Pain under the shoulder blades-Adults with musculoskeletal diseases or internal organ diseases, as well as children who do not calculate physical activity at all or stand in drafts, may experience this symptom.
It is absolutely unacceptable to self-administer analgesics when there is subscapular muscle pain: this pain can be a life-threatening symptom.
At the same time, attention and usual emergency medical treatment should not only cause acute soreness, but also dull pain under the left scapula.
The nature of the pain and the accompanying symptoms help to suggest specific diseases. However, only qualified doctors can understand the organ damage that causes pain based on the complaints of the patient, prescribe necessary diagnostic tests, and provide emergency assistance when necessary.
Causes of pain under the left shoulder blade in the back
Proximity to the lungs, heart, and spine, as well as an extensive network of nerve fibers, expands the possible causes of subscapular pain. In this case, each disease has other specific signs, and the nature and duration of pain will also change.
Pathology of the musculoskeletal system and nerves
Diseases of the spine and back muscle frame are a common cause of pain in the left subscapularis muscle. The suffering of such diseases is often one-sided.
- Osteochondrosis-The formation of osteophytes in the thoracic or cervical spine can cause traction pain on the left or right side, starting from the neck and upper back and ending with the arms. The pain does not go away at rest, it usually lasts longer but is tolerable.
- Intercostal neuralgia-Accompanied by severe pain that spreads to the entire intercostal space and is aggravated by breathing, turning around, and sneezing/coughing. Usually, with neuralgia, the sensitivity of the skin to the source of the pain also changes. Neuralgia causes paresthesias in the form of goose bumps, and numbness and pain under the left scapula often occur together with myocardial infarction and angina.
- Scapular Rib Syndrome-is a "reward" for hard physical work or activities that stay in a position (office worker) for a long time. People complain of non-intense dull pain between the neck and shoulders, radiating under the shoulder blades.
important! The cause of the pain under the left scapula radiates from the back to the arms and is compressive-osteochondrosis and angina pectoris-with unique characteristics. Angina, pain lasts up to 30 minutes, osteochondrosis-several days. In addition, nitroglycerin or other heart medications can prevent the onset of angina pectoris.
Sometimes subscapular pain is caused by myositis (movement stiffness and tension of certain muscle groups are observed at the same time), scapular injury (acute pain, which always occurs before falls, blows, etc. ) or oncology (pain may occur) regularly, Not strong). Bone tuberculosis cannot be ruled out, that is, failure of the scapula.
Heart and blood vessel disease
Cardiology is one of the most dangerous pathologies. Cardiology can be diagnosed when patients complain of subscapular pain. In this case, the pain of heart disease does not always start from the front surface (back or left side) of the chest. The cause of pain in the heart area below the left scapula may be:
- Angina pectoris-Compressive soreness behind the breastbone extending from the left scapula and below the collarbone to the chin and arm. The intensity of pain decreases during rest, but the change in body posture does not bring relief. For scapular ribs (vertebral origin) syndrome, the situation of increased pain is completely the opposite. The onset of angina pectoris is relieved by ingesting nitroglycerin, accompanied by vertebral pain, and the therapeutic effect of manual treatment is excellent.
- Myocardial infarction is an acute, growing heart pain, and the characteristic irradiation of the left side (including under the scapula) cannot be stopped by cardiac glycosides. The patient will experience severe fear, which is not the case with damage to the spine and nerve fibers. Need to be hospitalized immediately!
- Hypertensive crisis-often accompanied by compressive heart pain radiating to the left scapula. It is easy to determine the cause of pain by measuring a/d.
- Pericarditis-For this disease, the pain subsides when resting and when the trunk is tilted forward. The soreness occurs in the area in front of the heart, radiating below the scapula, but is not as severe as acute myocardial ischemia (angina, heart attack).
- Aortic aneurysm detachment is a dangerous disease characterized by throbbing pain under the scapula. The rapid increase in pain requires emergency calls from the medical team.
important! Numbness of the left tongue is characteristic for ischemic heart disease (angina pectoris, heart attack) and cervical osteochondrosis.
important! Usually, vegetative vascular dystonia will show symptoms similar to heart disease. At the same time, the manifestations of serious illness are obviously pretended (psychological factors), and the patient is often nervous, trembling, feverish, and feels like a lump in the throat.
Respiratory disease
Soreness under the left scapula can cause the following lung diseases:
- Pneumonia-Pain is only caused when the inflammatory lesion is located near the pleura. Periods of weaker pain, with point positioning, and intensified with breathing.
- Pleurisy-Unlike pneumonia, the pain is severe and stinging. Its intensity depends on the depth of breathing.
Accompanying lung symptoms with pain when breathing under the left scapula are shallowness, shortness of breath, shortness of breath, and fever. Hyperthermia may also occur with pericarditis. Severe neuralgia, myositis, and a slight increase in body temperature are extremely rare.
important! Unlike heart disease with respiratory pathology, the pain is accompanied by night sweats and coughing (in the initial stage of pneumonia and pleurisy-dryness).
Gastrointestinal Pathology
Pain under the scapula is often accompanied by gastrointestinal diseases. In this case, the symptom chart is as follows:
- Peptic ulcer-Severe incision pain is always related to food intake (occurring before or immediately after eating), radiation to the scapula, non-specific localization of the ulcer process (the back wall of the stomach or part of the heart). Pain relieved after vomiting, take acid-lowering drugs. The perforation of the ulcer is accompanied by increased pain (such as cutting with a knife), and the patient presses his legs on his stomach and covers it with his hands.
- Pancreatitis-with severe band-like pain (including under the left scapula). Attacks are always related to nutritional errors (fat, salty, fried food, alcohol, hunger). Vomiting does not bring relief.
important! The gastrointestinal pathology that causes pain under the left scapula is accompanied by other characteristic symptoms-bloating, indigestion, vomiting, and belching.
Diagnosis of subscapular pain
When collecting medical records, doctors will pay attention to the relationship between pain and physical activity, food intake, and stress, and specify accompanying chronic and recent diseases.
Assessing the nature of pain, the presence of certain symptoms specific to different organ diseases allows you to narrow the cause to specific systems of the body-the heart, lungs, musculoskeletal system, and gastrointestinal tract. The following studies confirmed the initial diagnosis:
- Heart-measurement of a / d, ECG, echocardiography and Doppler scan;
- Lung-chest X-ray;
- Spine-X-ray, CT or MRI of the neck and chest area.
In the future, more detailed examinations of damaged organs may be required. Only in this way can the identified disease be treated.
When should I contact which doctor?
Depending on the intensity and nature of the pain sensation under the scapula and accompanying symptoms, you should consult a doctor:
- Urgent call for urgent care-severe pain, increased intensity, and rapid deterioration of the general condition;
- Traumatologist-Pain syndrome caused by injury;
- Cardiologist-with chest pain (continuous or periodic), shortness of breath, cyanosis;
- Neurologist, orthopedist-the pain under the left scapula is exacerbated by raising the arm, there is a clear link between the occurrence of pain and physical activity, and it was previously diagnosed as spinal degenerative disease;
- Gastroenterologist-there is a link between pain and food intake, as well as other signs of gastrointestinal disease (nausea, vomiting, etc. );
- Pulmonologist-Pain under the scapula with cough and shortness of breath;
- Therapist-Pain occurs without a clear cause, whether it is permanent or temporary.
The therapist often diagnoses minor VSD and confirms the acute surgical pathology or tumor process. In the future, the doctor will appoint a short stature specialist for consultation.
Initial treatment plan
Based on the diagnosis, the attending doctor chooses an effective treatment for the cause. One of the key points of compound therapy is to eliminate pain syndromes:
- For neuropathic pain, strong analgesics are most often used;
- The pathology of the spine and muscles requires a course of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
- Heart disease-Pain syndrome requires taking nitroglycerin (not helpful for heart attack). Validol only has reflex effect and does not have any improvement effect on the myocardial condition of ischemic disease;
- If you suspect a gastrointestinal disease, it is recommended to take antispasmodic and acid-lowering drugs (with ulcers).
Only when the cause is ruled out can the patient get rid of the pain under the scapula. In acute situations, emergency hospitalization and intensive treatment are sometimes required.
The aggressiveness of treatment depends on the nature of the disease and the duration of the disease. Therefore, you should consult your doctor when you first experience pain symptoms. Not only does the outcome of the disease depend on this, but the chances of a full recovery will increase.
In severe cases, timely medical care can save the patient's life.