Experiencing sharp pain between the shoulder blades can be concerning. This upper back pain located right between the shoulder blades often comes on suddenly and can range from mild soreness to severe stabbing pain that takes your breath away. There are many potential causes of pain between the shoulder blades. Determining the underlying reason is key to finding relief.
The medical term for between the shoulder blades is the interscapular region. Shoulder blade pain in this area has numerous possible explanations. Injury to the muscles, joints, or spine can provoke interscapular pain.
Understanding the wide range of causative factors allows you to work with your doctor to uncover the reason behind the sharp pain between shoulder blades. Whether it arises from muscle strain, joint issues, organ problems, or other origins, identifying the diagnosis is the critical first step toward resolving your upper back pain between the shoulder blades.
The reasons behind sharp pain between shoulder blades
What is the most common cause of pain between the shoulder blades? Many potential explanations exist for why someone might experience a sharp pain between their shoulder blades.
Let’s explore some of the most common causes of interscapular pain, ranging from muscle strains to more serious issues like lung problems, heart attacks, and kidney infections.
1. Muscle Strain
Muscle strain is one of the most prevalent explanations for sharp pain between the shoulder blades. The rhomboid muscles that connect the shoulder blades to the spinal column are prone to overuse injuries and strains.
Lifting heavy objects, reaching overhead repeatedly, poor posture, and even intense bouts of coughing can overextend these muscles and cause microscopic tears in the muscle fibers, resulting in painful spasms and soreness.
Rotator cuff injury involving the shoulder joints can also radiate pain to the area between the shoulder blades.
Muscle knots may form from chronic tension or inadequate blood flow. These sensitive, tense areas in the muscle tissue put pressure on surrounding nerves, unleashing sharp pain between shoulder blades.
Myofascial pain syndrome centered in the upper back muscles can produce similar stabbing shoulder blade pain. Gentle stretching, massage, physical therapy, and improving ergonomics may help ease this muscular discomfort.
2. Acid Reflux
Can acid reflux cause sharp pain in the shoulder? Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) brings stomach acid up into the esophagus and sometimes the back of the throat. This burning acidic irritation often generates sharp pain between the shoulder blades along with heartburn and a sour taste in the mouth.
The vagus nerve runs from the throat to the heart and then to the back and shoulder region, providing a pathway for acid irritation signals to radiate into the area between the shoulder blades.
3. Spine Issues
Degenerative changes and disc problems in the thoracic spine may impinge surrounding nerves, resulting in sharp pain between shoulder blades. Pressure on the spinal nerve roots produces upper back pain just medial to the inside borders of the shoulder blade region.
Narrowing of the spinal canal (spinal stenosis) and inflammation of the facet joints that connect vertebrae can also generate localized back discomfort. Physiotherapy, spine injections, chiropractic care, massage, and sometimes surgery may help alleviate nerve compression and tissue irritation stemming from spinal abnormalities.
4. Lung Problems
Respiratory infections, pleurisy (lung lining inflammation), blood clots in the lungs, collapsed lungs, and lung cancer can all spark shoulder blade pain, especially when breathing deeply or coughing.
Any lung or breathing issue that allows irritation signals to travel along the phrenic nerve from the diaphragm to spinal nerve roots supplying the area between the shoulder blades may cause referred upper back pain. Treating the underlying pulmonary problem typically resolves associated spinal area discomfort.
5. Heart Attack
Cardiac issues like angina, pericarditis, or heart attacks may trigger pain signals that radiate along nerve pathways into the neck, shoulders, upper back, and arms. Referred pain in the interscapular region can manifest as sharp shoulder blade pain, pressure, tightness, numbness, or stabbing sensations.
When heart problems underlie radiating upper back discomfort, additional symptoms of shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea, lightheadedness, sweating, or arm pain frequently accompany shoulder blade pain. Urgent medical care for heart attack-associated symptoms can be lifesaving.
6. Kidney Infection or Stone
An infection or kidney stones often cause flank pain extending into the upper back and shoulder blade region. The proximity of the kidneys near the diaphragm allows swelling and inflammation from kidney issues to put pressure on nerves linked to the upper back.
Plus, referred pain signals may travel along nerve pathways that connect the kidneys and shoulder area. Fever, abdominal pain, nausea, and urgent or painful urination signal a possible kidney infection or stone requiring prompt medical treatment.
How do I get rid of sharp pain between my shoulder blades?
Although the specific treatment depends on the underlying cause, you can start relieving sharp shoulder blade pain by applying gentle heat, trying over-the-counter pain medication, getting massage therapy, doing light stretches and exercises, improving posture, limiting aggravating movements, and seeing your doctor promptly about severe or persistent pain.
Identifying and addressing the root issue – whether muscle strain, spinal problems, or other health conditions – along with proactive pain management steps provide the best chance for getting rid of discomfort between the shoulder blades for good.
Don’t ignore recurring pain. Seeking appropriate medical care tailored to your specific condition offers the most effective path to banishing sharp upper back pain.
Conclusion
Sharp pain between your shoulder blades has many potential causes ranging from muscle strain to scary origins like a heart attack or lung blood clot. While severe shoulder blade pain should receive quick medical assessment, mild to moderate upper back discomfort often responds well to home treatment.
Applying heat packs, massaging the upper back, gentle stretching exercises, over-the-counter pain medication, and modifying aggravating activities may calm less severe muscular spasms and strains provoking interscapular pain. If pain worsens or persists beyond a few days, a medical evaluation is warranted.
Getting to the root source is key for resolving sharp shoulder blade pain. Keeping your doctor informed about symptoms, triggers, relieving/exacerbating factors, and any changes over time assists with an accurate diagnosis. Tracking shoulder blade discomfort patterns in a pain journal can help identify connections to causative activities or health issues.
While sharp twinges between the shoulder blades occasionally strike everyone, recurring pain signals a problem requiring further attention. Don’t ignore persistent upper back discomfort assuming it will just go away.
Seeking appropriate treatment tailored to your specific issue provides the best opportunity for relief from nagging or severe shoulder blade pain. Getting at the underlying reason positions you to gain control over sharp pain between your shoulder blades.
