Pain Between the Shoulder Blades

Poor posture usually causes pain between the shoulder blades. Massage and stretching can relieve the problem. But sometimes it’s more serious. Learn more.

Pain between the shoulder blades, technically called interscapular pain, is common and usually comes from muscle strain. The important muscles in that area are the rhomboids and middle and lower trapezius. Your pain may begin in those muscles, or it may transferred from nerves somewhere else in your body.

It’s important to see a doctor for this kind of pain because it has many possible causes. Part of your esophagus, heart, and lungs lie in that spot as well as your thoracic spine. Any of them could be causing the trouble. If you also feel short of breath, or dizzy or simply feel that something serious is going on, call 911.

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Common causes of interscapular pain

Many people lean forward while sitting or standing and can strain their backs. Lifting heavy weights, twisting while playing a game like golf or tennis, or a bad mattress can strain your muscles. You might have injured your shoulder in a fall or another trauma.

Sometimes the problem began in your neck. For example, a deteriorating disk could send pain to the interscapular area. Notice whether your pain changes if you move your neck. Arthritis in your neck or ribs, or a trapped nerve, can cause pain between the shoulder blades.

The pain might be related to acid reflux, especially if you also have chest pain, hoarseness, and difficulty swallowing.

You might have a curvature in your thoracic spine, or osteoporosis may have caused a fracture creating pain between your shoulder blades.

Especially in the elderly, shingles, a virus in the nerve roots, can cause interscapular pain. Pain can arrive before you see a rash, but pain from shingles usually concentrates on one side of your body.

Women who have an epidural for labor or for a C-section sometimes have intense interscapular pain.

When you should get immediate help

Especially in women, shoulder pain can indicate a heart attack. Notice if you also have pain in your chest, or you are short of breath or dizzy.

If you feel a sudden sharp and tearing pain, you may have had a tear and have leaking in your heart, called a thoracic aorta rupture or aortic dissection.

A blood clot in your legs may travel to your lungs, causing a sharp sudden pain between your shoulder blades. It can happen when you travel a long time in car or plane or when you’re lying in bed, are pregnant, or recently had surgery.

You might have gallbladder disease. Such pain is usually stabbing. You might also feel pain in the upper right side of your abdomen, often after eating a heavy meal.

Even if the pain isn’t sharp or sudden, but you find it’s persistent and unlike what you’ve known before, see a doctor. Rarely, cancer that has spread to the bones in your neck or is pressing on a nerve can cause interscapular pain. The cancer could have begun in your lungs, esophagus, liver, or breast.

How to relieve muscle strain

Often when the area between your shoulder blades is stiff, tight, or even painful, specific muscles have become perpetually clenched. If you find the precise source of your pain, called a trigger point, and press on it, you may coax the muscle to relax. You can learn to massage yourself or show someone else how to do it.

If you’re massaging yourself, place a tennis ball or massage ball under your back, lying on a carpet. You’ll need to roll the ball over each muscle slowly and carefully, checking for the most tender points. When you hit the most painful area, linger and roll a bit more. You’ll need to work on the painful muscles every day until they are no longer a problem.

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