I had fairly bad pain next to my shoulder blade and visited a chiropractor for a while with no real relief. It lasted ten years. I tried various stretches, massages, electro-stimulation, etc with no success. I had recently done stretches in bed, that I will attempt to describe here, that caused something to pop about three or four times way down in the exact area (the bottom of my should blade between the blade and my spine) that has been hurting all this time. The pop happened about 4 days ago and I have felt incredible since. I will try to describe the stretch here as best I can in hopes that it helps other people. My pain was on the right side, so adjust accordingly if on your left. I am not a Doc or therapist so I have no guarantees this will work or help...
Lay on your right side
Using your left hand, pull your right knee up to your chest as high as you can and in to your chest tightly
Try to relax everything in your body except for your left arm which is doing the work
Now, while holding this position, rotate your left shoulder blade back as far as you can
Hope this helps. I suffered for years and hope the pain is gone for good. I have continued to do the stretches without the same deep "popping". Good luck.
Lay on your right side
Using your left hand, pull your right knee up to your chest as high as you can and in to your chest tightly
Try to relax everything in your body except for your left arm which is doing the work
Now, while holding this position, rotate your left shoulder blade back as far as you can
Hope this helps. I suffered for years and hope the pain is gone for good. I have continued to do the stretches without the same deep "popping". Good luck.
I have had the sharp back pain underneath the shoulder blade for a week now. Stabbing pain that is activated when I breath or bend over. Cannot sleep on my back, as the pain wakes me up after only 30 minutes. I am hoping that it is some kind of strange nerve pinch, but I have no idea. I have had to sleep in a reclining chair for last week, which seems to not aggravate the nerves in my back. Thoughts? I have not tried muscle relaxers, but have tried massage therapy, vicotin, hot/cold treatments, none of which is helpful. Thanks.
I have the same exact problem! Has anyone here found out the cause of the pain?? I am thinking about getting an MRI. I am only
27 years old and live a healthy lifestyle besides being a little overweight. Someone please help.
27 years old and live a healthy lifestyle besides being a little overweight. Someone please help.
You could get an MRI but I think it might be simpler to get an x-ray because I think that would help you best. What do you think? AN MRI would be VERY expensive!
I'd just like to point out that an x-ray would be of very little benefit unless you were suffering pain as a result of trauma and were looking to confirm a bony injury. A CT scan would be highly inappropriate unless significant bony injury is suspected - in which case you would be in hospital....
An MRI would be a way to view the various soft tissues, but again unless there is significant reason to believe there has been nerve / ligament damage then it is hardly the most appropriate route.
I suggest that for those that have had this pain arise spontaneously that you see your doctors and get some advice, there are other conditions that could manifest with similar symptoms. For those that have lifted / moved awkwardly, then try some gentle rehab / physio exercises and common sense - give your bodies time to heal before launching back into heavy exercise.
An MRI would be a way to view the various soft tissues, but again unless there is significant reason to believe there has been nerve / ligament damage then it is hardly the most appropriate route.
I suggest that for those that have had this pain arise spontaneously that you see your doctors and get some advice, there are other conditions that could manifest with similar symptoms. For those that have lifted / moved awkwardly, then try some gentle rehab / physio exercises and common sense - give your bodies time to heal before launching back into heavy exercise.
You know, it may have to do something with sleeping on the left side.I woke up with the pain under left shoulder blade and have noticed that if I move my head to the left and my chin towards the shoulder it triggers more pain. However, I have this pain for 3 days but yesterday it was much better almost no pain.So, I thought maybe I slept on the right side that day. I will try to sleep on the right tonight.
I am yet another sufferer and would like to put forward my opinion if I may.
I believe it is the result of incremental stresses brought about by compensatory tension due to shoulder weakness. I was a boxer for quite a few years and experienced trauma in my left shoulder that left it weak. Now, I bet nearly all of us have one thing in common: we do not like the thought of people when they crack their knuckles by PULLING the finger, as opposed to bending it i.e. they pull directly away from the knuckle outwards. I think we all squirm at the thought that they might one day pull their finger clean off.
Given such a feeling, I think that the subconscious takes over and we start to tighten everything up if we have a body part at risk of the same sort of injury – and the arm is essentially a big finger I suppose.
So, I started to concentrate on how I would hold my left arm, and I noticed that my shoulders were slightly tenses when I was stood upright. Experiment for yourself when you’re out shopping – try and catch yourself out, and consciously decide to relax your shoulders – mine move an inch or two down when I consciously make the effort to relax them.
Now having establishes that I was doing this, I decided to see if I could remedy it somehow. The way I have found can be difficult to perform, but it seems to sort me out for a good long while.
For those of us with the LEFT shoulder blade problem, find something sturdy you will be able to hold onto, which won’t budge (desks, tables, wardrobes, person etc). But it does need to be something you can almost lock your hand/forearm into, because you will see why in a minute.
What you are trying to achieve is to have a COMPLETELY relaxed upper arm and shoulder whilst pulling the arm in the horrible direction mentioned before: outwards. Obviously, the key is to do this gently. You may find it difficult to get the pose, the angle and particularly the relaxation right (you will find so many of your muscles screaming to keep your arm in place – and it is these we are trying to stretch, warm, loosen etc) – but keep experimenting.
What seems to happen is that your subconscious tension subsides, and the pain dissipates. I can imagine that only regular treatment of this kind will get rid of the problem, but I hope it helps.
Again, experiment with angles of pull, head position, objects you’re holding onto, and make sure you do it with sustained, strong pulling, as opposed to jerky pulling. I would also recommend good rotator cuff exercises (speak to a personal trainer) to slowly strengthen your shoulders – and I would suggest using weights heavier than you’re used to, but with less reps.
All the best,
Owen
I believe it is the result of incremental stresses brought about by compensatory tension due to shoulder weakness. I was a boxer for quite a few years and experienced trauma in my left shoulder that left it weak. Now, I bet nearly all of us have one thing in common: we do not like the thought of people when they crack their knuckles by PULLING the finger, as opposed to bending it i.e. they pull directly away from the knuckle outwards. I think we all squirm at the thought that they might one day pull their finger clean off.
Given such a feeling, I think that the subconscious takes over and we start to tighten everything up if we have a body part at risk of the same sort of injury – and the arm is essentially a big finger I suppose.
So, I started to concentrate on how I would hold my left arm, and I noticed that my shoulders were slightly tenses when I was stood upright. Experiment for yourself when you’re out shopping – try and catch yourself out, and consciously decide to relax your shoulders – mine move an inch or two down when I consciously make the effort to relax them.
Now having establishes that I was doing this, I decided to see if I could remedy it somehow. The way I have found can be difficult to perform, but it seems to sort me out for a good long while.
For those of us with the LEFT shoulder blade problem, find something sturdy you will be able to hold onto, which won’t budge (desks, tables, wardrobes, person etc). But it does need to be something you can almost lock your hand/forearm into, because you will see why in a minute.
What you are trying to achieve is to have a COMPLETELY relaxed upper arm and shoulder whilst pulling the arm in the horrible direction mentioned before: outwards. Obviously, the key is to do this gently. You may find it difficult to get the pose, the angle and particularly the relaxation right (you will find so many of your muscles screaming to keep your arm in place – and it is these we are trying to stretch, warm, loosen etc) – but keep experimenting.
What seems to happen is that your subconscious tension subsides, and the pain dissipates. I can imagine that only regular treatment of this kind will get rid of the problem, but I hope it helps.
Again, experiment with angles of pull, head position, objects you’re holding onto, and make sure you do it with sustained, strong pulling, as opposed to jerky pulling. I would also recommend good rotator cuff exercises (speak to a personal trainer) to slowly strengthen your shoulders – and I would suggest using weights heavier than you’re used to, but with less reps.
All the best,
Owen
HI Owen, I think that your guess is pretty good as to what the issue is. I don't knokw how many other people have read this but it is pretty helpful. Does anyone else have an opinion on it? Thanks!
Just curious, has anyone one had this problem after being ill with flu or other respitory illness? I have same problem, but the only thing I can think of is maybe brought on by inflamation of some sort. Mine just started 2 days ago and I just got over being sick for about 3 weeks. First it was flu like, got better and then 5 days later got sinus infection and cold etc. Finally getting over that c**p and now this.
Has anyone come across this article?
I woke up this morning with a sharp pain under my left shoulder blade and an ulcer feeling stomach pain.
"Pains that occur under the shoulder blade may signal a warning that the pain is not in the shoulder itself, but can be related to a pain from one of the organs in the body. The shoulder where the pain occurs can give the clue which of the organs are affected and causing the radiating pain into the shoulder. Pain under the left shoulder blade can be a signal that there is a problem with the stomach or other abdominal structures (ulcers, pancreatitis, ectopic pregnancy)"
I woke up this morning with a sharp pain under my left shoulder blade and an ulcer feeling stomach pain.
"Pains that occur under the shoulder blade may signal a warning that the pain is not in the shoulder itself, but can be related to a pain from one of the organs in the body. The shoulder where the pain occurs can give the clue which of the organs are affected and causing the radiating pain into the shoulder. Pain under the left shoulder blade can be a signal that there is a problem with the stomach or other abdominal structures (ulcers, pancreatitis, ectopic pregnancy)"
Hello everyone. Reading all of your symptoms was quite depressing as I too awoke with pain in my left shoulder blade which progressively got worse. The pain is excruciating. In my opinion, one of you got it right with it most likely being a pinched nerve. Mine was the nerve in the neck, the same side as the shoulder blade pain (which in my case was in the centre hollow of the shoulder blade barely reachable with either arm). Try taking your hand, the same side as the pain, and placing it behind your neck. Reach down as low as you can and begin to massage your own neck. In my case, the thumb eventually found the spot (hello the pain). Stretch your neck in the opposite direction because remember, if my theory is correct and it is a pinched nerve, you are trying to untangle a web of mess most likely caused by a combination of stress and one tiny, inconspicuous, unfortunate gesture - anything from sleeping on the wrong pillow to holding something the wrong way. Oh and BTW, I also think the lack of stretching might be the cause for all you fitness fanatics. Hope this helps. And if it does, I hope you get the message out to everyone - esp the people who have been suffering for years because there is enough pain to deal with without our own carelessness. Kind regards, Zoov. ;-)
Hello All,
Further to my email above, I would like to add that I have found a way that, for me, helps get rid of the pain that is the subject of this thread.
Obviously, it may not work for any of you, but I suspect it will – even though I’m sure the source of each of our pains may well differ.
Anyway, I lie on my back on the bed or floor and lift my head up and look towards my toes. Naturally, I work my abs doing this. You can work your abs still further by bringing your head up further or bringing your feet 6 inches off the floor/bed. Now I count up to, say, thirty or something or until my abs are really starting to get tired. I repeat this a few times. Pretty much instantly the pain in my back has gone, and stays away for hours. The harder you work your abs in this way (for me) the longer my pains stay away.
You may find that your whole body shakes as you work your abs – this is a very good sign. Keep going until you can’t hold it any longer (but let’s not strain ourselves people!) You know your own body so play around with this method within your own parameters.
Please have a go and report back.
Best wishes,
Owen
Further to my email above, I would like to add that I have found a way that, for me, helps get rid of the pain that is the subject of this thread.
Obviously, it may not work for any of you, but I suspect it will – even though I’m sure the source of each of our pains may well differ.
Anyway, I lie on my back on the bed or floor and lift my head up and look towards my toes. Naturally, I work my abs doing this. You can work your abs still further by bringing your head up further or bringing your feet 6 inches off the floor/bed. Now I count up to, say, thirty or something or until my abs are really starting to get tired. I repeat this a few times. Pretty much instantly the pain in my back has gone, and stays away for hours. The harder you work your abs in this way (for me) the longer my pains stay away.
You may find that your whole body shakes as you work your abs – this is a very good sign. Keep going until you can’t hold it any longer (but let’s not strain ourselves people!) You know your own body so play around with this method within your own parameters.
Please have a go and report back.
Best wishes,
Owen
Use hot packs, 4-5 times a day, 10-15 minutes per session. It removed my shoulder blade pain. You have to be VERY patient though, I fully recovered in about 2 months time. alternate it with ultrasound treatment if you can. The hot pack treatment will melt out the nodes that are stuck with your sprain. Ultra sound will help you recover faster. Then two times a week get an acupressure massage on the injured area to release all the nodes. Remember, be very patient. It can be very, very frustrating. I Hope this helped.
I have had the left shoulder blade pain that runs down my arm to my ring and pinky fingers...i have had it for over 10 years. i have been through every doctor, physical therapy, chiropractors, EVERYTHING. Nothing helps. I have never had a doctor tell me what it could be after seeing over 15 from neurologists to orthopedics. I just live w/ the pain and have severe flair ups every so often. The only thing I do is take prescribed pain killers and anti-inflammatories when I am in the worst pain. I hope you all figure something else out that I haven't heard of so maybe I can get some help too.
the problem you are having is the same has me.it is your shoulder it is your rotat cuff or your main tendon of the shoulder gives pain in the shoulder and down the arm.there is exercises which can help using a tension band.also taking glut sulphate is good