness feeling when I stretch it. and suggestions?
Hi Aaron,
Thank you for writing. You put your finger right on the causes of your problem.
1. When you round your back forward you stretch the muscles between your shoulder blades. This aggravates and strains those muscles.
2. When you work your biceps and chest but not your back, the front of body muscles get stronger. The poor back muscles get strained because now they are not ‘balanced’ with the stronger front muscles.
Knots come from over-stretching muscles. They will keep coming back unless you strengthen your back.
Bodies are really logical and you are going to feel better but you will have to do what your muscles require. I have very simple exercises/movements in articles at http://SimpleStrengthening.com but I think you can use weights if that is what you prefer.
Try this now: Squeeze your shoulder blades toward your spine. Wow! Does that feel as though those back muscles just ‘woke up’? That’s what they need. When they are stronger and more in balance with the muscles in front, they will be able to hold their own and be much less likely to get muscle strain.
Here is something else interesting: When your muscles are happy, you will most likely find that you feel a bit less anxiety. One layer of your discomfort will be gone and everything in the body works together.
I hope this helps you get rid of the tightness between your shoulder blades.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi Kathryn, I see lot of people getting benefit from your advice.
I have this pain just below shoulder blades on the right side of spine. It started after a football match in weekend. In afternoon when i lied down, i feld its difficult to lift the head. I believe the cause is some jump during the football match. The pain is intense. first night after that I had to hold my head to lie down and get up. Turning head right or left i get pain below shoulder blade and is concentrated at one point. It seems reducing slowly, but i would like to know what is the reason? and what can i do so that it doesn’t happen again.
Hello Nilesh,
It sounds as though a muscle spasm happened in your neck. Or it might be a little farther down your spine. I think it will probably take about 5 days to go mostly away.
You got the spasm because something happened that moved your neck in the wrong way. This can happen from something as simple as sneezing and letting your head shoot forward. (I did that once. I will not do it again.) The spasm is often a way of your body trying to protect muscles or nerves from tearing.
The advice is usually to use ice for the first 48-72 hours after an injury such as this. Ice or cold will settle down the nerves in your neck or the back of your upper back. After that you can continue to use cold or switch to heat. You can even alternate cold and heat after 72 hours.
Even though you are feeling it below your shoulder blades, it may be coming from your neck and upper back so those are the areas to treat. You might also treat the symptom areas if cold to the upper back doesn’t seem to be making a difference.
Since you were involved in a very active, intense sport you did not have much control over your movement. The best thing you can do is to be sure to exercise and move ALL of your muscles in your neck and chest and back. Keep ALL of them strong and supple.
The people who are most likely to be injured in accidents are the people whose muscles are not well-balanced. You want the muscles on every side of your body and neck to be strong and happy. That’s the best way to prevent future injuries.
Thank you for writing and for your comment. I hope this helps you get rid of the pain below your shoulder blades.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi again Kathryn, just to say thanks for taking the time to get back to me. It seems my back problems are actually all sorts of tears and stuff in the shoulder that need surgery to be fixed. The back pain is getting checked out with CT scans just in case there’s any compression issues, but it’s probably all connected through the muscles and tendons etc. with the shoulder. Thanks for you reply, and I’ll certainly be back to your wonderful site after my surgery for tips on getting back on my feet as quick as I can.
Hi Kathryn,
I was reading through some of your posts and am hopeful you might be able to help. I am a 37 year old female mother of two young children (1 and 5) and am otherwise healthy. Over two years ago, during the night I started having strange spasm like chest pains which radiate to the back of my shoulder (left side) and then my neck kinked (possibly from yoga earlier in the day). I went to the ER, had a work up several times as it didn’t ease up. I got pregant and it felt more like a left shoulder issue by then even though the chest pain didn’t go all the way away. I got a large knot behind my shoulder blade and a constant nagging ache and pain in my upper left chest. PT, chiro – no improvement but I was functional. Because of the injury and breast feeding, I noticed I had pretty badly rounded shoulders and it hurt to pull them back. During the weaning process I wore a tight sports bra with underwire and noticed I felt better – however it started to hurt to take it off – I believe it is the band that I became dependant on which went very low (I am only five feet tall). It feels like nothing is supporting my ribs in the upper left chest or something. My posture improved nearly overnight with the weaning. Since then I have had unbearable pain and difficulty breathing if I take off my bra (now wear non wire normal one) while upright – it acts as a brace on my ribs or something. Also, the knot is gone behind my shoulder after trigger point injections but afterwards my pain is increased significantly. There is a spot that any pressure is excruciating behind my shoulderblade – hurts to lay on my back more than on my sides (which also hurts) – injections were over a month ago and were mostly anesthetic and a tiny bit of steroid done by an anesthesiogist with an excellent reputation. Since then it feels like my shoulderblade is super weak and that I can’t pull it toward my spine without great effort and pain – before the injection I at least had the strength. I also have pain if there is any strap over my shoudler like a purse – trapezoid I think (before injection and after). Even before the injection (which the doctor says has nothing to do with the increased pain) it hurts to push a broom, vaccuum, etc. Now I can’t bear more than a few pounds of weight and can’t lift my 1.5 year old. All the docs, chiros, an PTs think it is strange and don’t know what to make of my symptoms. 1) Why does my pain hurt worse without the support of the bra and 2) why does the spot behind my shoulderblade hurt to have any pressure on it – not like a triggerpoint I don’t think – worse with massage, etc. and 3) how do I get better – I am so motivated and am running out of ideas to try. Four months of PT made me stronger (before injection set back) but never decreased the pain. Thanks for reading this and I look forward to your feedback!
I want to add that I have had every test under the sun – blood work all great, heart cleared, GI cleared, Rheumatologist cleared, MRI shoulder showed very mild peritendonitis of rotator cuff, MRI of thoracic spine showed mild degeneration T-9 through T-11 but no compression, Chest CT, Abdominal CT and MRI clear, HIDA scan..you get the idea. Tried several chiros, massage, PT, injections, not picking up kids for last month (lots of babysitters). Thanks again!
Hi Elana, Here is my best long-distance thought.
Most doctors don’t know much about muscles. I have a strong feeling that it is the muscle that is sandwiched between your scapula (shoulder blade) and ribs. That muscle is the subscapularis. A skilled massage therapist can press into that muscle from the sides to cause it to relax and relieve symptoms.
That muscle may have trigger points. Not only do trigger points cause pain, they also cause weakness in a muscle. And, they can cause additional trigger points and pain or dysfunction in other muscles. (Trigger points are hyper-irritable areas of muscle that cause pain elsewhere and are tender to pressure. But the key is that when a tender area is pressed, it causes your discomfort. If it doesn’t, then it’s not a trigger point.)
I’m glad your posture improved. Perhaps muscles around your ribs are complaining. Either they are short (in front) or weakened from your old posture.
Also, there are muscles in your neck called the scalenes. Please go to the Categories on the right hand side and go to Videos. Scroll through the videos and you will find a little video about how to release the scalenes. That will give you a good idea of where they are. Most doctors, etc., don’t know much about muscles and pain but these muscles can cause the knot in your back and pain in your chest and arm and hand.
The back pain is probably just a symptom. That is why it feels worse with massage. The massage has to be directed to the muscles that are causing the problems–not to the symptoms.
It’s hard to find a really good massage therapist but please try. That person can help you ‘unlock’ your muscle spasms. I’m guessing that it actually started in your neck and the shoulder blade is a residual symptom.
If a massage therapist (or any professional) just works where it hurts, they are barking up the wrong tree. If you go to http://StJohn-ClarkPTC.com and contact them, they may be able to give you references to good massage therapists who have had extensive pain relief training.
You are looking for a massage therapist who practices trigger point therapy or neuromuscular massage therapy. But don’t just take their word for it.
Ask lots of questions (see the Massage Category for an article about questions to ask your massage therapist.)
The bra question is very interesting. If I come up with a logical reason, I will get back to you.
The good things are: You are young and healthy. You just need to find the correct professional to help. Also if you buy a self-help trigger point book like the blue one in the right-hand column, you may discover a lot of your own trigger points and exactly how to treat them yourself (or with help; sometimes we have to explain to the persons who help us what they must do.)
Thank you for writing and I hope you find relief quickly.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
More good news, Elana. Since the tests showed ‘nothing wrong’ that almost always means muscles are to blame. And that is truly good news because muscles can be treated naturally.
Best,
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi Reb, you are very welcome!
I wish you the best with your surgeries and speedy recovery. While you are recovering, do check out and read as much as you can about how bodies work and why we get into pain. You don’t want that to happen again.
Best,
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi there
I’m 21 and have had a lot of shoulder pain, originating from around the acromioclavicular joint, which as the day goes on, spreads into my arm and hand, and into the top of my chest. My physio thought I had a C7 impingement but nothing has shown on the MRI. This pain has come on very gardually, starting a few years ago. It used to come on only when I had done something to obviously irritate it, carrying etc, but now is there from about midday each day. I’m taking a lot of painkillers now and don’t know what else to do. I had been referred to MSK consultant but as spinal MRI was normal they have discharged me. Any ideas what might be causing this? Now the GP is talking about nerve conduction studies….
I also had some spasms between the scapula around one month ago, on the same side as this pain (right).
Thanks!
Hello Sam,
You didn’t tell me exactly where in your hand or arm you feel the pain as it travels. That would give me more clues. But here are a couple of my best long-distance guesses. Please write again with more clues if neither of these is correct.
1. In medical terms ‘deep’ means behind a structure. There is a muscle that is deep to your collar bone called the subclavius. It refers pain to the area of the breastbone, the inner part of the upper arm, the thumb side of the lower arm and the thumb and first two fingers on the palm side of the hand.
Pressing up into this muscle from under the collar bone would release the trigger point that causes all of the above-mentioned pain.
2. The coracobrachialis muscle in the upper part of your arm on the front side creates a lot of pain in the AC joint vicinity on the front. On the back of the arm, it causes pain in the triceps, lower arm, and middle and ring fingers. The trigger point to press for this muscle is in the center of the coracobrachialis near where the pectoral muscles attach on the upper arm.
If one of these describes your areas of pain, and if your physiotherapist is not very familiar with exactly where these muscles are, get a good anatomy book or google them so you have a good visual.
If your symptoms are for areas different than these, please write again. There are many muscles that cause pain around the acromioclavicular joint.
Trigger point therapy will probably end up being your drug of choice. It’s a natural way to get rid of pain. If you scroll down on the right hand side of this website, you will see a blue self-help trigger point book. It is well written, easy to understand and to put into action. Just click on the link. The author actually cured his own shoulder (it’s a very interesting story!) by finding 20 trigger points and treating them himself.
I hope this helps. Pain pills aren’t the answer. Nerve conduction tests? How about finding out what might be causing pressure on the nerves first? That would be your friendly muscles, betcha!
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi Kathryn
Thanks so much! Hard to describe…say your arm is relaxed by your side, the pain is down the front. If in anatomical position with arm held out and palm of hand upwards, the pain is lateral/outer. The hand pain is less specific and more of a general ache, but more so on thumb side I suppose…
Thanks very much!
Hi Sam,
I apologize for my long delay in responding! Please forgive.
Here are my best long distance guesses based on your description:
1. The muscle on the lower 2/3′s of your shoulder blade.
2. The muscle that is tucked behind your collar bone. You can reach it by going thoughtfully under the collar bone and upward.
3. The muscle that is on your lower upper arm which, when you are in anatomical position, faces forward and is above your elbow crease.
Press into these areas to check for tenderness or tightness. If you find tender areas you can apply pressure for 10-12 seconds.
Any of those muscles may be causing your discomfort. I am basing this on the supposition that you have the discomfort in your arm as well as in your palm?
Also, you may find more information at http://CarpalTunnelPainRelief.com
I hope this helps.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hello,
Lots of good advice here…..a few months back my husband had a bad attack of heartburn and pain in the upper right quadrant of his chest near his armpit. He thought he was having a heart attack….had tests and showed nothing….he worked construction for years and has always had a bad back with lots of disc problems, neck, shoulder, etc. this pain in his chest happened not long after he had been going to the Chiropractor for Sciatica and he had actually been pain free after a few visits. He went to family physician and had all kinds of tests and he told him it was a type of acid reflux and prescribed Protonix….it would act up and get very painful in his chest shortly after he went to bed…..started improving some but still bouts of real pain. We have an excellent Massage Therapist in the family and she wanted to see what she could do. Her findings were that he had several trigger points in the right side of neck and upper right back/shoulder blade area….after a couple of days of deep tissue massage and a couple of days of working on the trigger points plus massaging in Voltaren Gel seemed to help him so much for the first time. She explained that the pain in his back and neck was triggering the sometimes excruciating pain in his chest. It started up again because he had surgery on his kidney and has been walking hunched over for awhile now so I could just see that it would get bad again. The Massage Therapist lives too far away to have her help him any time soon so I am hoping if we use the tennis ball therapy and anything else you can refer me to would really help. She believes that the chest pain he has had is probably not heart burn but a pinched nerve somewhere in his back causing the pain. At times the feeling he gets in his chest is best described as short shocking sensations. The sad thing is he probably does not need to be taking this medicine. Physicians just don’t even think of things being caused by muscle spasms or pinched nerves. The doctors wanted him to have surgery on his back years ago and he refused. Chiropractors have been his answer for years but then as he got older he quit going as much as he used to and everything has caught up to him I think. He is 65 years old. What do you think? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated and video links to help would be great.
I sure hope this site is still active although I notice it hasn’t been used in awhile….well here’s hoping.
Thank You
Hi Cindy,
Thank you for writing and for your comments.
You are right; most doctors don’t think of symptoms being caused by muscles. They mostly think of what drugs they can prescribe to treat the symptoms because THAT is what they learned in med school. Somehow, the possibility of a cause doesn’t come up in the diagnosis.
There are excellent self-help trigger point books. I like the blue one by Clair Davies. You can see it on the right hand side of this page. Just scroll down and click on it. You can order it from Amazon or ask your local library. This book is excellent because it is easy to read and he explains exactly where a trigger point would be for specific pain and exactly how to get rid of it. I have it in my home library because it’s a great reference.
Mr. Davies had shoulder pain and discovered that he had over 20 trigger points causing it! He treated all of them himself because he couldn’t find an excellent local therapist like he had previously (she moved.) And then he wrote this book to help other people treat themselves and get rid of their pain.
Tennis Ball Therapy may help. Ice may help, too. But knowing where to press or apply the ice or tennis ball can help even more.
How’s your husband’s posture now? That is a good place for him to start working, too. There are simple ways to get a strong back in the articles at http://SimpleStrengthening.com
When backs are bent over or slouched, the muscles in the back get over-stretched and unhappy and they can develop trigger points. Avoiding this by having a strong back is a good idea.
I’m happy that you already have a good understanding of trigger points and how they cause pain elsewhere. Understanding that is half the battle. Maybe more!
It could be pressure on a nerve causing the chest sensations but guess what causes pressure on nerves? Usually it’s muscles!
The scar from the kidney surgery could be pulling on the rest of his body, too. Massaging the scar (if it’s all healed) and pinching it can help it relax and take pressure off the rest of the body.
Age 65 isn’t old and bodies heal all the time. Sometimes they just need a little help from an excellent author or therapist. Try to get your hands on a good trigger point self-help book like the one I recommended above and study it. Between you and your husband, I believe you can get rid of his symptoms.
Best to you both,
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
I can’t believe that you are still responding to these responses. Sounds like you are helping alot of people.
I’m approaching 40 and have a history of lower back issues for almost the last 20 years, since I herniated a disk in a car wreck. Recently I herniated a disc (L4-L5), again, and it was pressing on my sciatic nerve. It was debilitating. Sitting was excruciating, and there are some things you can only do sitting down without some sort of medical help. So before it came to it, I got a cortecosteriod (sp?) epidural injection. The next day I was 50% better. Things slowly improved over the next 2-3 weeks, but I had to shift my slipping habits to sleeping on my back or stomach. Sleeping on my side brought back all the pain.
What does this have to do with middle back pain? Well, now laying on my back, I get severe pain in my mid back, when I go to get up. It takes all my strength away–I can barely get myself to my feet. I have to wiggle and squirm to roll over on my chest, then put my elbows under me, bring my knees up, then I can stand. If I take a deep breath, my bid back hurts. I don’t recall doing anything to hurt it, except maybe lifting a 2 foot concrete well cap–but I standing straight. I know this sounds crazy/stupid after a herniated disk, but it really didn’t feel that heavy. I lifted it with straight arms, just shoulder strug and calves. Could that really be the cause? I seems fine until I lie on my back, or take a deep breath.
I’m taking some muscle relaxers now (Cyclobenzeprine (sp?)). Not sure what else to do.
Hi Jack, Thank you for writing. I do get messages from all over the world saying that my information helped and that is a very good thing!
The deep breath thing makes me think of the diaphragm muscle. It’s below your lungs and tucked up into your ribs. It also causes mid-back pain when it is in spasm. Some massage therapists know how to access it and cause it to relax. This is the muscle that allows you to breathe deeply.
Here are some suggestions for sleeping:
“Prop” your back slightly to that it is either level-flat or very slightly raised in the area between your shoulder blades and hips. Do this with something that feels comfortable, like batting that a quilt would be filled with.
Lay on the floor with your knees propped up onto a sofa or footstool or chair. You want your knees to be at a 90 degree angle to your hips. This position helps relax the back muscles because it takes the legs out of the equation. (Leg muscles attach to spines.)
There are muscles along your spine that could cause these symptoms, too. I’d really strongly suggest that you seek a massage therapist who can help. Ask friends for referrals or look for one who is a neuromuscular massage therapist or trigger point specialist. And ask whether they can do a diaphragm release, just in case that’s what’s needed.
I don’t think, personally, that there is anything wrong with using your muscles after you have healed from an injury. Just be thoughtful and pay attention to your body. If you stop moving you will start to lose muscle tone. Just hold in your stomach when you lift heavy things.
Also, disks don’t move on their own. They move when muscle tension pulls on them. Muscles move disks and bones.
Just keep it in your mind that this, too, is only temporary. Your body can heal. Bodies heal all the time including herniated disks and severe back pain.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Thanks. I found the site very informative. I’m glad someone knows about the pains I have been having because it is hard to explain this exact location to some people. I’m going to try the exercises and hope they work because as you mentioned, YES!! This hurts.
Hi Destinee,
Thank you for writing Sometimes it is very hard to explain where the pain is. I’m glad this article helped.
Give your body time to heal as you do the exercises. Some people have immediate relief! But for others it takes longer. So don’t give up. Give it a few weeks or months of regular movement (think of the exercises as movement.) You will keep moving in the right direction.
If a movement (or pressure on an area) feels appropriate to you, that means it’s the right thing to do. If it feels slightly uncomfortable, that means your muscles aren’t used to it yet–keep going.
But if it feels ‘wrong’ when you do a new movement (or when someone presses on a painful area) then it is the wrong movement for your body at this time.
And there are more articles at http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com that will help you get rid of the pain in your back naturally.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi Kathryn,
Came across your site after experiencing some uncomfortable “tightness” around my right shoulder blade/lat area. I have to say your answers to people’s problems have been fantastic so I’m wondering if you can help me.
My problem is never painful, just sometimes affects me in such a way that I have to stop certain activities and try and stretch my back out. The problem is worst when doing activities where I’m reaching my right arm out in front of me e.g. washing the dishes or using a mouse on a computer. I’m pretty sure the problem relates to going to the gym, which I enjoy doing but lately haven’t been going as often due to this tightness. I also sprained my neck about 2 years ago so maybe this is related. I always try to stretch before, during and after gym work but admit this hasn’t always been the case. I find it doesn’t do a lot of good anyway. I’ve also tried an exercise program just related to strengthening the back but became pretty disillusioned with this as it didn’t seem to be improving things.
The problem did ease when I managed to avoid doing the activities that aggravate my back but the tightness did return as soon as I started them again.
I’d love to get to a point where I can resume normal activities without having this hinderance and am really desperate to hear any advice you can offer. If you can possibly recommend any exercises/stretches that might help then I’d be really grateful.
Thanks in advance,
Dan
Hi Dan, Thank you for your kind words!
Your back muscles seem to be complaining from being stretched. Sometimes you cannot help but reach ‘too far’ like when doing dishes but at the computer here are some things to do:
1. Place the mouse in front of you at your midline, close to your waist.
2. Bring your elbow close to your waist.
3. Switch to your left hand for mousing (and do #1 and #2, too.)
Those things will prevent over-stretching of your back muscles when mousing.
Ask someone to pick up the outer edge of your lat muscle, close to your armpit. Ask them to grab it (not just the skin but the muscle) and hold and “pinch” it. Your latissimus muscle may be in spasm or contraction trying to keep from being stretched too far. Muscles do that. Pinching it will help it relax. If it is really uncomfortable, that’s the right spot. After holding for, oh, maybe a minute, it can be released. About 20 minutes later you will notice that the area feels more relaxed.
Stretching cold muscles does not help as much as stretching warmed muscles.
When you were doing the exercises to strengthen your back, were you also stretching the muscles in the front of your body? They are the other half of the equation. The stretches that you do with your arms should be upward and backward. There is a shoulder rotating video at http://budurl.com/CircleArms that will help get balanced muscles around the shoulder blade.
Here are my best long-distance guesses right now:
The muscles in the front of your body are so shortened and ‘tight’ (because most of our lives we work with arms held in front) that they get to instantly take over and contract further when you do anything with your arms in front. That does strain the back/shoulders. Are your shoulders rolled forward? That’s a clue. Or, when you lay on your back on the floor, are your shoulders on the floor rather than rolled up away from it?
Guys who go to gyms often like to work on their chest muscles. When the pectorals are strong (same as short and tight) they cause stress on the back muscles so that ‘just a little more’ stress from any activity can cause back strain.
Take some time to look into a mirror, Dan. Look really hard while you are standing straight, facing the mirror. Do you look level and straight? Are your shoulders at the same height? If the right one is lower, that’s an indication the lat area muscles on that side needs some pinching or upward stretching (or both.) The rib muscles on the side of your body need some attention, too. You may be able to press into your rib muscles yourself if you can reach them.
Thank you for writing! I would also love for you to be able to do activities without discomfort around your shoulder blade.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi, I am 28 and I have instense non-stop pulling & tighness pain in what I call the triangle. There are 3 points all on the left side that always have the pain which I can never get rid off. They are at the base of the neck next to the spine, mid-back next to spine, and the area right between the shoulder blade and spine. They frequently have knots and I constantly “pop” my back twisting side-to-side and pulling up on left side to pop mid back. I have lifted weights for quite some time and even competed in powerlifting competitions (which hasn’t helped the cause) when i was younger. I used to not stretch much but now I vigorously stretch before and after workouts. I started seeing a chriprator 8 months ago and he showed that my hips were misaligned, my spine was compensating with minute scoliosis, and my neck had a reverse curve. My hips/spine/neck are realigned and no cure to my pain. I have gotten 5 medical massages and from what I’ve read above, they just trested the symptom. Please help as this is really starting to control my life and sleep. Pain/Tearing/Pulling is constant and have dealt with gradual increase for over 6 years. Thanks.
Hello I have had this pain for a very long time. I’ve been to physical therapy. I am 22 I was told I have the back of a 70 year olds .. I did not make it to my third appointment before they kicked me out of therapy . I have sceen a orthopaedic specialist he said to try therapy again . I have bad neck pain and chronic lower back pain but the pain I have between my shoulder blades down my spine .. goes about down to the end of my ribs. I can not find any way to get it to feel any better .. it is a constant pain .. I have tryed the exercises and have been on multiple muscle relaxers and nothing .. please help me :-/
Hi Rachel,
That was really rude to tell you had the back of a 70 year old. And it wasn’t true, either!
There are a lot of reasons for back pain and most of them involve muscles. Muscles are the most overlooked cause of pain. I would estimate that about half the people who go to physical therapy get kicked out, drop out or flunk out. That’s because the cause of the pain is overlooked.
If I am understanding correctly, your pain runs along your spine? There are muscles on and next to the spine. They can be irritated by slouching. Do you slouch?
Those muscles can be treated by skilled massage therapists who know how to work closely to the spine very effectively. But if your posture is the cause, you will also have to correct it. Usually this can be done by strengthening the muscles of your back.
Muscle relaxers aren’t the answer. The correct exercises may be. If I am wrong in my long-distance assessment, please write again and give me more details.
Thank you for writing. And there are more articles from me about natural back pain relief at http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hello and thank you for writing. Here is my best long-distance assessment.
“Something” is pulling on your back in your ‘triangle’ and causing it to be tight on the left side. The area of the triangle you describe makes me think of the trapezius muscle.
I am sure the powerlifting didn’t help. Here’re my suspicions:
1. Your pecs are too strong and are pulling on your back. Stretching them and massage for the chest and front of your arms can help relax these muscles enough to get them more in balance.
2. You still have a scoliosis which is possibly caused by a leg length difference. This can be measured in a medical facility by x-ray. They can actually measure the length of each of your leg bones. It is different from the x-ray a chiropractor does. A leg length difference can cause scoliosis.
3. Do you always sleep in the same position on one side? This can aggravates muscles in your neck and upper back.
4. Are you left-handed? If so, using your left arm and hand in front of your body (as humans do) can pull on those back muscles.
The stretches you do can be for the tight back area as well as the opposite side of your back, but please be sure to incorporate stretches for the front of your body, too.
If there is some reason that you deliberately flex or tighten your painful triangle area, that may be the cause (and massage can help work those tight muscles out in that case) but I’m leaning toward the tight pecs or leg length difference.
I hope this helps. There are more articles that I wrote at http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com – scroll down through the list of articles on the right hand side. You will find some about scoliosis and leg length differences and back pain.
I hope you find this information helpful. And please feel free to write again. I am sure you can overcome this: you just need the correct information and to take appropriate action to get rid of this upper back pain.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Kathryn,
first off, i just want to say ‘wow’.. you’ve helped so many people with this site… i’m hoping you can help me.
I’ve been suffering for two weeks now with terrible pain in my back. initially it was central, and spread over both shoulders and the middle of my back. i went to the hospital and they did an x-ray to rule out anything broken. (i should mention, my 12 yr old son, who is 100 pounds jumped on my back while rough housing with him and his brother) the hospital prescribed toradol for pain, and flexorol for muscle relaxation… it seemed to be working fine for a few days last week… but this week is another story. the pain has changed, it’s now only or mostly, on my right side.. under my shoulder blade. i had emergency gallbladder surgery last year due to infection.. and had it removed. so i know it is now gallbladder related.. the pain is intense, and hurts so much i can barely sleep. Last night was probably my worst night to date. to describe the pain i’d have to say, it begins as a spasmy feeling.. and quickly becomes a severe ache. the medication works.. however, i still feel the ‘knot’ or stiffness on that right side. even with the use of pain killers and muscle relaxers.. i don’t know what to do. The ER doctor told me it would take around 5 days to heal.. but it’s been 9 now.. and i am getting no real relief. please help!
Eva
Hi Eva, Thank you very much for your kind comment and thank you for writing.
Based on your very good description it sounds like a muscle issue. It could be caused by muscle spasm that becomes more noticeable in certain positions. Or, it could be that you dislocated a rib when you were playing. The rib may have ‘popped’ right back into place but the muscles are still remembering the injury and complaining.
There are many more articles at http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com about knots in backs and muscle spasms. They might give you more ideas about the cause of the pain. Yes, your son may have initiated the pain but something is causing it to continue. My best long distance ‘guess’ is muscle.
Please remember that I am not a doctor but my understanding about muscle relaxants is that the part of muscle that is in spasm stays tight–only the surrounding muscle (which is not in spasm) relaxes a bit and if it feels better, that’s why. And you might find that an over-the-counter drug called sodium naproxen (Aleve) works better than the pain reliever you were prescribed. If you try it, follow the directions on the bottle.
Have you tried Tennis Ball Therapy yet? Or pressure on and around that area of your back with a foam swim noodle? Here is a link to one of the articles http://www.simplebackpainrelief.com/upper-back-pain/get-rid-of-muscle-spasms-in-your-upper-back-with-tennis-ball-therapy/ at my other natural pain relief website. It explains how to use a tennis ball to help work out muscle spasms.
While you are there, Eva, scroll through the list of articles on the right hand side. You will find more that may apply to you.
And you may know that I’m really biased about the value of therapeutic massage. Hugely! If you have the resources to have massage that would be awesome. If you check the Category for Massage here at Simple Pain Relief, you will find an article (quite far down) about how to find a massage therapist who can truly help you and not just do a nice rub.
But sometimes self-massage and a tennis ball can make a big difference, too. Icing the area (cold compresses) may also help.
Rather than treat just a small area work all around the discomfort. Try breathing into the ribs on that side; make the ribs move with your breath. That helps stretch and warm the muscles around the ribs. The idea is to get more circulation into the painful area. Have you done gentle stretches yet?
Sometimes when an area is injured, even slightly, all of the surrounding muscles ‘jump in’ and get involved. Then the discomfort becomes worse.
I hope this helps you get some relief and I apologize for my delay in responding. Please write again and let me know how you are doing. You have a smart body and it just needs a little help from you (and maybe a massage therapist) to get better.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
I’ve been having pain that feels like it is somewhere under my right shoulder blade (I’m right handed) and extends out toward my spine. The muscles between the spine and shoulderblade are incredibly sore and are constantly aching….the pain extends all along the shoulder blade. I have gone to the chiropractor, massage therapist, MD and have an upcoming appointment for an osteopathic manipulation and physical therapy. I have gotten this before where the pain only lasted for a few days to maybe a week. This time I am on 5 weeks with no relief. My MD prescribed me a muscle relaxer that does nothing but make me tired…does nothing for the pain. Hot showers will make it feel better for a period of time….waking in the morning it feels good until about 2 to 3 hours later when the pain sets in again.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I’m only 35 years old and I feel like the pain is consuming my life as it is interfering with my work, and family.
Thank you for your time!
I am a 35 yr. old mom experiencing a ton of pain on my right side (dominant hand) between my shoulder blade and spine. The pain feels like it’s under my shoulder blade and I can’t seem to get to it….however the muscles between the shoulder blade and spine ache terribly. I have done Chiropractic, Massage, MD (prescribed muscles relaxers which did nothing for pain but rather made me sleepy). I’ve been doing the tens machine both at home and at Chiro and nothing is helping. Hot showers will help for about 2 hours. Waking in the morning will get me through about 2 hours and then the pain sets in. I’ve had the pain in the past for maybe a couple days or a week….however this time I’m going on 5 weeks. The pain is mostly constant and is greatly interfering with my work and family as it is consuming…at times the pain radiates down my shoulder into my arm. I do have an appointment for Osteopathic Manipulation and Physical Therapy coming up this week. Any suggestions as to what may have caused this or what I can do to eliminate pain would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Theresa, Thank you for the second message which has more information.
What are you doing in the first 2-3 hours that you are up in the morning? That may be a clue. Muscles get crabby for reasons so let’s figure out the reasons so you can get rid of them.
To date, it sounds like people have been chasing your symptoms. The physical therapy may help correct the root of the problem.
Do you mouse a lot?
If you look into a mirror can you tell that your right shoulder is lower than the left? Can you see if it is more forward than the left shoulder?
Have you tried ice? Ice/cold packs are a wonderful treatment but not only where the pain is. Also use the cold packs on the front of your shoulder and upper arm and below your arm pit next to your shoulder blade and even lower on your right side. That will help relax the muscles that are pulling on your painful area.
The idea is to get rid of the muscle stress that is causing your pain–not to blast away on the painful area. It cannot relax because muscles are pulling on it.
Usually working with our dominant hand causes the muscles in the front of that shoulder and arm (and even ribs) to shorten. That, in turn, causes pulling on the muscles in back.
When your shoulder blade is being pulled forward, the muscles that attach to it closer to your spine or waist are also being pulled. And they don’t like it!!!
Theresa, I hope this will help you. Please feel free to answer my questions and write again if you need more help to get rid of this pain between your spine and shoulder blade.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
I am right handed and I do use a mouse/computer a lot for work. Yes my right shoulder does hang lower and I do have mild scoliosis. I have been battling with this on and off since 2006 and have asked for some imaging to be done of my neck and back to see if there is something in the soft tissue/nerves that could be contributing to this. Do you think this is a reasonable request? I just don’t want to continue with manipulations etc. until we have a fuller picture. Rather than a pain medication my doctor has now prescribed me with an anti-anxiety medication as she feels it is all stress related…I’m not so sure I agree with that. Yes I do get anxious but only after I’ve been in pain for so long.
Hi Theresa, Muscles tend to be overlooked by the conventional medicine professionals as causes of pain and of scoliosis. If you had a diagnostic test, it’s likely they would tell you that your spine is malformed or out of alignment but would overlook the REASON WHY. The reason is almost always muscles. And muscles can press on nerves and cause pain, too.
A skilled massage therapist can make a huge difference in helping you release or relax tight right-side muscles if they are the cause of your scoliosis. And, if I was a betting woman, I’d bet they are.
Pain does cause stress and anxiety. You must remember that I am not a doctor but getting rid of the pain will help you get rid of the anxiety. Peeling just one layer at a time of dis-stress from the body or mind starts to cause relief.
If you can see a massage therapist to release those tight muscles, that would be great! If not, here are do it at home suggestions:
1. Stretch. But stretch the right side of your back 4 times as much as the left side. That will help make a therapeutic difference. Do this several times a day. Also stretch the right side of your chest and upper arm–backward and upward.
2. Ice. Use cold packs all around your right side muscles to help them relax and to help reduce the discomfort.
3. Check your pant legs: Is one always longer than the other? Are you “missing” a hip on one side when you look in the mirror? These would be clues that your scoliosis is caused by a leg length difference. Otherwise, I’m betting on the muscles of your back and ribs and chest on the right side.
4. Start strengthening the muscles in your back by squeezing your shoulder blades toward your spine (just a few times a day to start–3 or 4.)
5. Lift and roll your shoulders back, lift and roll back.
Massage beats stretching but stretching is the next best thing. And even following release of the tight muscles by massage, stretching will keep you from relapsing back into a short, tight right side. Theresa, I hope you will use this. Take action and start getting rid of your discomfort. Please feel free to continue the conversation.
And your doctor is missing the boat. (But remember, I’m not a doctor!) She is not looking at the whole picture–all of you–to make her diagnosis. That just means she doesn’t yet have that knowledge of how bodies work.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
I am 14 and when I use the computer I lay on my side with my hand holding my head up. is that bad for your back. I have been getting back pain and it feels like my right side of the back is tighter than my left side of the back when I stretch and now at the really bottom of my back. The tail-bone and right side of my back is hurting once in a while. When I stretch I feel like my back is kind of hurting but more of it stretched out hurting if you know what i mean. I think I have bad posture when I sit. When I sit my back is slumped and my head is in front of my chest. any suggestions or help?
Ok to start off if you want to know how I got backpain this is how. Firstly my heels were hurting and it got to a point where it really really hurt. So I kept asking my mom to get me heel pads and I got this specific brand these helpers at sports chalet So I wore them for a few days and my back starting hurting and my parents didn’t do anything about it. I think maybe one side of my hips is longer but I don’t know can you help me out for what it is?
I went in and had some imaging done on my spine. It appears that there is some degeneration in my C5, C6 & C7 with some bulging and mild protrusion which appears to be pressing on a nerve. There is also mild scoliosis. The neurologist stated that all of my symptoms support the findings on imaging. So I am doing Osteopathic manipulations, Physical Therapy and Acupuncture. I am holding off on any nerve injections or surgery and hoping that if I can strengthen that area that it will improve greatly.
Hi Kathryn,
I would like to thank you for the detailed pain buster information you’ve provided to people who’re suffering from back pain.
I am suffering from pain, spreading across my left shoulder to my left arm, for the past 1 week. I have taken fermentation treatment & massage, however there is no relief from the pain.
I am a right hander, and it is not my dominant side getting the pain. I have suffered this kind of pain (only in the shoulder blade area) during winter season, mainly because of sleep postures (cuddled sleeping) and to treat it, I went with fermentation, the pain lasted for about 3 or 4 days maximum and then completely relieved of the pain.
This time, the pain is originating from my left shoulder blade, and then it eventually spreads across to neck and my left arm (till the elbow). It gives me terrific pain when I am trying to drive a two wheeler or a four wheeler, specially when my arm is stretched. The pain hurts so badly, that I take a break every 15 minutes or so, while driving.
Apart from driving, I can feel the pain and discomfort only in my left shoulder blade, when sitting in a chair or working in front of the computer.
I request you to kindly share tips to cure this kind of pain. Many Thanks and Wishing you a Happy & Prosperous New Year!
Hi Nick, Thank you for writing and giving me your story.
Yes, always pressing your head into the same direction can aggravate your neck.
Always laying on the same side can also cause the muscles on one side of your waist to get short or stretched too much. That means one side will be tight. In that case, that muscle (the Quadratus Lumborum or QL) that is tight can actually cause your hip to ‘hike’ up when you lay down. It can also cause it to appear as if you have a short leg.
However, sometimes people really DO have a short leg. Here are some clues if that is your situation:
1. Look into the mirror when you are standing up. Try to stand as straight as you can. Does one hip bone or your belt or waistband look lower on one side?
2. Is one pant leg always longer than the other on every pair of pants?
3. Look at your finger tips in the mirror. Are they closer to your feet on your side?
Slumping or slouching is also called poor posture. You may not notice it as much but I would bet your head is also forward when you stand. Sitting on your tail bone can make it hurt. What’s the answer?
1. Strengthen the muscles on your back, including the back of your neck.
2. Stretch and lengthen the muscles on the front of your body, including your thighs, abdomen, chest and arms.
3. Every time you catch yourself slumping, stretch up into better posture. Your muscles are used to slumping now but you can change that by correcting your muscle imbalances with strengthening and stretching.
4. When you sit in a chair, tuck your tailbone way back into the place where the chair seat meets the back of the chair. If the seat of the chair is too long for you to do that, find another chair that fits better or place a pillow or rolled towel behind your waist.
When you stretch your lower back, it can feel more aggravated until it starts to get used to stretching and moving again. Manually pressing into your waist near your spine with your thumb (or someone else’s thumb) or fist or laying on a tennis ball or similar ball. A good massage therapist can really help with releasing tight back muscles.
Nick, these suggestions should get you on the road to feeling better soon.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi Nick, Thank you for the additional information.
Here’re my best long distance guesses: Your heels may have been hurting because you are leaning forward from your heels when you stand.
You didn’t need heel pads. They could cause you to lean forward even more.
And that could be why your back started hurting after you got them.
One medical doctor said: “If we were supposed to walk with heels on our shoes, God would have given us heels on our feet.” The flatter the heel of the shoe, the better.
You probably DO need sturdy arch supports. An running shoe store will probably have them and at this time, the cost would be around $30 or less. These are STURDY not soft and cushy. They have a thin layer of metal inside. Their job is to support your arches. They will help you stand up straighter!
I hope these suggestions help you, Nick. And please remember, I’m not a doctor. But bodies are logical and we can get rid of pain when we understand why muscles complain and how bodies work.
One more thing: Sometimes your parents can help you. But sometimes you are the one who has to take action! They cannot do the exercises for you to help you get a stronger back, for instance.
And another thing I just remembered: Even though we want to have a strong back from your knees to your head, we want to have soft calf muscles.
Stretch your calves like this:
Lift your toes toward your knees. That does two things: It stretches your calves and it strengthens your shin muscles so it helps balance out both sides of your lower leg. It can also help get rid of your heel pain.
Take care,
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi Theresa,
Thank you for the update. It sounds like you are doing the right things. I like conservative treatments.
Since scoliosis can be caused by muscle imbalance I hope that your PT will help with that. There are some PT’s and massage therapists who specialize in correcting the too tight-too weak muscles around a spine and who even look to the legs and feet for possible causes.
I hope you will be feeling better quickly!
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi Kaushik, Thank you for writing. You are most welcome and may you also have a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!
Here are my best long distance thoughts:
Switch sides for sleeping. Cuddle on your opposite side. Will this bother the opposite shoulder after a while? Maybe. But if you switch back and forth it will help keep your muscles from being always in the same position. Or cuddle and then sleep on your back. Not as much fun but sometimes necessary.
Do strengthening exercises for your back muscles.
This can be as simple as squeezing your shoulder blades toward your spine. Start out with just a few squeezes a few times a day until your back muscles get used to being stronger again as they were when you were a child. You can do more and more squeezes as they strengthen. Try it now. I’ll bet it feels good?
You can also do this when riding your vehicles or doing anything that stretches your arm forward. We need to have strong back muscles and the muscles in the back of your neck also need to be strong to hold up our heavy heads.
When you use the keyboard and mouse, keep your elbow close to your waist. If it is a laptop, get a separate keyboard and mouse for better ergonomics.
The fermentation or fomentation treatment and massage if only applied to the area of pain cannot get rid of the cause of the symptoms. You must get rid of the cause.
If you are able to have massage therapy, that can also be a huge help with lengthening the front-of-body muscles and getting rid of tight areas.
Here is an area that I think is probably tight on you: The muscles on the left side of your back under your armpit. If someone can lift and pinch these muscles (not just the skin but the muscle) and hold it for a few minutes, you will probably notice about 20 minutes later that it feels better.
Also, stretch the muscles on the front of your chest and arm. Stretching the front and strengthening the back helps balance the body and prevents muscle pain.
Kaushik, I hope these suggestions help you get rid of your back pain quickly. And there are many articles with lots more information about the causes and cures for back pain at http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com which is another of my natural pain relief websites.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi Kathryn
I have had a shoulder injury for almost a year now which results in me getting about three hours sleep a night. Whilst I don’t feel much pain during the day, but after a few hours sleep will have an ache so bad between my shoulders that I can no longer sleep. The minute I get up out of bed the pain is gone, but if I try to lie back down to sleep within three or four hours of getting up the ache comes back instantly. I often get muscle spasms/fasiculations at my sternum as I wake up and can feel the muscles ‘jumping’ around. I also now get pain at the top of both my shoulders and find my dominant arm is very weak and saw when reaching overhead etc. When I wake up it is very difficult to reach above my head with my dominant hand.
The injury happened when I was hunched terribly over the mouse at my computer but never went away. It has gotten worse and worse despite seeing 2 chiropractors, 2 physios and a massage therapist. My back actually seemed to get worse after the very painful massage. The therapist noted that I had large knots in my shoulders and down on my ribs and worked on the whole back and neck (front and back area). Not long after the injury I moved from being a full time mum to my wonderful but sizeable son to full time office work, so restricted movement/sitting at a desk using a computer all day, something I’ve never done before.
Everyday I complete stomach strengthening exercises given to me by my physio as well as back, neck and chest stretches, most of which you have described in your many posts, but things are getting worse rather than better. I was able to get 5-6 hours sleep for a little while but this is no longer the case.
I was using 200mg of Celebrex to manage the pain and at least getting some sleep but this no longer works at all. I had a full spinal xray set done which showed some slight degradation in the thoracic and rib joint area, but was apparently nothing to worry about. My doctor wants a very expensive CT scan done next and says she thinks the problem is in one of the thoracic facet joints. I’m trying to find some money to get a new bed, just in case that’s the problem, but being on one income makes this difficult
I am getting very frustrated as the lack of sleep is just killing me. It’s been a year of so little sleep and trying to function when exhausted as well as look after a spirited not so little boy. I’m happy to make all the postural/stretch/OT changes in the world, if they could start improving things!
If you could make some suggestions that I could take to my health care providers I’d really appreciate it, as this has been a very expensive failure so far!
Hello Serena, I think you are on the right track. Here are some thoughts. Remember, I’m not a doctor.
Remember, too, that sometimes doctors are making guesses because they don’t know all the answers, either. I have a colleague who went through surgeries and experimental drugs all to no avail because the doctors didn’t know the cause of her pain and were guessing. They are only human, too. They never were able to get rid of it. She still has it from time to time but handles it with therapeutic massage, self massage and ice and propping herself with pillows in bed to maintain a neutral posture and sometimes has to resort to pain medicine.
What would the doctor do or suggest if it did, in fact, turn out to be a jammed facet joint?
Sometimes after deep, specific massage an individual will experience more discomfort temporarily. Sometimes the muscles aren’t used to being touched in that new way. Also, massage releases metabolic (body) wastes and between that and the new movements of the muscles it can feel like you have started a new exercise program too vigorously. If it causes discomfort it is usually for only a few days and then the soreness of the massage wears off and the body will usually feel better than it did prior to the massage (at least until we do the aggravating thing again if there is one.)
If you have massage only rarely, each time is like the first time again. But if you are able to continue massage on a fairly regular basis, the ‘newness’ goes away and typically there is little or much less tenderness after treatment.
It sounds like the therapist you went to did a good job because you said she worked on the front and back of the neck. I do like it a lot that she worked on the front of your neck. I hate it, though, when a therapist says you ‘have large knots’ or anything similar. That feels less than professional to me. And if she spent a lot of time on the ‘knots’ she might not have spent sufficient time on the front of your arms and shoulders. Typically, the symptom is NOT where the problem is!
Strengthening your abdominals isn’t such a great idea unless you are also strengthening your back. Otherwise, the strong abs pull you forward and that’s not what you want to happen. Ditto your chest muscles.
It may be that you need more strengthening of your back muscles. I especially like squeezing shoulder blades toward the spine to strengthen them. Also, laying longways over a rolled towel or foam noodle (so it is behind your spine lengthwise) will let you stretch your arms and chest muscles slightly back. Up and back, stretch the front of your body.
In and downward, strengthen the back of your body. Move your shoulder blades together and toward your waist.
You might possibly have a displaced rib. If so, it is possible that muscles are holding it in the wrong place and if you will try moving your arms in various directions thoughtfully and slowly, you may be able to determine very specific areas of pain or lack of movement. Those are clues.
Your mattress could be the culprit if it is too soft or too hard. Too hard is easier to fix with a queen or full size Tempurpedic type foam topper folded in half to create more cushion. If you are able to get a new mattress, try them out for a LONG time at the store. Don’t just pat a mattress. Bring your own pillow and get comfy. Lay on your final choice for a long time, half an hour or more in the store to get a good feel for it. Sometimes the couch is the best bed in the house.
If you are a side sleeper you are mashing your poor shoulder no matter which shoulder you sleep on. Let me know if you are a side sleeper and I’ll give you some more ideas.
Desk work is a very hard job. Sitting is not what we were designed to do. Take lots of stretch breaks and do your best to be seated in comfortable, neutral posture. Do NOT stretch to reach your mouse. Are you normal weight? Hold your elbow next to your waist when you type or mouse.
Look for self-help articles and a Tennis Ball Therapy article when you go to http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com which is another of my natural pain relief websites. If you haven’t been there yet, you may find a lot of helpful information.
Here’s to getting rid of the knots in your back naturally!
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Also, Serena, consider your pillow. It could be the thickness of the pillow or where you place it that causes some of your upper back pain.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Thanks Kathryn for your advice! I am a side sleeper, I find it very hard to sleep on my back and when I am able it seems to just cause different pain (hips, lower back) which because a problem after pregnancy (I had a lot of hip pain when pregnant and it seems to have made things a bit touchy now!). I sleep with a triangle pillow and have for years and years as always liked the ability to tuck it right under my neck. I do get the softer, flatter ones as many are overstuffed and more for use for supporting the back when sitting up in bed. I’ll have a look for a mattress topper, it would be cheaper than buying a new bed. I think my bed is quite firm, it’s supposed to be a medium, but when I tried out some mediums at a shop, they felt a lot softer than mine.
I also have something similar to the tennis ball, it’s called a thera-wedge. It’s a firm foam triangle which you lay on like a tennis ball and puts pressure on the facet joints which I find is a great help. I usually use it before bed. I have tried it in the middle of the night, when the pain acts up and it does make the pain back off temporarily, but I find nothing really helps except to get up and moving for a few hours. By the time things have settled down it’s time to go to work!
Hi Serena, The wedge or even a roll of carpet or a rolled towel or foam tube all work as well as a tennis ball.
If you are a shapely woman with hips or very thin, you may need a softer mattress. Hopefully, the topper will help.
Switching positions many times during the night helps (according to one doctor I heard interviewed) but that could interfere with sleep. The Tempurdic people say that you are so comfortable that you don’t have to move at all! But I have wondered if staying in just one position may simply be cradling us in our dysfunctional position.
Trial and error with the sleeping position may give you some hints about the best way for you to sleep. Also moving/stretching as we discussed in our last online conversation here may also make a big difference for you in getting rid of your back pain naturally.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Back again! Just wondering what your thoughts are on self myofascial release? A few of your other posts led me to reading about fascial scarring and it’s role in back pain. One source seemed to think a lot of muscle pain came from the fascia rather than muscles or joints? I’ve been using a foam roller with big massaging nubs on it for the past few days as well as stretching my chest muscles rather than my back which seems to be helping heaps. My pain and sleep has improved a lot already. I’m thinking of doing the chest stretches and fascial release on my back and trying to regularly see a local massage therapist who uses trigger point techniques and was wondering if you’d had any success with something similar?
Hi Serena,
Thanks for writing again. Myofascial release is a form of massage (“myo” means muscle; “fascia” is the tissue that binds everything in our bodies together.) And massage is good medicine including self-massage.
Pain can come from either the fascia or the muscles. Actually it’s the muscles that cross a joint that feel the pain. When the pain comes from nerves, it’s most often because the nerves are being pressed on by fascia or muscles.
Fascia can get ‘bunched up’ and it can also develop trigger points. It can also be smoothed out.
This is great that you are taking action and having such good results. Results like yours can usually be expected when people take action.
Carefully assess your trigger point therapist. Many people (including doctors) are familiar with the term ‘trigger point’ but don’t understand what it means or where and how to work to get rid of it.
I use a foam noodle almost daily to release and relax the back muscles and stretch the front muscles. I received an email from a man who uses a roll of carpet as his self-myofascial release/massage tool. A large tightly rolled towel will also work as a tool to get rid of back pain naturally.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi again, Serena,
Response #2: Did you mean have I had good results with trigger point therapy? You bet! That is a primary technique that I use and love. See my last response for more input about trigger point therapists.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi Kathryn,
I am 29 years old man and have been experiencing upper back pain below the shoulder blade since last 2 weeks or so. I am a consultant and have started working again since a month or so after taking a long sabatical.
same intensity and it spreads to the front part of chest. I feel pain if I breathe my lungs full and also feel pain aroung my heart.
I suspect that I have this pain because of postures and changed life style (using laptops, wrong seats at clients end, travelling, hanging laptop bag on the shoulders). I have this pain in the left side (non dominant). The first week pain was really high! I tried everything massage, pain killer sprays, pain killer tablets, heating therapy, Electro Magnetic massage (bought it from the store) and what not! The pain did not go and one day I woke up without it. Now its back again
I am not sure if this is a medical condition or not, should I just bear the pain, pop in pain killers and focus on exercises once the pain is gone or should I see a doctor (which is a lengthgy process here in Germany).
The pain is really at a high scale and its disturbing the quality of my life. Please do help!!
Highly appreciate your help and initiative!!
Thanks
Bharat
Hi Bharat,
Here is what I suspect based on your description: rib muscles.
There are muscles that wrap around the back, sides and front of your ribs. They are like fingers that wrap from back to front. For some reason (sleeping on side, carrying heavy packages, etc.) they have become tight–in spasm.
You can reach a lot of these muscles yourself by using your opposite (right) hand. Pressure on the muscles (and massage) can help them relax. If you find tender areas on these rib muscles, that means I am correct and they need to be relaxed. It’s okay to press or rub on the tender areas–that’s what helps them relax.
Hold a tender area for about 12 seconds. You may notice that it is feeling less tender at that time. It’s okay to go back to tender areas multiple times.
If you can reach the area immediately below your armpit and shoulder blade pick up as much muscle (not just pinch skin-grab the muscle) and pinch and hold for about 20 seconds or as long as you can. In about 20 minutes, you might notice a lot of relaxation in those muscles. But it may be very tender to do this. That just means the muscles are tight and need attention. You can also ask someone else to do this for you.
Pain killers don’t help cure muscles. A pain reliever like sodium naproxin (if it is available there–that is the generic name for Aleve in the US) may help settle inflammation and make you feel somewhat more comfortable without messing with your mind.
Here are the steps:
1. Relax or release the muscles that are causing your pain. NOT just the places that hurt. Those are symptoms. Treat the muscles that are causing the pain. You can use massage, pressure, cold or ice therapy, heat (if it feels better–on the rib muscles) and stretching and breathing.
2. Strengthening starts after the muscles are relaxed. Strengthening should be to make your muscles long and strong rather than short and tight.
Laptops are not very ergonomic. Perhaps you could add a keyboard to yours so that when you travel you can use the laptop as a monitor and work in a more neutral position? Perhaps you could get a wheeled bag rather than hiking your bag over your shoulder?
Thank you for asking and I hope these ideas help you get rid of the pain below your shoulder blade.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Kathryn,
I am very happy I found your website. My story is similar to so many others on here. Here is my background: I am a 39 year old male that has been dealing with upper back pain for approximately 9 years. The pain specifically runs along my left shoulder blade to the base of my neck. I have some big knots along my left shoulder blade as well. I am right handed. I have had MRI’s that show a C7 disc herniation on the left side and a large posterior C6 disc bulge. I have had PT, Chiro, Epidural injections, trigger point injections, etc. Lastly I had surgery – a C7 Posterior Foraminotomy to relieve the pinched nerve about 1 year ago. The surgery has done nothing to improve my situation. It in fact is probably a little worse. Maybe it wasnt the pinched nerve that is causing this? I unfortunately can’t seem to properly strengthen my back, because it flares up my upper back pain whenever I retract my shoulder blades together. Any kind of rowing motion seems to really aggravate the muscles. I do a upper trap and doorway chest stretch numerous times a day – but I just can’t seem to get better! I also foam roll my upper back regularly. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated, and thanks for your time.
Kevin
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the MRI’s also said I have mild/moderate thoracic scoliosis – but the doctor didn’t seem interested in this finding. I just thought I would add the info. Thanks again.
Hi Kevin,
Thank you for writing. Here are my best long distance thoughts:
I’m thinking a few things: I will bet that you have a forward head. That’s why the rowing and doorway stretches bug you. You probably lead even more with your head when you do those movements. Yes?
I’m thinking the muscles in the front of your arms, chest and neck have become short and tight. That happens due to the way we work, sleep and relax.
It may not have been the pinched nerve that caused your symptoms in the first place. The roles of muscles as causes of pain are widely overlooked in the medical field. And muscles are the most common cause of pain.
It’s important to get your head back over your shoulders (if my assessment was correct.) You can do this by gently strengthening the muscles in the back of your neck. http://SimpleStrengthening.com has articles about this.
If you can find a St. John Neuromuscular or Neurosomatic massage therapist they can help you relax the muscles in the front of your chest and neck to help get your head back, too. There are other good types of corrective massage but just ‘plain old massage’ won’t be much help to you.
Muscles move bones and disks. This means that muscles can move the bones or disks into places where they press on nerves. Relax the appropriate muscles and take pressure off the nerves. Sometimes surgery is absolutely required. But often it is not the best answer for upper back pain.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Kevin, this doesn’t surprise me. The scoliosis curvature can, of course, throw off the structure of your neck. If you can locate one of those therapists I suggested in my last response that would be good. A skilled therapist can help you determine the cause of your scoliosis and manually correct it and do corrective actions.
If you go to http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com and scroll down the list of articles on the right hand side, you will find about three articles about natural scoliosis treatment.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Thanks Kathryn! Do you know of any St. John Neuromuscular/massage facilities in northern New Jersey area? I didn’t find anything on a google search.
Hi Kevin,
Please go to http://StJohn-Clarkptc.com and ask if they have a list of students who have done the training in St John Neuromuscular or Neurosomatic training. They may be the best source or be able to point you to the person who does have the list. There IS a list. Thank you for asking and I hope this helps. Please let me know if you run into a dead end.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hello All,
I came across this thread as I am suffering the pain as mentioned here.
My case started around the end of 2010 with marked halitosis and a sever bout of nausea associated with some abdominal discomfort, and then a change of bowel habit to constipation but with quite pale stools.
I have since had my gall bladder removed, as it showed on ultrasound that I had multiple small gall stones, but was told that it may not cure all my symptoms, and how right they were as I still have this pain that is felt around or very close to my right hand shoulder blade.
During the op they performed an I.O.C so they could visibly see the common bile duct etc, and I was told there were no stones stuck anywhere, however I don’t know if a CT scan that was done earlier would show if there were stones stuck in the liver for instance.
I am extremely worried as to what this pain is being caused by, one thing I would say that if I lie flat or on either side the pain of eases slightly, any ideas as my doctor thinks it could be a muscular/ skeletal issue.
By the way I have Barretts Oesophagus and Diverticular disease, the Barretts I have had for a considerable amount of time.
Any ideas?
Hi James,
Your doctor could be right! Muscles may be involved. They can cause pain or other symptoms either by themselves or at the same time as other problems.
Now, sometimes internal organs and other parts can cause pain on the outside of the body. In those cases, trigger points (really irritable tight areas that cause pain elsewhere) in the organs are causing the symptoms. This is a possibility but on the other hand organs may not be involved at all. There are muscular or massage therapists who specialize in organ massage. http://www.StJohn-Clarkptc.com is a place where this is done. They may have a list of practitioners around the country who have taken the training.
But it’s also possible that your muscles are acting without the organs causing pain. There are muscles in your neck and in the front and back of your shoulder, chest and back that can cause pain in this area. In fact, they do it all the time. There are lots of articles about this at http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com
The easiest thing to do is start releasing muscles on the outside of your body. You can either get a referral to a skilled massage therapist to help with this or learn to do it yourself. A really good book for self-help trigger point and tight muscle release is The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook. You can click on the blue book on the right hand side of this page (just scroll down.)
It’s an excellent book and easy to read and understand and put into action. A live massage therapist will be able to help more quickly but also costs more if money is an issue.
Especially since your doctor has this suspicion this seems like a good starting point.
You will know fairly quickly if massaging or pressing into the muscles makes a difference. This is the route I would take: Check the muscles on the outside of your body first that can cause pain around your shoulder blade.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hey James,
But remember, the muscles that are CAUSING your shoulder blade pain may not be in the area of the pain at all! Massaging the painful area may or may not help. The causing muscles for pain in the shoulder blade area are most often in your neck, chest or back.
Take care,
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hello!
Like SO many others on here, I am happy to find your site and advice and hope you can give me a clue for what to do next.
I am left-handed and experience pain and tightness along nearly the entire length of my spine — on the right.
I am 48, have had 4 children, and have narcolepsy, which means (now that my kids are older) I take stimulants every day. (I also take a good amount of high-quality magnesium, a good balance of Bs, D3, fish oil, and more.)
12 years ago I had surgery for TMJ.
About 6 years ago (after my last pregnancy) when I was regularly doing NIA, I noticed that I was having problems “undoing” spinal twists one one side. (knees to one side, head looking to the other.) It felt like something was “stuck” in the middle of my back. (This still ALWAYS happens.) My right shoulder and the right side of my neck were giving me problems and I saw a massage therapist for a while, but never felt she was getting deep enough. Then about 4 years ago I injured my right shoulder 2 times in 2 months, bad, but nothing torn, no surgery. I did PT and then switched to MFR, using a practitioner that was recomended to me by all other MFR folks I contacted as they felt my case was too difficult. The MFR helped a great deal but the therapist moved out of town. He felt that my problems were posture-related and he worked with me on using my foot arches correctly as well as helping me to open my front and bring my clavicles into proper position. When he started I could not do that, but now I can (although I don’t always remember to). He worked on my neck nearly every visit and it always helped but within a day or two it was back to its normal painfully tight on the right.
Despite his work, for years I have been sitting against a heating pad nearly every chance I get. I am constantly strecthing my neck, and my right shoulder is always at risk for more injuries.
I have been seeing a chiropractor for about a year now. His x-rays show that I have a curve that is not quite medically-diagnosable scoliosis. He has a great deal of difficulty adjusting the middle sections of my back (lower thoractic / upper lumbar) as the muscles kick into protective mode nearly as soon as he touches me. We’ve started doing acupuncture first so that I will be more relaxed. (Both he and my MFR guy both say my hips are even.)
On top of all that, and I feel almost certainly related, 4 months ago I started getgin a lot of upper right abdominal pain that I swear is pancreas or former gallbladder but neither my GP nor my GI think I might know what I’m talking about (even though all tests they’ve run have come back as “normal” so they’ve no clue what is really going on.)
I am certain that part of the answer to relieving my abdominal pain is to figure out how to stop the constant tightness along my right side.
Any advice is appreciated.
Thank you for listening.
Hi Kathryn, thank you for the great site!! I recently went through a terrible bout of stress related to one of my children getting very ill. I also had to sleep in a hospital pull out couch for over 40 nights. After all of this I started getting a pain between my right shoulder blade and spine. I also have a 6 month old which I carry around alot AND I have a desk job where I type often and use a mouse often. The questions I have are:
I feel the pain in my right side when I carry my child with my left arm. Is this normal?
Can stress itself cause these sort muscle issues?
How long could these pains last? It has been almost 2 months and I have even been to physical therapy but still feel the pain. I am wondering if I should get an MRI? I am actually getting an MRI tomorrow for my lower back as I have been having terrible sciatica and lower back pain for the last 2 months as well. I feel like I am falling apart!!!! I am 38 years old.
Since I have had the pain for so long and since I went through my sons cancer I also now fear worse problems and it is now causing me even more stress. I am really just trying to convince myself that this is indeed a musculoskeltal issue to get rid of some of my stress. I feel like self diagnosing myself on the internet has also caused some of this stress but it just takes forever for stuff to happen going to Dr’s. Everything seems to be “do this for 30 days” and while I do that I stress out that its something else.
I did get an x-ray of my shoulder and they said they didnt see anything.
should I think of a chiropractor? acupuncture?
I also feel like I can’t find the right Dr. or physical therapist.
sorry for the rant, I am just hurting and so stressed out….
Warm regards,
John
Dear Leslie,
Reading your comments (including the TMJ surgery) made me think of scoliosis. And scoliosis can have multiple causes. I’m glad to hear you have had some good therapists but I suspect you haven’t had one yet who treats scoliosis. To treat scoliosis, one does not treat the two sides of the back equally; rather one treats or stretches the shortened side 4 times as much. If the sides are treated equally, nothing changes.
There are muscles in your upper right abdomen. They could be part of the problem. If muscles in the front of the body are tight they will pull on muscles in the back. And it could possibly involve the diaphragm muscle. That muscle is below your lungs and ‘cuts’ across your body. It causes mid-back pain and also difficulty breathing when tight. It is also the cause of hiccups!
If you had gallbladder removed you may have scar tissue. Also, it is possible for organs to cause pain in muscles. Certain massage therapists have taken training to treat all of the possible muscular causes of pain. If you cannot find someone locally, the http://StJohn-Clarkptc.com in Florida may be able to help you find a therapist in your area who has taken this training from Paul St. John.
The good news is that your doctors are finding nothing medically wrong. That almost always means muscles are to blame. (And that is not something that is taught in most med schools.)
My best long distance guess is that the muscles in the front of your body and your diaphragm need manual release (massage, pressure, ‘pinching’) and also that there may be curves in your spine that could use treatment. Curves are sometimes caused by distortions in bones but more often by muscles.
You said you wear arch supports (as I understood) so that’s covered. Maybe your hips are level, maybe not. I guess it depends on whether they are measured standing or laying down. And it depends whether there is rotation. What I am asking is: Are your hips really level? Or is a distortion (rotation) causing them to appear level?
When you use the heating pad only on your back, you are trying to relax those muscles but are ignoring the muscles on the front of your body. Try switching the pad to the front and place it on the areas you suspect are causing pain.
I hope this helps you start to get rid of that pain on the right side of your back.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hey John, Thank you for your kind comment.
There are 2 types of stress: mental and physical (or muscle.) The more stress you have the more everything adds up and the more unhappy your body will get!
It sounds like the hospital couch caused you to be sleeping in uncomfortable positions and this caused muscle stress and tension (spasm and knots).
Yes, your pain is normal. It can last until your muscles get happy again. You aren’t falling apart.
You must remember that I am not a doctor. But sometimes the best doctor is a massage therapist. I am not making light of the situation, John. I am stating the truth.
When the doctors find nothing in the tests that almost always means the problem is in the muscles or other soft tissues. The good news is there are some massage therapists who specialize in helping people get rid of muscle pain and stress.
Muscles are the most overlooked cause of physical pain. The first step is to get rid of the knots, trigger points or muscle tension that are causing your symptoms. AFTER that, physical therapy can help you ‘get balanced.’ But so can a skilled massage therapist.
I received two emails this week from readers who said they are feeling better and cannot believe the difference after following some of the common-sense suggestions I give. One involved supporting the natural curve in the waist when seated (driving) with a folded hand towel. The other involved strengthening her back muscles and stretching the muscles in front.
Here is the comment from the woman who wrote:
The shoulders rolls are up and back, up and back. The arm circles are at http://budurl.com/CircleArms and there are articles about using your bed as a resistance strengthening tool at http://SimpleStrengthening.com
When pain is ‘good pain’ that means that the body says, “YES! This is exactly what I need!” So even though there may be discomfort it feels appropriate. The body likes it!
Muscles around the waist/hip bones and also in the buttocks can cause sciatica. It sounds like all of your symptoms are related. So, John, the fastest way to relief naturally is to find a good, educated, skilled massage therapist who will listen to you and look for the causes of your symptoms. Check out the Massage Category here and you will find an article that explains how to find a massage therapist who can truly help you get rid of your symptoms.
Since muscles move bones and disks it makes perfect sense in my mind to see a massage or muscle therapist. Get rid of the muscle tightness and get rid of your pain.
I hope these suggestions will help you get rid of your muscle stress and pain naturally.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
John, here is an article about sciatica and muscles: http://simplepainrelief.com/2012/02/05/buttock-muscles-can-cause-sciatica/
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi Kathryn,
Thank you for your comments. I have been referred to a Community Physiotherapy Service, so time will tell if this will help me or not, my GP has asked them for me to be seen a bit sooner than normal.
As for my GB removal, well I went with that option as I kind of thought that I was going no further unless I had it removed which I have had that operation about 3 weeks ago, but like I say the pain is the same as it was prior to the cholecystectomy.
If this is any help when I sit on my backside on the floor it seems to bring on the pain around the right side area of my back, or if I sit in a certain position it brings it on too.
I don’t know what else can be done if we find out that it ain’t related to anything muscular/skeletal.
Hi James, Do you mean you sit on the floor with your back rounded? On your tailbone? If so, please quit it!
Here are my other thoughts:
Your pain may possibly be caused by your internal organs sending trigger point messages to your back. Organs can do that. Only a few massage therapists do organ massage to eliminate referral pain from organs.
Or, it may be that you have lost the natural curve you used to have in your low back. We are supposed to have a curve behind the waist that swoops forward. You know, like a toddler does. Because of the way you described how you sit on the floor, I’m thinking you may have lost this curve. That causes back muscles to be easily strained.
There are massage therapists who just do massage for relaxation or stress relief (most of them.) That’s good but it’s NOT what will help you.
But there are a few who do massage for relief of pain and dysfunction. That is the type you have to find. If a therapist doesn’t press deeply enough for you to feel “hey, that’s good pain!” then he or she isn’t getting deep enough. I say this because I am sure you will have many areas of muscle tenderness and tightness around your torso.
Remember, muscles are the most commonly overlooked cause of pain and other symptoms. It could be that you just have to find the right therapist.
Here’s an article for you from the Massage Category here: http://simplepainrelief.com/2009/11/22/how-to-find-a-massage-therapist-who-can-relieve-your-pain/
I hope this helps you start quickly getting rid of the pain in your back naturally.
Kathryn Merrow
The Pain Relief Coach
would be great for future readers if you include how long it takes to heal…owww the pain
Hi Michael, Good idea! The answer is it all depends on what actions someone takes. For instance, here’s a message I received this week:
> Here’s a testimonial for you:
>
> I am an occupational therapist and I know better. I have preached for
> years that we need to stretch our chests and strengthen our upper
> backs/posterior shoulder girdles. However, I have been having spasms
> between my shoulder blades and spine (mostly on the right), and I have
> spent what seems like endless hours in hot baths, on the heating pad,
> and lying on tennis balls or pushing as hard as possible against my
> shiatsu
> massage chair. These techniques often relieved the spasms, but only
> temporarily; not to mention that it left me with a bruise-type pain for
> days from pushing so hard. One day, feeling beyond frustrated, I
> started searching the web. That is when I came across your site and had
> that AHA moment (in a “duh” fashion for me). I had been missing the thing
> I preach so much about!! (We healthcare professionals are such bad
> patients). I instantly stood and did the corner stretch and doorway
> stretch, then cut a piece of Theraband and started some scapular
> strengthening exercises (specifically external roataion and horizontal
> abduction). Boy, did I feel it on the right, but I kept going and guess
> what? Within 2 days, I was FINE. Pain-free, spasm-free, and H-A-P-P-Y!
> Thanks for the reminder. We all need to be smacked upside the head from
> time to time. =)
>
> ~Katie F.
Katie knew what to do but she wasn’t doing it for her own pain. (We do that sometimes–it’s different when the therapist is the patient.) But when she started doing the right thing she started getting better.
You have to get to the root cause of the pain. In this case, it’s often because the muscles in the poor back are over-stretched so trying to make them relax and get longer just won’t work!
When I had a similar situation with a knot, I ‘forgot’ just as Katie did but when I remembered and started actually working on the cause instead of my symptoms (the knot) it was feeling better in just a few days.
I hope this helps you start getting rid of your painful knot!
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Kathryn,
This is for my wife. This pain has reached epic proportions. here is the low down:
1. The first week of February 2012 we had to go down to one car so my wife’s driving habits have double. Also on March 10th and 11th she and I took a 10 hour a day motorcycle driving class. A few days later this pain between her right shoulder blade and spine started.
2. She has gone to the Dr and they diagnosed her with the rhomboid mussel just as described in you above article. They have prescribed mussel relaxers and ice pack therapy and pain relievers.
She has done all the Dr has asked but it is not getting better it may really be getting worse. It has been so bad she is not sure but it is continuous.
For the last several days she has tried to just rest everything. She still must drive but that is almost all. She has tried to immobilize hoping that things will calm down. But even when she drives she only used her left hand and keeps it at the bottom of the steering wheel to limit any raised arm situations. The drugs only just take off the edge and the cold therapy seems to do nothing. Now she is really frightened and in still more pain.
We feel like the Dr is just under the assumption that she is just the average patient, she is not. My wife is almost 6′ 4″ tall this puts very different strains on her living in a 5′ 8″ made world.
Please can you give us some kind of direction. She is going to try a chiropractor on Monday. She is desperate and scared. Thank you.
Dear Michael,
Thank you for writing on behalf of your wife. I’m sending you to three other articles here so you two can better understand what causes muscle knots in upper backs.
http://simplepainrelief.com/2009/12/10/what-causes-a-knot-in-your-back/
http://simplepainrelief.com/2011/06/26/what-makes-upper-back-pain-go-away-like-magic/
http://simplepainrelief.com/2008/03/31/another-cause-for-that-knot-in-your-back/
And here is a testimonial email I received last week from an occupational therapist:
> I am an occupational therapist and I know better. I have preached for
> years that we need to stretch our chests and strengthen our upper
> backs/posterior shoulder girdles. However, I have been having spasms
> between my shoulder blades and spine (mostly on the right), and I have
> spent what seems like endless hours in hot baths, on the heating pad,
> and lying on tennis balls or pushing as hard as possible against my
> shiatsu
> massage chair. These techniques often relieved the spasms, but only
> temporarily; not to mention that it left me with a bruise-type pain for
> days from pushing so hard. One day, feeling beyond frustrated, I
> started searching the web. That is when I came across your site and had
> that AHA moment (in a “duh” fashion for me). I had been missing the thing
> I preach so much about!! (We healthcare professionals are such bad
> patients). I instantly stood and did the corner stretch and doorway
> stretch, then cut a piece of Theraband and started some scapular
> strengthening exercises (specifically external roataion and horizontal
> abduction). Boy, did I feel it on the right, but I kept going and guess
> what? Within 2 days, I was FINE. Pain-free, spasm-free, and H-A-P-P-Y!
> Thanks for the reminder. We all need to be smacked upside the head from
> time to time. =)
>
> ~Katie F.
Katie knew what to do but she wasn’t doing it for her own pain. (We do that sometimes–it’s different when the therapist is the patient.) But when she started doing the right thing she started getting better.
You have to get to the root cause of the pain. In this case, it’s often because the muscles in the poor back are over-stretched so trying to make them relax and get longer just won’t work!
When I had a similar situation with a knot, I ‘forgot’ just as Katie did but when I remembered and started actually working on the cause instead of my symptoms (the knot) it was feeling better in just a few days.
You see, you can’t just blast away on the knot–it cannot relax! And, as I said in this article, rhomboid muscles get blamed all the time but are most often not the problem.
Height and posture can make muscles unhappy. But the goal for your wife is to strengthen the muscles in her back and stretch the front muscles. NOT just treat the symptom!
If I had the choice between a skilled massage therapist who understands the reasons we get knots in our backs and a chiropractor, I’d vote for the massage therapy.
Also, if you wife is leaning on her elbow(s) that will aggravate her scalene muscles in her neck which will cause upper back muscle spasms. I learned that first hand!
I hope this helps your wife start getting rid of he painful knot between her shoulder blade and spine.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hello, it is so nice to read information that makes sense. I have been searching for so long, trying to make sense of what could be going on with me. I think I have a much clearer understanding now. I am a 56 yr. old postmenopausal woman. About a year and a half ago is when all my pain started. I woke up from sleeping on my side. (like I always did) I had such excruciating pain. I thought for sure that it was my lung. I went to the E.R. and was given x-rays, blood test and had a bone scan and everything was normal. I still thought that I had lung cancer because of my ribs in my back were hurting also. The pain was on the side of my right back scapula and below my right scapula down to my ribs. Sometimes, when the pain was so bad in my ribs, I would push on a couple of different spot and I could feel a “thud” feeling and the pain would be gone for a short time. I remember while I was getting my bone scan that I couldn’t lift my left arm up over my head. That really scared me. I think all of this has given me alot of anxiety. My doctor says “I can’t raise my arm over my head either. It’s arthritis.” Well, I don’t think it is. A year later and I can now lift my arm all the way up. I am so happy. Now, I will be even happier when the pain goes away from my scapula and ribs. I now have a wonderful chiropractor who said that my ligaments are over stretched. She said that it affects my muscles and bones. My posture is really bad. My shoulders slope forward and my head sticks way out sometimes while watching t.v. I try to remember to keep my shoulders back, head back and suck my stomach in. (when ever I can remember) I do the exercises of squeezing my shoulder blades together. I really don’t feel it as much except when leaning back on that side or especially when I lay on that side. My chiropractor told me not to lay on that side. (forever?) I am looking forward to the day when this pain disappears.
Hi Debbie,
Thank you for writing. I’m so glad you found me and that it makes sense. Bodies are logical. They make sense. We just have to know what the heck they are trying to tell us.
When the tests are normal, that’s a very good thing. It almost always means that the problem is muscles and muscles are treatable naturally.
I’m happy you can stretch overhead now. See what a smart body you have!
Arthritis is probably the most common word that doctors use. Just because something is stiff or hurts that doesn’t mean it’s arthritis. It could be out of balance or tight muscles pulling over that joint.
You have already diagnosed your own problem–your posture. Try these tips:
1. Use a different seat or a pillow behind your back when you watch television to help you sit more upright.
2. Lift your chest.
3. Lift the crown of your head.
4. Keep squeezing your shoulder blades toward your spine. (Can you do that? You used to be able to. It may take a little practice.) That will help you strengthen your back muscles.
5. Press your upper arms into your bed when you lay on your back. It helps the same way.
6. Press your head gently into the bed. First make your head and neck comfortable. Press only the head, not the neck.
7. Turn your head gently from side to side (the ‘no’ movement.) Gently do the ‘yes’ movement.
8. Prop behind your waist when are are seated.
And yes, you may have to stay off that side forever. But you might occasionally be able to lay on that side if you prop it to keep your spine straight. The positions we are ‘most comfortable’ in are often the ones that can cause us grief. Bodies like to be in lots of different positions.
If you can have massage, ask the therapist to release or relax the muscles that are pulling your shoulders forward. They are in the back AND in the front.
You can massage your own upper chest muscles. Press in below your collar bone and explore all the way to your arm and breastbone. They also attach to your upper arm so look for tender places there, too. Any tender areas mean the muscles are tight. You can rub, press or use cold therapy to help them relax.
You have a good goal–to become pain-free naturally.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi Kathryn!
I ran across this when searching for some information on my back pain I’ve been having. I traveled 7 days ago and after the first night of sleeping on a different bed I woke up with back pain under my left shoulder blade closer to my spine. It blew it off and assumed it was from sleeping on a different bed and assumed it would go away soon. It’s now 7 days later and the pain is still there, and starting to become irritating! I’m currently 30 weeks pregnant so I assumed maybe it’s the pregnancy that’s causing the sudden pain, but it made more sense to assume it was from sleeping on a different bed because it didn’t start until after I had slept on a different bed. After reading your article I’ve put a couple things together in my head, that seem to make sense to me but maybe I’m being silly. You talked about the front muscles being pulled causing discomfort in this area of the back. I also read an example you had given about a rope being pulled in both directions. After reading so much through the article and responses you have posted to questions I’m beginning to think this back pain could have to do with my growing belly and the pulling of all my stomach muscles. Do you think that could be causing the back pain I previously explained? Or the bed? Or both mixed together? Thanks in advance!
Hi Caity,
Great question! And I think it’s both things together. Your body is changing and the bed wasn’t right for you.
Try massaging or rubbing the muscles on the outer side of your back below your shoulder blade (under your armpit.) You might find tender areas there and they may be what’s pulling and causing your back pain.
If you can, find someone to ‘pinch’ that area–lift and pinch the muscle not just the skin–and hold it for several seconds. Then in 20 minutes or so you may notice the discomfort is gone.
Keep taking good care of you and baby.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi
I have a pain that occurs in the left side of my back between the shoulder blade and spine that is directly behind where i perceive my heart to be and this goes through to the front of my chest. This also radiates throughout my whole shoulder to the base of my neck. I am right handed.
I have seen a cardiologist who hasn’t yet identified it as a cardiac problem. If I bend my neck forward I can feel a pulling on the area of pain in my back.
I have had many ecg’s and also stress test that have not thrown anything major up.
If I stretch and twist I can feel the pain in my heart area.
I have had this pain after exercise such as swimming or walking or light weights for a while now and am a little worried that I cannot get it identified. Can you help at all?
I should also mention when younger I had a nasty rugby injury when younger where my neck was compressed and my nose touched my chest and I was in a collar for some time.
Hi David,
I’m not a doctor but I can tell you that sometimes people have pain in their chests and they are hooked up to monitors. Many times the monitors show nothing with the heart. Muscles in the back will trigger pain in the chest/heart area.
Rather than tucking your chin down (into the injury position) have you tried the opposite? Lifting your chin to tilt your head back a bit?
Go slowly and thoughtfully. If I were to treat you, based on what you have said about your symptoms and the rugby accident, I would probably start with the muscles on the front side of your neck.
You may be able to find a massage therapist who knows how to work on the longus coli muscles. Those are the same muscles that are shortened in a whiplash injury and you had a doozie!
It sounds like you may have multiple areas contributing to your chest pain. I’m really suspicious that it starts in the muscles of your neck and upper back but at this point, the lower back may also be involved.
I hope this helps you get rid of the pain that feels like a heart problem.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
What you describe sounds a lot like my back pain. But I’ve got a little more on it-
In 1999, my Senior year in highschool, I woke up with a very bad stiff neck one day- and the pain shot down my neck into the muscles between my right shoulder blade and spine. I wasn’t able to turn my head without pain, and this lasted for a few days.
However, my back has NEVER fully recovered. I was in band at the time, and continued band for a couple of years at college. My back gave me the most problems when holding a trumpet for a while- much like you described how it would with “work or play alot with your arm stretched out in front.” This caused overall numbness, annoying feelings, tingling, etc.
For 13 years since then, I have always had my “spot” — it always feels sore, and like it just needs a good massage, or maybe a single solid adjustment by a chiropractor. But no one has ever been able to fix it. The numbness has bothered me now and then for the past decade, but since I put the trumpet down, it hasn’t been something to ruin my day. Dr’s have had me take anti-inflammatory pills, and I have been to two different chiropractors (who both think I’ve got a rib bone out of place- but this all can be tracked back to sleeping weird that one night)
In high school, my weight was right were it should be. As an adult, I have gained a lot of weight, and I am now trying to shed it. The pain in my back is now worse than ever (but probably on the same level as it was 10-13 years ago) because I am working out- doing a lot of cardio- and using the machines with heart rate monitoring, which is right in front of me. So for extended time everyday, I’ve got my arms stretched out in front – something I haven’t really done for 10 years. I’m also cutting/cleaning/juicing a lot of fresh vegetables. So, the pain is distracting, horrible, and I am basically going crazy.
I’m going to try some stretching, and part of my workout routine includes upper back work- but to me, this sounds like it’s got to be some kind of nerve pinching/damage. Wanted to see what your thoughts were- or perhaps what terms and suggestions I should make to a Dr/Chiropractor/Masseuse to get moving in the right direction to rid myself of this pain.
Thanks so much for your article- and all of your responses to your readers!
Hi Jacob,
Thank you for writing and you are welcome. And I appreciate your kind words.
It’s amazing what we can do to injure ourselves in our sleep!
http://www.godvine.com/Man-Barely-Able-to-Stand-on-his-Own-Does-the-Unthinkable-Amazing-1476.html
That’s the link to a little video about a man who healed his back pain with yoga. I just found it yesterday. Very inspirational and I believe it will give you ideas.
Yoga is a whole body movement that makes muscles LONG and STRONG. That’s how muscles LIKE to be rather than short and tight. Yoga helps bodies be balanced rather than some areas tight and some weak.
Nerves can be pinched by bones or by muscles (IF it’s a nerve issue.) The chiropractic did not work. The doctor will prescribe pain meds or maybe physical therapy if you are lucky. Maybe even offer surgery whether needed or not (usually not.) But a skilled massage therapist can help the muscles that are pulling on the bones relax. I generally suggest someone who practices the St. John Method of Neuromuscular Massage Therapy or Neurosomatic Therapy by Paul St. John. These therapies look for the cause of the problem and treat the cause. There are other trainers of NMT but Paul is my hero and I have seen him help all types of muscular problems.
And most pain problems ARE muscular.
What would I do if I were you?
I’d stop working out. I’d start walking. Walking can be aerobic and uses all of the body if done correctly. http://WalkingSmart.com for a free report that I wrote.
I’d start yoga. (There are many types so you may have to try a few different instructors or classes to find your best fit.)
I’d take lots of breaks when prepping the veggies. You don’t have to do them all at once.
Have you been to http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com ? You may find an article there that would help.
If the pain feels burning, that most often indicates over-stretched muscles that are complaining!
I hope this helps get you on the road to a natural cure for your neck and upper back pain.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi again, Jacob.
Also, a skilled massage therapist can help relax the muscles in your neck called the scalenes. There is a good change they are causing not only the pain in your back but also the numbness and uncomfortable sensations that you had in your hands and arms when this first happened.
I’m thinking it’s a posture issue. If I was a betting woman, I’d bet you have a ‘forward head.’ Maybe rounded forward shoulders, too?
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Thanks for all the advice- just to clarify, the numbness has always been isolated to the same sore area in my back, but never arms/hands/fingers. Not sure if that changes anything or not, but I’m going to try and get a massage therapy session, and find some Yoga on TV to try out. My workout routine right now is about 45minutes of cardio, and then about 20 minutes of lifting, alternating arms/legs every other day.
Hi Jacob,
The scalene muscles refer pain and uncomfortable sensations into BOTH hands and backs. The idea is to open your chest, get your head back over your body, and strengthen your back. If you are doing arms, you are possibly also doing pecs and might even be shortening/tightening the muscles in your neck even if you don’t mean to.
Thank you for writing again. It sounds like you are on the right track to getting rid of the numbness in your upper back.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
I recently moved from Maine to Pennsylvania. Shortly after un packing, I developed a pain between my spine and left shoulder blade (not my dominant hand). My left arm tingles all the way to my pointer and middle fingers. It is very painful. I was told to rest and ice it. It has been 5 weeks without any relief. Any suggestions?
Hi Terri,
Pointer, middle finger and thumb? If you have your palm facing forward, is the discomfort on your arm on the palm side and up near your collar bone? If so, there is a muscle behind your collarbone which causes symptoms in your pointer finger, middle finger and thumb.
Also, the front of your shoulder blade is below your collar bone and very close to your shoulder. The muscles in the area may be affecting your hand. The chest muscles that attach from your ribs in front to your shoulder can also be causing symptoms. I would suggest icing that area–chest from collar bone to shoulder to breastbone. That will help those muscles start to relax. You can also massage them or press into them. Tender? That’s a great clue! Tender means tight.
Because of the moving activity I’m leaning more to the muscles in that area than on your back. However, it’s also possible that the muscles in your back or the sides of your neck are causing symptoms.
Here’s a video that may help in case you didn’t find it yet: http://budurl.com/CircleArms.com
Please feel free to write again with more details. I’d love to help you feel better.
I hope this helps you get rid of the tingling in your left arm.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi Kathryn,
Let me try this again, for the past few years I have been suffering with this pain. It is located in my upper back, between to my shoulder blade and spine left side. It is a knot that comes and goes. I have been doing hair since my teenage years. It is the most uncomfortable feeling. The knot sometimes last for days, On occasion I have been able to get the knot to move under the shoulder blade which does sometime give me releif. However this last time after doing hair for two days straight, I am back in the same position and this time it’s even worse . I have been unable to sleep comfortablely and when I do fall asleep I awake to major stiffness. I have went to the ER on a few occasions but the muscle relaxers make me sleepy and irritated. I am miserable during the 5-6 days that this knot is bulging and I feel as if my left shoulder is more elevated than my right during this time. I normally use a heating pad cause I can’t deal with the ice. We are going to have a heat wave staring today over the next 2-3 days so the heating pad may be out of the question. What can I do.
Thank You For You Advice in Advance,
Brenda K
Hi Brenda,
Please go to http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com because there are lots of articles about knots in upper backs there.
I really appreciate how hard it must be for hairdressers. If you hike your shoulder when you work, that will cause the upper shoulder muscles to contract. If you do that, you may want to lower your chair (if you can.)
Try this: Ask someone to pinch your upper trapezius muscles (the top of your shoulder). It will be very tender. That will help the muscle relax. But don’t let them kill you. Only accept as much discomfort as is reasonable.
Try this: Sit down. Ask someone to lean with their forearm on the top of your shoulder. They will be pressing into that same muscle.
Try this: Use a little more padding between you and the cold pack. Ice really is good medicine if you can tolerate it.
Try this: Throw stones or a softball. It moves your shoulder bones and muscles and helps them relax.
Try this: Lift your shoulders as high as you can and hold them there for several seconds. That will fatigue the muscles and help them relax.
Thank you for writing and let me know your success in getting rid of your knots in your shoulders.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi Kathryn,
Today will be my third trip to the chiropractor this week. I was diagnosed with ulner neuropathy several years ago and periodically have issues with numbness in my arms and hands. 6 days ago I woke with a stiff neck and pain in my right shoulder, which radiates down my arm. After the second chiro appt, the pain in my neck was gone, but the pain down my arm has increased. It is an ache with some throbbing and tingling in my ring and pinky fingers. I use a TENS machine at the chiro office and at home and have been icing my shoulder/spine/neck area. My chiropractor said that heat in the morning would be ok to loosen things up. Heat seems to be the only thing that actually helps. Any advise would be great. Thanks so much.
Hi Debbie,
Here are my best long-distance thoughts about your ulnar neuropathy. Please feel free to write again with additional comments or concerns.
If heat makes you feel better both at the moment and long term, use heat. But ice is the best treatment for nerve-induced issues and there are a ton of nerves in your neck. Since ice works well both for nerves and muscles, I recommend cold therapy most often. But if your symptoms feel better for several hours after heat, go with your body wisdom and use it.
Now let’s get specific.
Was your ulnar neuropathy diagnosis made by electromyography? (probably a pretty accurate diagnosis.) Or was it based on symptoms? (may have been incorrect diagnosis.)
According to Travell & Simons, trigger points in the teres minor muscle under the armpit (attaches the shoulder blade to the upper arm bone) can easily be mistaken for an ulnar neuropathy or C8 radiculopathy. The good news about that is the trigger points can be released.
Trigger points (TP’s) are hyperirritable areas of muscle that cause pain elsewhere. So, for instance, a TP in your teres muscle can cause the same type of symptoms in your hands and arms as an entrapment of the ulnar nerve. The infraspinatis muscle is on the back of the shoulder blade (lower 2/3′s of the blade) and is usually involved when teres minor has TP’s.
Do you have an impression that you don’t have much range of motion when lifting your arms overhead or behind your head? Or did your symptoms start with a shoulder injury or accident?
That could indicate teres minor is involved. Hot packs in that area would be helpful as would self-stretching of the teres. You can massage that area by laying on a tennis ball or something similar. Find the most tender places and apply pressure by laying on the ball. A professional massage therapist who knows anatomy would also be able to help you release (relax) those muscles and get rid of the TP’s in them.
If you have “forward head” or rounded forward shoulders, those are clues to which muscles might be involved, too.
Taking pressure off nerves caused by forward head posture will help reduce symptoms. Getting your head and shoulders back into neutral position means strengthening your back muscles and the muscles in the back of your neck.
I hope this gives your some insight into ulnar neuropathy and self-help treatment.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Hi Kathryn. I have had chronic back pain between my right shoulder blade and spine for the past 8 months. It has been getting worse and worse. I am 41 years old, have moderate scoliosis, and I am right handed. When the pain first started, having my boyfriend “crack” my back by hugging me would always cause a temporary fix. Since I assumed the back pain was related to my bones, I went to my chiropractor for an adjustment. Just as with my boyfriend, the chiropractor’s cracking of my back offered only a temporary fix – 15 minutes later I felt like my back needed to be cracked again. I also started to develop pain under my right side rib cage which seems to be directly related to the back pain. Recently, a friend suggested that my problem might be muscular and referred me to her massage therapist for a medical massage. In the past 3 weeks, I went for 3 half hour massages at $50 each. When the massage therapist applies pressure to that area of my back, I experience pain in my front right side lower rib cage to the point where I can hardly breathe. I have decided to not go back for more medical massages because they have not helped at all. I had a physical about a month ago with complete blood work and everything was in normal range. I almost forgot to mention that the pain is the greatest when I am standing doing something like washing dishes or cooking. I am of thin build and exercise regularly. I have decided that I am going to stop using free weights and weight machines for awhile to see if that helps. If you would suggest an area for the massage therapist to concentrate on, I would consider going back to him (although I would not look forward to telling him how to do his job!) He does seem to be very good and knowledgeable. He owns his own business and does quite well. To summarize, I always feel like this area of my back needs to be “cracked” and I am now experiencing pain in my lower right side rib cage when I take a breath.
Hi Andrea,
There are muscles that wrap around your ribs on the outside of the ribs. They can become shortened and tight and it’s possible that those rib muscles (toward the front side of your body) are actually causing your pain in the back. By tractioning you to the side, they may also be a big part of your scoliosis. They are the serratus muscles.
Also, the diaphragm muscle which is inside your body, below your lungs, might have a contraction which is causing your back pain. It can also be released by a massage therapist who knows how to get up under the ribs.
Since the medical massage did not help get rid of your back pain at all, that means the treatment has not been directed to the right area.
Muscles move bones. When a chiropractic adjustment doesn’t ‘hold’ it’s because muscles are pulling on the bones and moving them back to the shortened muscle position. So, logically, it’s the muscles that need treatment.
Here is a link to several articles I wrote about scoliosis:
http://www.simplebackpainrelief.com/?s=scoliosis
Scoliosis always happens for a reason. Sometimes the reason is just something we do habitually like always sleeping on the same side.
You can reach the serratus muscles yourself. Start exploring from your armpit downward. Look for tender areas. When you find them, pay attention and see if they are related to the back pain between your shoulder blade and spine.
I’m really suspicious (long distance) that your back pain is being caused by the muscles on the sides and front of your ribs on the right side.
If you lie on the floor and lift an arm up and over your head, see where the stretch appears. Then do the same motion with your other arm and see where you feel the stretch. That will help you determine which areas need stretching. Most likely it will be your right side needs stretching more. Make it 4 times as much to cause change.
Good idea to stop using the free weights. Concentrate on strengthening your back.
There are lots of articles at that link that will help you get a stronger back side.
And don’t worry about telling the therapist what to do. When people give us feedback and information it helps us do a better job. If he disagrees, then he may not be the therapist for you.
I hope you will be rid of that lousy chronic back pain soon. Keep me informed of your progress.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
Do you ever recommend the use of an RS Stimulator to relieve back pain and spasms? I have researched and found this device works for many to ease the pain of muscle spasms enough so that you do not have to use addictive narcotics. My pain management doctor did not want me to try this, he just wanted to give me drugs. After seeing all the addicts in the waiting room I refused the drugs. I was finally able to convince him to write a prescription for the RS Stimulator or I would find another doctor who would. This device is a godsend to me. Drugs are used only during the absolute worst episodes. When I got the device, the doctor and staff told me to never wear the device into the waiting room again when I went to my appointments as it upset the other patients. This is supposed to be a reputable pain management clinic, but it seems they are more into addicting patients to drugs to keep them coming back. This pain management clinic never offered any options other than drugs. Pain Management Clinics= Addicts needing their fix for drugs pushed upon them.
Hi Betty Sue,
I’m not personally familiar with this device but I’m happy it works for you and I’m sharing your story here. I have talked with more people who use TENS units and have benefit than who have not had benefit.
Unfortunately, what you say is often true: Pain management clinics use medications to dull pain rather than look for the causes of the pain and get rid of those causes. That’s how they learned to manage pain in med school so that’s what they know. I know that not every person’s pain source can be uncovered but lots–LOTS–can.
And every now and then I do hear of a pain management clinic that goes beyond just medicating. Some also do physical therapy or various self-help treatments. Thank you for writing and sharing how you control the muscle spasms in your back.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach
I’ve lost over 11 stone in 6months living on on phd diet whey protein drinks and one to two meals a week and 3 litres of water a day i started to get realy bad pains around my left shoulder blade ivetried heat creams and pain killers but its that bad i’m having to stop training as much .
How do i stop the pain ?
Hi Steve,
How are your bowel habits? I’m wondering whether you may be constipated? Or maybe your gall bladder isn’t happy? Based on only what you told me, this may be something to check with your doctor. IF it’s from working out and you think you may have made an incorrect move, that’s different. In that case please go to http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com to find articles about shoulder blade pain.
Here’s one article: http://www.simplebackpainrelief.com/neck-pain/pain-in-the-left-side-of-your-upper-shoulder-and-neck/
Scroll through the article titles on the right hand and see which others catch your eye.
Thank you for asking about the pain around your left shoulder blade. Also, there is a muscle that is sandwiched between your ribs and shoulder blade. It can cause pain ‘around’ the shoulder blade. If you give me more clues about exactly where your pain is, I might have some more thoughts for you.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach