Pain under the left shoulder blade of the back is a fairly common pathology, especially among older people.
Although cases of the disease are not uncommon at a young age, sports injuries, poor posture and hereditary factors can also be the cause of the disease in question.
If the pain in the back is prolonged and intense and does not go away over time, this is a serious reason to contact your doctor.
Untimely assistance for this disease can lead to irreversible consequences and complications.
Anatomy of the chest:
Spine – consists of the vertebrae and spinal cord.It performs extremely important functions: support, shock absorption and protection of the spinal cord.
The scapula, left and right, belong to the bones of the upper girdle of the limbs.It is a flat, triangle-shaped bone.
Both on the external and internal surfaces, the scapula has a large number of depressions and hollows - these are the places of attachment of ligaments and muscles.
It is itself made of a spongy substance, particularly resistant, which can be explained by the constant loads exerted on the belt of the upper limbs.
The clavicle is the bone that provides the joint between the scapula and the sternum.
The heart is an organ that is essentially a muscular sac that provides normal circulatory function in the body.
The lungs are paired organs located in the chest and responsible for breathing and gas exchange.
The esophagus and stomach are the digestive organs.
The ribs are flat bones attached at the back to the spine and at the front to the sternum.They have a protective function for the chest.
Causes of pain under the left shoulder blade of the back
From the above list, it becomes clear that the causes of pain in the back of the shoulder blade or in the back of the back can be hidden in diseases of the internal organs or the musculoskeletal system, which the patient was most often not even aware of.
It has been noted that in certain pathologies, such discomfort may persist even at rest.However, this symptom does not always indicate the presence of a complex back pathology.
Among the many pathologies accompanied by such a symptom are serious heart, gastrointestinal and neurological diseases.
The main causes of pain in the back and shoulder blades behind can be divided into 5 main pathologies most common among patients:
- Disorders of the musculoskeletal system.
- Acquired and hereditary heart diseases.
- Pathology of the bronchi, pleura or lungs themselves.
- Acute or chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
- Diseases of the musculoskeletal system, including the scapula.
Musculoskeletal disorders
Diseases of the skeletal system are often accompanied by severe pain.
Aching and intense, unbearable pain in the back and shoulder blades can occur for the following reasons:
- Cervical osteochondrosis is a process of destruction of bone tissue.With it, strongly compressed nerve roots cause, at first, dull, barely noticeable pain, and over time - sharp, stabbing pain under the left shoulder blade or adjacent area, as well as in the back.
- Thoracic osteochondrosis is a process that differs from cervical osteochondrosis only in the location of the lesion.With this osteochondrosis, it is not the cervical roots of the spinal nerves that will be affected, but the thoracic roots.The pain may be accompanied by periodic dizziness, numbness of the upper extremities, back pain becomes more intense in the morning.
- Damage to the intercostal nerves is the most common cause of pain.Patients notice burning, persistent pain on the left shoulder blade or left side of the spine.If you do not provide the patient with proper assistance, the pain will become throbbing and sharp.
- Malignant tumors or metastases of tumors located on the scapula itself.Causes severe pain.
- Scapular rib syndrome is characterized by aching, shooting pain in the back, often radiating down the arm.
- Osteomyelitis.
- Scapular cracking – with this pathology, the pain is not very pronounced in the back, only when moving the shoulder joint is a crepitation (crunching) heard.
- Injuries and constant stress on the back and spine.
- Pregnancy, especially in the later stages - pains of various types are explained by constant stress on the back due to the increase in the size of the fetus.
- Tuberculosis of bones.
- Osteophyte and hernia.Depending on the location of the outbreak and the stage of the disease, due to the constant compression of blood vessels, and therefore disruption of nerve nutrition, they can also cause severe pain in the back of a different nature - burning, sharp, aching.
- Arthritis of the shoulder joint involving the scapula is accompanied not only by severe back pain, worse at night, but also by limited mobility of the joint and myospasm.
- Psychosomatic factors.Stress and constant emotional tension can also cause acute, throbbing, paroxysmal back pain.
Acquired and hereditary heart diseases
The left scapula and interscapular region may cause discomfort to patients due to cardiac disorders.The table below shows the causes of pain and its nature.
| Angiosis | Severe disturbance of blood circulation in the heart | Sharp pain in the back of the back, radiating to the left shoulder blade, interscapular area, lower jaw, left arm.Often these symptoms are accompanied by shortness of breath, as a result of which the patient begins to panic from fear of death. |
| Aortic aneurysm | Dissection of the walls of the thoracic aorta | Chest pain recedes - towards the left shoulder blade area, towards the back or between the shoulder blades and gradually goes down to the lower back. |
| Endocarditis, myocarditis, pericarditis | Inflammation of bacterial, viral or parasitic etiology | Pain syndrome that increases with the disease. |
| Heart attack | Heart muscle necrosis | This pathology can radiate not only to the left shoulder blade and the back, but also to the left arm, neck and abdomen.The intensity of the pain is extremely high. |
| Angina pectoris | Pain and discomfort in the chest | The most pronounced pain syndrome may not be observed.Patients complain of tingling and burning in the left shoulder blade or left back. |
Pathologies of the bronchi, pleura or lungs themselves
Often, pain in the left shoulder blade is caused by pathological processes occurring in the lungs.These diseases are mainly of viral or bacterial etiology.
Some of them are described below:
Pneumonia - patients report pain when coughing, sneezing and when the process is advanced, even when inhaling.Patients often adopt a forced position: lying down with their head raised or simply lying on the healthy side.
In cases of pneumonia, pain in the scapular region and back is not the most important clinical sign.These patients have a mild fever - from 37 to 38 ° C, shortness of breath, dry at first, then with discharge of sputum, cough.
In particularly advanced cases, blood and pus may be present in the lung discharge.
Bronchitis is mainly accompanied by a frequent, barking cough.Pain in the left shoulder blade or back can occur precisely because of this.
Pleurisy - most often due to this pathology, pain syndrome develops in the left shoulder blade and on the back in the interscapular area.
The pain in the back and shoulder blade is initially dull and dull, but as the process progresses it becomes more intense.
With this disease, early diagnosis is important - an x-ray of the chest circumference.
In the absence of pathologies in the lungs, pleura and bronchi, the patient is advised to urgently consult a cardiologist to rule out myocardial infarction.
Tuberculosis of the thoracic and bronchial lymph nodes
This pathology can be accompanied by posterior pain, especially in the terminal stages.
Acute or chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract
Often, pain in the left shoulder blade, back or interscapular space is an important clinical symptom of diseases of the digestive system.It is important to know what pathologies can be accompanied by pain in the left shoulder blade.
Perforated stomach ulcer
A perforated ulcer of the stomach, or more precisely its upper parts, in addition to throbbing abdominal pain, fever, vomiting, can be accompanied by sharp, aching pain in the left shoulder blade.
Acute pancreatitis
Constant pain in the epigastric region and disorders of the digestive system - vomiting, diarrhea, accompanied by pain in the left shoulder blade of the back in the lumbar region.
Splenic injury or rupture
Damage to the spleen is often invisible because of the unusual signs that appear when the organ is damaged.Symptoms may be hidden, without severe pain.
When the splenic parenchyma ruptures, a hematoma forms in the subcapsular space, which is accompanied by dull pain that increases as the hematoma develops under the left shoulder blade and behind the back, on the left side of the ribs.
Attention!The conditions described above require immediate diagnosis and, in some cases, surgical intervention.
Diseases of the musculoskeletal system, including the scapula
In this case, any pathological process involving the shoulder joint will be accompanied by pain under the left shoulder blade, which intensifies with movement of the arm.
Acute pain can cause:
- Sudden movements.
- Injuries – fractures, dislocations of the scapula.The nature of the pain can be sharp or dull.It is necessary to use painkillers to relieve pain.
- Tuberculosis of the scapula - pain increases as the disease progresses.
- Gunshot wounds to the shoulder blade.Pain may persist for a long time even after the integrity of the scapula has been restored.
- Bursitis is inflammation of the surface of the shoulder joint.
Diagnosis of diseases accompanied by pain in the left shoulder blade
If you complain of pain in the left shoulder blade, it is extremely necessary to consult a doctor in a timely manner to make a diagnosis and prescribe the appropriate treatment.
To make an accurate diagnosis, the following research methods are necessary:
- CT scan.
- X-ray in different projections depending on the location of the pathological process.Additionally, in case of lung disease, a chest x-ray is necessary to exclude pleurisy, tuberculosis and pneumonia.
- MRI - its layer-by-layer image will allow you to study the ongoing pathological process in more depth.The outcome of the treatment will largely depend on its results.
- To exclude heart attacks, patients are prescribed an ECG, echocardiogram, ultrasound of the heart, as well as a blood test to check the presence of heart attack markers in the blood.
- Ultrasound of internal organs will help confirm or exclude diseases of parenchymal organs, which may present with pain in the left shoulder blade and back.
- General and biochemical blood test, measurement of pulse, pressure.
Basic rules of therapy
If pain in the left shoulder blade makes breathing noticeably difficult, this is a serious reason to see a therapist.
Self-administration of medications can only aggravate the situation.
It is important to diagnose the cause and establish the origin of the pain.If correctly diagnosed and adequately treated, the pain attack will be stopped.
In self-medication, we often encounter cases of repeated pain syndromes, which disrupt the patient's quality of life.
Medicines should be taken exclusively under the supervision of a specialist;in addition, patients are prescribed a diet and diet suitable for the diagnosis.