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12th Jan 2022
Interscapular pain, or pain between the shoulder blades, can be caused by a variety of factors. Muscle strains are frequent, but pain in this location could indicate something more serious, such as a heart attack or lung cancer.
Your body's way of informing you when something is wrong is pain. It's important to find out why you are experiencing pain between your shoulders.
This article discusses some of the possible causes and when you should seek medical help.
An issue with any bodily part positioned between the shoulder blades might be causing your pain.
You could potentially be suffering from transferred pain. Nerves convey pain signals near the shoulder blades as a result of this, even though the source of the discomfort is elsewhere.
Chest pain isn't typically the first symptom of a heart attack. This is especially true in women, whose heart attack symptoms often differ from the "traditional" ones most people identify with the disease.
Men and women have different heart attack symptoms, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association in 2020. Men, for example, are more likely than women to have chest pain as a symptom.
Women are more likely than males to suffer from pain between their shoulder blades before a heart attack, according to the study's authors. The discomfort is usually dull, but it lasts for a long time. Chest pain, shortness of breath, and lightheadedness are some of the other symptoms.
Women's heart disease symptoms are more difficult to detect than men's, and women are more likely to die from heart attacks than males.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) can produce pain in the area between the shoulder blades in the back. Other GERD symptoms include chest discomfort or soreness, hoarse voice, and swallowing difficulties. Because of its proximity to the diaphragm, a narrow muscle in your chest that is partially related to your spine, inflammation in the pancreas may also cause similar pain.
Trauma can provoke injuries that can lead to shoulder pain. A shoulder joint separation is distinct from a dislocated shoulder, which causes pain in the joint.
Referred pain can be caused by lung cancer, particularly Pancoast tumors (a rare type of lung cancer). Tumors press against nerves around the top of the lungs, causing pain in the area between the shoulders.
Esophageal cancer, mesothelioma, lymphomas, liver cancer, and breast cancer are all malignancies that can cause pain in this area.
Gallbladder disease pain is frequently caused after eating a fatty meal. It manifests as a stabbing pain between the shoulder blades, as well as nausea and abdominal ache in the right upper quadrant.
The most prevalent cause of pain between the shoulder blades is muscle strain (pulled muscle). Poor posture, especially when you lean forward while sitting or standing for lengthy periods of time, carrying heavy objects, twisting hobbies like golf or tennis, and sleeping on a mattress that doesn't provide appropriate support can all cause muscle pulls.
If scoliosis (curvature) of the thoracic spine is severe, it can produce pain between the shoulder blades. This is, however, a rare occurrence.
A pinched nerve is another source of discomfort. Myofascial pain syndrome, for example, is a condition that produces muscle spasms and pain.
The nerves and spine might be irritated or compressed by degenerative disc degeneration in the cervical or thoracic spine. This might cause soreness in the area between your shoulders.
Numbness, tingling, and discomfort in one or both arms are also signs of a herniated disc.
Neck disc disease pain can also be positional, meaning it improves or worsens as you bend or extend your neck.
