Pain under the left shoulder blade from behind is a very common pathology, especially in the older age group.
Although cases of the disease are not rare at a young age, sports injuries, incorrect posture, and hereditary factors can also cause the condition in question.
If the pain in the back is long and intense and does not go away with time, this is a serious reason to contact your doctor.
Untimely help for this disease can lead to irreversible consequences and complications.
Anatomy of the chest:
Spinal column - consists of vertebrae and spinal cord.It carries extremely important functions - support, shock absorption and protection of the spinal cord.
Both the left and right scapula refer to the upper lumbar bones of the limbs.It is a straight bone shaped like a triangle.
On both the outer and inner surfaces, the scapula has a large number of depressions and pits - these are the places of attachment of ligaments and muscles.
It consists of a spongy substance that is particularly durable, which is explained by the constant loads on the belt of the upper limbs.
The clavicle is the bone that provides articulation between the shoulder blade and the sternum.
The heart is actually an organ that is a bag of muscles that ensures the normal circulatory function in the body.
Lungs are connected organs in the chest responsible for breathing and gas exchange.
The esophagus and stomach are digestive organs.
The ribs are straight bones that extend to the sternum in the back and the sternum in the front.They have a protective function for the chest.
Causes of pain under the left shoulder blade from behind
From the list above, the causes of pain behind the shoulder blade or pain behind the back can be hidden in diseases of internal organs or the musculoskeletal system, which the patient is not even aware of.
It was reported that in some pathologies, such anxiety can continue even when a person is resting.However, this symptom does not always indicate the presence of a complex back pathology.
Among many pathological conditions accompanied by such a symptom, there are serious heart, gastrointestinal and neurological diseases.
The main causes of pain in the back and shoulder blades can be divided into 5 main most common pathologies among patients:
- Disorders of the musculoskeletal system.
- Acquired and hereditary heart diseases.
- Pathology of bronchi, pleura or lungs.
- 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.
Pain behind the back and shoulder blades and severe, unbearable pain can occur for the following reasons:
- Cervical osteochondrosis is a process of destruction of bone tissue.With this, densely compressed nerve roots, at first, are dull and barely noticeable, with time, sharp and shooting pains, as in the left shoulder blade or next to it.
- Thoracic osteochondrosis is a process that differs from cervical osteochondrosis only in the localization of the lesion.With this osteochondrosis, it is not the cervical roots of the spinal nerves that will be affected, but the thoracic.The pain is periodic dizziness, numbness of the upper extremities, back pain in the back is more intense in the morning.
- Damage to the intercostal nerves is the most common cause of pain.Patients report a burning, aching pain near the left shoulder blade or on the left side of the spine.If you do not provide the patient with the necessary help, the pain will be drawn and aggravated.
- Malignant neoplasms or metastases of tumors located in the scapula.It causes severe pain.
- Scapular-rib syndrome is characterized by pain and aching pain in the back, often radiating to the arm.
- Osteomyelitis.
- Scapular Crunch - With this pathology, the pain is not very pronounced in the back, only a breaching is heard during the shoulder joint.
- Both back and spine injuries and constant stress.
- Pregnancy, especially in the later stages, is explained by pain of various types, constant stress on the back due to the increase in the size of the fetus.
- Tuberculosis of bones.
- Osteophyte and hernia.Due to the constant compression of blood vessels and, therefore, disruption of nerve supply, depending on the location and stage of the disease, it can cause severe pain in the back of a different nature - burning, sharp, aching.
- Arthritis of the shoulder joint associated with the scapula is accompanied only by severe back pain, worse at night, as well as limited mobility of the joint and myospasm.
- Psychosomatic factors.Stress and constant emotional tension can cause sharp, stabbing, paroxysmal back pain.
Acquired and hereditary heart diseases
Left Scapula and IntersCapular Region can disturb patients due to heart diseases.The table below shows the causes of pain and its nature.
| Angiosis | Severe violation of blood circulation in the heart | Sharp pain in the back radiating to the left scapula, 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 due to the fear of death. |
| Aortic aneurysm | Dissection of the walls of the Thoracic Aorta | Chest pain moves back - between the left shoulder blade, back or shoulder blades and gradually descends to the lower back. |
| Endocarditis, myocarditis, pericarditis | Inflammation of bacterial, viral or parasitic etiology | Pain syndrome increased by the disease. |
| Heart attack | Necrosis of the heart muscle | This pathology can be illuminated not only in the left shoulder blade and back, but also in the left arm, neck and abdomen.The intensity of the pain is extremely high. |
| Angina pectoris | Chest pain and discomfort | The most commonly reported pain syndrome cannot be observed.Patients complain of a burning sensation in the left shoulder blade or in the left shoulder blade or in the back. |
Pathologies of bronchi, pleura or lungs
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 these are described below:
Pneumonia - Patients report pain when coughing, sneezing and inhaling, developing the process.Patients often take a forced position - lying down, head end or simply lying on the healthy side.
With pneumonia, pain in the scapular region and back is not the most important clinical symptom.Such patients have a low-grade fever - from 37 - 38 ° C, shortness of breath, first dry, and then discharge, with cough.
In particularly advanced cases, there may be blood and pus in the discharge from the lungs.
Bronchitis is especially often accompanied by a crusty cough.A pain in the left shoulder blade or in the back can therefore be accurate.
Pleurisy - Most often, due to this pathology, the pain syndrome develops in the left shoulder blade and again in the interscapular region.
The pain in the back and shoulder blade is dull and silent at first, but the process becomes more intense.
With this disease, early diagnosis is important - chest x-ray.
If there are no pathologies in the lungs, pleura and bronchus, the patient is urgently recommended to consult a cardiologist, excluding myocardial infarction.
Tuberculosis of thoracic and bronchial lymph nodes
This pathology may 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 sign for diseases of the digestive system.It is important to know what pathologies are accompanied by pain in the left shoulder blade.
Perforated gastric ulcer
A perforated ulcer of the stomach, or more precisely, its upper parts, "Dagger" can be accompanied by abdominal pain, fever, vomiting, sharp, painful pain in the area of the left shoulder blade.
Acute pancreatitis
Continuous belt in the epigastric region and disorders of the digestive system - vomiting, diarrhea, thus accompanied by pain in the left shoulder blade of the lower back.
Splenic injury or rupture
Damage injuries are often invisible due to the uncharacteristic signs that appear when the organ is damaged.Symptoms can be subtle without severe pain.
When the splenic parenchyma collapses, a hematoma occurs in the subcapsular area, accompanied by a hematoma, hematoma, left shoulder blade and dull pain growing in 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 is aggravated by arm movement.
Acute pain can be caused by:
- Sudden movements.
- Injuries - fractures, dislocation of the scapula.The nature of the pain can be either sharp or dull.Painkillers should be used to relieve pain.
- Tuberculosis of the scapula - pain increases as the disease progresses.
- Gunshot wounds of the scapula.Even after the integrity of the scapula is restored, pain may persist for a long time.
- Bursitis is an 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 area of the left shoulder blade, it is very necessary to consult a doctor in time to make a diagnosis and prescribe the right treatment.
To make an accurate diagnosis, the following research methods are required:
- Computed tomography.
- X-ray in different predictions depending on the location of the pathological process.Also, in case of lung disease, a chest X-ray is required to rule out pleurisy, tuberculosis and pneumonia.
- MRI - a layer-by-layer image will allow to better study the ongoing pathological process.The outcome of the treatment will largely depend on its results.
- To rule out 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 the internal organs will help confirm or exclude diseases of the parenchymal organs that can cause pain in the left shoulder blade and behind.
- General and biochemical blood test, pulse measurement, pressure.
Basic rules of therapy
If the pain in the area of the left shoulder blade makes breathing reasonably difficult, this is a serious reason to consult a therapist.
Self-administration of drugs can only worsen the condition.
It is important to diagnose the cause and establish the origin of the pain.In case of correct diagnosis and adequate treatment, the pain attack will stop.
When self-medicating, there are many cases of recurrent pain syndrome that impairs the patient's quality of life.
Medicines should be taken only under the supervision of a specialist;In addition, patients are prescribed a regimen and diet suitable for the diagnosis.