Most people, when they experience back pain between the shoulder blades, associate its occurrence with various disorders of the spine, nerve roots, ligaments, intervertebral discs or the discs themselves. But it should be remembered that such painful sensations can also be associated with other diseases of Organs thoracic organs - stomach, heart, respiratory system and mediastinal organs.
This pain can be acute, which grows rapidly and passes quickly or increases significantly over time, or chronic, which worries the patient for a long time and requires an accurate diagnosis, as it can be a symptom of a serious pathology of any chest organs. Sometimes, pain between the shoulder blades can only occur after sudden physical exertion or after a long stay in a certain uncomfortable position.
It must be remembered that pain in the interscapular region is not a disease, but a symptom, and before using any ointment for back pain or injections, the real cause of its appearance must be established. When contacting a doctor, it is very important to describe all the minor concomitant symptoms that accompany the pain, the time of its occurrence, provoking factors for its intensification, as the doctor needs help in determining the direction of the examination and sometimes it is very difficult to establish the correct diagnosis without accurate data on the nature of pain.
Often, untimely identification of the real cause of pain between the shoulder blades forces a person to undergo many expensive and time-consuming examinations, use various treatment options, which are sometimes prescribed inappropriately and therefore do not bring the desired result. . Therefore, it is very important that the patient himself knows the possible list of diseases, characterized by this painful syndrome.
Pain caused by pathologies of the spine
We are not going to dwell on obvious causes like bruises, injuries, dislocations and fractures of the vertebrae, but consider other possible causes of such back pain.
intervertebral hernia
You should know that a vertebral hernia in the thoracic spine is a very rare occurrence as this spine does not carry as much of a load as the cervical and lumbar regions. To diagnose or exclude this pathology, the neurologist, the osteopath refers the patient for magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography. Changes in intervertebral hernia are due to the fact that the annulus fibrosus - the outer part of the tear intervertebral disc begins to protrude, while the distance between the vertebrae decreases and the nerve roots are compressed. That is, the annulus fibrosus splits, the nucleus pulposus (damper in the center of the disc) begins to protrude into it.
When such a hernia is found, doctors prescribe NSAIDs (anti-inflammatory drugs), physical therapy, physical therapy, reflexology, and in severe cases, surgery is indicated. The difference between this pain in an intervertebral hernia of the thoracic spine from other pathologies is its location in only one location, and the pain can also radiate to the chest, which can resemble symptoms of impaired lung or heart function. With the lack of long-term treatment of an intervertebral hernia, curvature of the spine, paraparesis of the lower extremities, disturbance of pelvic organ functions and chronic pain syndrome can occur.
Overstrain in combination with hypothermia of the back muscles
Overloading the back muscles can also cause pain in the shoulder blades, this is not considered a disease, but with frequent excessive loads, heavy lifting, prolonged sitting in a monotonous position, increases the risk of developing osteochondrosis, scoliosis, intervertebral hernia. Often people whose work forces them to stay in the same position for several hours a day suffer from these pains - these are seamstresses, drivers, office workers, surgeons.
Sometimes, when such a profession is combined with an air conditioner, hypothermia, the so-called back pain, can occur, when the pain becomes more intense and requires the appointment of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), the use of heating, ointments distraction, massage, etc.
To avoid such complications, you should try to avoid drafts, lead a more active lifestyle, do yoga, Bodyflex, therapeutic exercises, take a professional massage course every six months.
spine tuberculosis
Today, many doctors seem to "forget" about this disease, and anti-tuberculosis services in the country for some reason are in decline and, in fact, almost 90% of the population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis since childhood. If a person is injured, especially in the back, or a joint, or simply becomes very cold, with a very weakened immune system, a tuberculous focus usually occurs at the site of injury, which even on X-rays for specific signs is not always possible. recognize in time.
Often, in such cases, the diagnosis is established only when the person is already exhausted from excruciating pain and has various complications. With this disease, a person can be disturbed by a very strong and burning pain between the shoulder blades, patients describe it as twisting or puncturing at a point in the spine and also when the focus is located in the thoracic spine, the pain radiates to the chest, in which there is a burning sensation, heat, pain.
Tuberculosis of the spine is a very insidious disease, and when it occurs in the spine, the patient does not always have foci in the lungs, and it can be an independent focus of tuberculosis infection in any part of the spine. People are used to the idea that tuberculosis is a disease that affects only lower social strata of the population and is, as a rule, located only in the lungs. This is a big mistake!
When the body's defenses are weakened, Koch's bacillus, which is in almost everyone's body, is activated in Organs most weakened organs and begins a slow inflammatory process, it can be like the kidneys, lymph nodes, female fallopian tubes, prostate or testes in men, as well as individual vertebrae in the spine or joints in the limbs.
Scoliosis
According to statistics, almost 50% of the population has various degrees of development of scoliosis - curvature, twisting of the spine, and most often it is the thoracic spine in combination with the cervical or lumbar regions. And since the ribs are connected to the thoracic regions, the shape of the thorax also changes. There are many reasons for its development - they are congenital pathologies of ligaments, bones and acquired - intense physical overload, sedentary office work or schoolchildren sitting at a desk.
With lateral and direct chest x-rays, a surgeon, neurologist, orthopedist, or osteopath can make a similar diagnosis. Therapy of such a pathology should be very intensive and long - this is a massage, wearing a special corset, therapeutic exercises. In scoliosis, back pain between the shoulder blades is the main symptom, and the following symptoms are also inherent in it:
- At an early stage, the visual curvature may be subtle, but as scoliosis progresses when examining the patient from behind, the curvature becomes noticeable.
- With scoliosis, there is increased fatigue of the back muscles
- The position of shoulders and arms may be at different heights
- Pain that bothers the patient in the chest is most often located on one side
- Between the shoulder blades, the pain can be periodic due to overexertion or a long standing or sitting position, and it can also be constant.
osteochondrosis
Since the primary stages of osteochondrosis are found even today in ten-year-old children, this pathology can rightly be called the scourge of a modern city dweller. More recently, this disease was considered a disease of the elderly, but modern life, an incorrect sedentary lifestyle, leads to the early development of dystrophic changes in the joints and spine. The cause of back pain is promoted by the inflammatory process that develops in the surrounding tissues around the damaged vertebrae, as well as due to pinched nerve roots. The following symptoms are characteristic of osteochondrosis:
- Constant, painful back pain, made worse by sneezing, coughing, a sudden change in body position, during physical exertion
- When straightening your shoulders, you can hear a snap between your shoulder blades
- Chest pain can be described as "the gamble paid off"
- Reduced mobility of the ribs leads to difficulty in breathing, and the person, as it were, begins to breathe in the stomach
- Hand movement is limited, weakness, tingling or numbness in the hands is felt.
intercostal neuralgia
Intercostal neuralgia usually bothers a person with pain on one side of the chest, but in rare cases it can also be in the shoulder blade area. This occurs in situations where compression of nerve roots in the thoracic region occurs during excessive stress, hypothermia, trauma, infectious diseases, or osteochondrosis of the thoracic region.
With intercostal neuralgia, the symptoms, pain increases with pressure on the chest, with coughing and can disturb the patient day and night. As pain in osteochondrosis, scoliosis and intercostal neuralgia is very difficult to differentiate, to clarify the diagnosis one should contact qualified orthopedists, neurologists, osteopaths and surgeons.
spondylarthrosis
This disease is very similar to osteochondrosis, according to the nature of the pain, according to the factors that increase it during exercise, change in body position. It is also chronic, with periods of exacerbations and remissions. It is possible to distinguish spondylarthrosis from osteochondrosis only with the help of X-ray, MRI or CT scan. With this disease, cartilage is destroyed and replaced by bone tissue, so bony bumps can be found on the vertebrae.
Myositis of the back muscles
After any hypothermia, SARS, flu, muscle strain, back injury, inflammation in muscle tissue - myositis can occur. Like any disease, it can be acute or chronic. The pain in this case can be in any part of the spine, they are painful by nature and also increase with palpation, movement, physical exertion. This is not a dangerous condition, and using warming and pain-relieving ointments for back pain often helps.
Internal organ diseases
As we have already said, shoulder blade pain in the back is not always a sign of diseases of the spine, almost all diseases of Organs mediastinal organs, heart, stomach, pancreas and gallbladder can contribute to the onset of back pain . In our time of oncological tension, when cancer does not spare children or adults, the development of tumors of mediastinal organs, stomach and lungs can also be manifested by pain in the shoulder blades.
Cardiovascular system diseases
Ischemic heart disease, myocardial infarction, angina are diseases that can also be the cause of this pain. with angina. for example, the pain never lasts longer than 5 minutes, and with nitroglycerin it usually goes away immediately. However, in an acute attack, if the severe pain lasts for more than 5 minutes, blood pressure drops, cold sweat appears, pale skin, you should immediately call an ambulance.
Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract
Stomach ulcer, pancreatitis, cholecystitis are three diseases that can also be responsible for the occurrence of pain in the thoracic region both in the front and in the back. Also, the development of oncological diseases of the stomach, pancreas can cause such sensations.
Respiratory system diseases
If the patient, in addition to back pain, is worried about coughing, increased body temperature, even if mild, the cause may be lung pathologies. Usually, diseases such as pneumonia or pleurisy are preceded by hypothermia, acute respiratory viral infections, influenza. Recently, cases of development of atypical forms of pneumonia have become more frequent, when pneumonia is caused by pathogens such as mycoplasma or chlamydia, they are not accompanied by a very high temperature, but can occur against the background of subfebrile condition and return to pain may appear on the right, on the left, on inspiration, especially aggravated by deep inspiration. The main criterion for distinguishing lung pathology from other causes is the presence of temperature, not even high, and cough.
other diseases
- Osteoporosis with fractures of the vertebral bodies, say, against the background of prolonged use of steroid hormones or a drop in estrogen in postmenopausal women.
- Metastasis to the vertebrae from stomach cancer, for example, can also cause pain.
- Spontaneous fractures with irrational loads.
- Ankylosing spondylitis (Bechterew's disease) is a systemic disease. Affecting more often than men, in which, against the background of inflammation, the vertebrae are affected and ossification of the ligaments occurs. As a result, the spine becomes inflexible and is radiologically described as a bamboo pole.