Usually people have shoulder and shoulder blade pain on the side of their dominant hand–the hand you use all the time.  This is because that arm and hand are in front of you for long periods.  But sometimes it’s on the opposite side of the body.

Sometimes you have to be your own diagnostician and try to figure out what exactly is causing your pain.  (There is always a cause—it is not just “old age.”)   Sometimes it’s something as simple as carrying a heavy purse or bag over your shoulder and hiking your shoulder to “hold” the bag in place without even thinking about it.

Sometimes it’s a sitting position or sleeping position that aggravates your muscles and causes muscle knots.  Do you squash your shoulders when you sleep on your side?  Are you a stomach sleeper?  That can aggravate your back muscles and cause them to develop “knots.”

A forward head & shoulders posture can do it, too.  This posture will over-stretch your back muscles and cause them to complain.  When you see yourself in a photo or catch yourself in a mirror, is your head way out in front of your body like a stork instead of over your body?  This causes a lot of muscle strain in your upper back.

Another cause can be muscles below the pain pulling on your painful area.  Do you feel as though ‘something’ is pulling on you?  All of your muscles are attached.  That means that when one area is tight it pulls on the surrounding areas.

I am almost finished with a digital (electronic) book and program about causes of knots in your upper back and natural cures.  I’ll let you know as soon as that’s ready so you can grab the free report.  Working on it has been very exciting for me because so many people are suffering and there are simple natural ways to get rid of your knots.

In the meantime, here are some links to articles that may help.

http://simplepainrelief.com/2009/12/10/what-causes-a-knot-in-your-back/

http://simplepainrelief.com/2009/11/15/got-back-pain-muscles-cause-pain-in-your-back-heres-how/

http://simplepainrelief.com/2009/07/24/why-do-musicians-and-band-members-get-back-neck-pain/

http://simplepainrelief.com/2009/04/23/chronic-back-pain-and-muscle-strain-is-there-a-simple-pain-relief-answer/

Your body is logical.  It has pain for a reason.  When you understand the reason(s) and what to do, you can get rid of the knots in your back.  Let’s work together on that.

And here’s one more link for you:  http://KnotsInYourBack.com.  You can get a free report there about getting rid of those miserable knots in your back.

People (including professional massage therapists) often massage the rhomboid area trying to release the knot or pain there.  If it doesn’t release (relax) the knot or pain, that means the cause is somewhere else.

Let’s pretend your back pain is a dragon.  Sometimes “surrounding the dragon” will relieve the pain.  The “dragon” is the painful area.  If you pinch, roll, press or massage the latissimus or “lat” muscles on the outer sides of the back, that may help because they may be pulling on the “dragon.”  The dragon cannot relax and go to sleep while those muscles continue to pull on him.

And, there can be other causes for knots and pain between the shoulder blade and spine.

There is a 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 your posture. Also, stretches to open and relax the muscles in the front of your chest and arms will help, too.

And, if you go to http://KnotsInYourBack.com you can claim a free report about how to get rid of the miserable knots in your back.

If the “knot” between your spine and shoulder blade “won’t” go away, blame the scalene muscles.  It can’t go away until the scalene muscles are released (relaxed.)  The knot is a symptom; the scalenes are the cause.

If your carpal tunnel symptoms “won’t” go away with conventional treatment, blame the scalenes.  The symptoms can go away when the cause (the scalenes) are released.

Nerves run from your neck bones to your upper body and arms.  If those nerves get compressed, or pressed on, by the scalene muscles they can cause uncomfortable sensations in the areas that the nerves serve (enervate.)

If your doctor thinks your pain is “all in your head,” boy, is he or she ever wrong!  It’s all in your neck!

Most doctors are not muscle therapists or specialists.  That’s why the scalenes are rarely suspected as a cause of knots in backs, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and carpal tunnel symptoms.

If you go to Carpal Tunnel Radio you can find an episode called “Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – Is It All In Your Head? Or In Your Neck?”  It’s only 15 minutes and you will discover what you can do about your scalenes.

Pain happens for reasons.  When you understand WHY you hurt and discover WHAT to do about it, you are on your way to becoming pain-free and getting rid of your knots and carpal tunnel syndrome forever!

And if you go to http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com you will find more information (and a free report) about how to get rid of the muscle knots in your back.

Last time we talked about muscles in your torso that could cause this pain. Today we will talk about another cause, which is almost always overlooked.

The muscles that can cause that “knot” in your back are on the side of your neck. There is a set of muscles on each side of your neck called the scalenes.

When the scalene muscles get tight, or aggravated, they develop “trigger points.” If you have a therapeutic massage to work out your knotty back problem, and it doesn’t help, then the problem isn’t in your back. (I am assuming here that your therapist worked ALL of your back and rib muscles, not just the knot.)

The problem is in your scalenes.

Trigger points in your scalene muscles are “firing” or causing pain in your upper back. If you get a well-trained massage therapist to work on your neck muscles and release the trigger points, your back pain will go away.

If you suspect this may be what is causing that knot in your upper back, you can try to release the scalenes yourself.

Press gently into the side of your neck. Using the pads of your fingertips, explore the muscles that run on the side of your spine, or neck bones.

If you feel hard, knobby things, those are probably the edges of your vertebrae, or neck bones. If you feel a pulse, move off it.

Thoughtfully and carefully explore the length of your neck from your jaw to your collarbone. If you run into a very tender area, gently hold pressure there for about 12 seconds. If it doesn’t “release” or become less painful, move on. You can come back to that tender area a few more times, after letting it rest for a few minutes, to see if it will release.

If an area refers pain into your “knot” on your back, you have found the trigger point that is causing your pain! Apply gentle pressure with your finger pads for about 12 seconds and see if it lessens. You can repeat as needed.

As you explore the muscles on the sides of your neck, you may be surprised by all of the sensations you feel.

Many of our upper body muscles refer, or cause sensations, in our head, back and arms. You may even notice sensations in your carpal tunnel area.

Don’t be afraid to explore. It’s your body.

You can find more information at Simple Back Pain Relief.com.  And I’d also like to invite you to pick up your free copy of “Five Steps To Get Rid Of Those Miserable Knots In Your Back.“  Just go to Knots In Your Back.  (<– click here.)

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!