Category: shoulder blade spasm

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Six Reasons for Painful Muscles between Your Spine and Shoulder Blade

Miserable Upper Back Pain
Without even seeing his face, you can tell this man has pain!  Does it look familiar?
Arrrgh!  Do you hate having that upper back pain?  Those muscle spasms between your spine and shoulder?  Those miserable knots in your back?

I hated having them, too.  But that was a very long time ago.

I got rid of the knots in my back naturally and you can, too.  🙂

So many people just don’t understand how bodies work and why we get into pain! It’s something they don’t teach us in school.

But there are perfectly logical reasons you have that pain in the rhomboid area.  (Poor rhomboids–they get blamed all the time and it’s just not their fault!)

If you’ve got “knots in your back,” or if you know someone who does, I wrote this post for you! Or them! ?

So here we go:

Sometimes muscles complain.  When you get “knots” or muscle spasms in your upper back, that’s one of the ways your body says, “Hey, pay attention!  I’m not happy!”

Knots in your back muscles are symptoms that there’s an issue somewhere—a cause.  The knot aren’t the problem.

They are the result of ‘something.’

There are common causes of one-sided pain between your shoulder blade and spine and we’re going to talk about them right here.  When you discover those causes, you’ll be on the road to get rid of your painful knots.

So, what causes one or more muscle knots in your back?

1.  Thyroid.  Thyroid or other immune system dysfunctions can cause a tendency to have muscle spasms (knots.)  I’m not a doctor and you may need to work with your doctor if you have this diagnosis but natural therapies can still help you, too.

2.  Posture. If you have a “forward head” posture or rounded shoulders the muscles in your upper back get stretched and strained and complain.  They get into spasms or “knots.”  Slouching or even straining to see the computer screen can be a cause.

3.  Weak back muscles. If your back muscles are weak, the stronger, shorter muscles in the front of your body will pull you forward.  This can be a cause or a result of poor posture.  It strains your back muscles and causes muscle knots in your back muscles.

4.  Holding an area of your back in contraction (shortened) for a long time.  Perhaps you work with your elbow behind the midline of the side of your body?  Muscle contractions that continue for a long period of time make your muscles think they are supposed to be in that position all the time.  You get lopsided. Perhaps you lean on the armrest of your chair, couch or in your car?  Or, always cross the same leg over the other leg?

5.  Tilting or rotating. This can happen due to habit if you always stand or sit in the same off-balance position.  It can be caused by such things as stretching to keep your hand on a mouse or leaning to one side a lot.  Scoliosis (curvature of the spine) can also cause tilts and rotations.  Scoliosis can sometimes be corrected naturally, by the way.

6.  Mineral deficiencies.  Muscles really need to have certain minerals in order to function their best.  Magnesium, potassium and calcium are big players in muscle health.

Minerals help prevent miserable muscle spasms.

Now you know the most likely possible causes of those nasty knots in your upper back naturally.  If you get rid of the causes, you’ll be rid of the muscle knots.  

If you’d like, I can help you do that. 🙂

If it’s okay with you, I’d like to invite you to discover an online course I designed just for you!  https://www.KnotsInYourBack.com

Knots In Your Back has all of the information you need to get rid of the gnawing pain between your shoulder blades and spine from a trusted, reliable source (me!) in just one place.  You won’t have to search the Internet trying to figure out what’s actually helpful and true and what’s not.

I’ve done all the research for you and have over thirty years of experience helping people get out of physical pain.

Upper back muscle spasms?  I’ve helped lots of clients get rid of them and I’ve gotten rid of my own miserable knots in my upper back, too!

Check it out and see if it sounds interesting to you.

And thank you for reading!   https://www.KnotsInYourBack.com

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Does Mousing Causes Pain Behind Your Shoulder?

Your computer mouse can cause pain around your shoulder blade and below your armpit.  Here are a few things to do that will help you prevent that.

1.  Stretch your arm up and slightly backward.

2.  Squeeze your shoulder blades toward your spine.  Or try to touch your elbows together behind your back.  You probably can’t really do that but it gets your muscles moving in the right direction.

3.  Place your mouse in Continue reading “Does Mousing Causes Pain Behind Your Shoulder?”

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What Causes Muscle Knots In Your Upper Back

A “knot” is a contraction (shortening) or spasm in a muscle. It is a place where a muscle has become ‘tight’ for one reason or another. Overwork is the most common cause.

That doesn’t mean that YOU are working too much–it means that some of your muscles are.

When you were a child you used all of your muscles all of the time. You have over 600 muscles! But then you grew up. Most of us adults use fewer than 100 muscles on a daily basis.

That’s how we get into pain. We get out of balance.

Some of your muscles are Continue reading “What Causes Muscle Knots In Your Upper Back”

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Upper Back Pain Causes and Natural Relief

What’s the most common cause of upper back pain?  Muscles!

Upper back muscles get strained from being stretched and overused.  Then they get cranky and start complaining.

You might feel the complaint as muscle strain, a headache or neck ache, a muscle spasm near your shoulder blade or “knots” in your upper back.

But guess what?

You CAN get rid of upper back pain.  🙂  I have seen it happen over and over.

Once you understand WHY you have Continue reading “Upper Back Pain Causes and Natural Relief”

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More About Those Painful Knots In Your Back And Shoulders

Readers ask a lot of questions about  knots in their backs.  I’m going to give you several links to articles that I wrote which will give you a lot of insight into the causes of pain in the shoulder and upper back.

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 Continue reading “More About Those Painful Knots In Your Back And Shoulders”

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What Causes A Knot In Your Back?

There are muscles in your back between the shoulder blade and spine called rhomboids.  There is one on each side.  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!

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 Continue reading “What Causes A Knot In Your Back?”

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Pain on Lower Half of Shoulder Blade Can be Relieved

Shoulder pain can occur in a variety of places around the shoulder and almost always muscles are at the root of the problem.

Unhappy muscles cause most pain.  Our goal is to keep our muscles happy.

The following request for help is very specific about the location of the pain: the bottom half of the shoulder blade and the outer side of the shoulder blade near the armpit.  Using a movement with the arm in front of the body makes it worse.

Here is the email:

“I really need your help for my shoulder problems from which I am suffering from past many years.

I am getting pain on my right shoulder, on the lower half of the scapula muscle(Teres minor and major area) of my shoulder. The pain exists at approximate all the time but increases if I repeatedly do an activity (A simple activity like holding a book will aggravate the pain). I can always feel their is a difference between my right shoulder and left shoulder because of the pain.

I have shown to many doctors and had done many tests but they could not come out with any conclusive results. Their advice was just to strengthen my shoulder muscles and to do some physical activity.

Whats the best way to strengthen my shoulder. Will joining gym will be a good option or doing Aerobics .

Please suggest if something better can be done.

Thanks,”

Here is my response:

Based on the information Continue reading “Pain on Lower Half of Shoulder Blade Can be Relieved”

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The Muscle That Causes Carpal Tunnel & Knots in Your Back

There is a set of muscles on each side of your neck that can cause pain in your upper back, arm, wrist and hand.  Those muscles are called the scalenes.

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 Continue reading “The Muscle That Causes Carpal Tunnel & Knots in Your Back”

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Another Cause For That “Knot” Or Muscle Spasm In Your Back

Does your upper back pain feel like a “knot” or muscle spasm between your shoulder blade and spine?

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 miserable “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.

First, you’ll notice and feel a thick set of muscles on either side that run from the notch in your collar bone to behind your ear.  Those are the sternocleidomastoid muscles (SCM).  The scalenes are tucked behind the SCM’s.

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 Continue reading “Another Cause For That “Knot” Or Muscle Spasm In Your Back”

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Back Pain – Spasm Between Shoulder Blade and Spine

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 or strained. 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 a lot 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 gently 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 could be 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.  That only works sometimes, in some situations.

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.

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!

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