Too often, people complain that their back hurts in the shoulder area. Attributing this to overwork, work related to prolonged sitting or moving heavy objects, they postpone the visit to the doctor.
However, any pain can signal the presence of serious diseases of the spine, threatening the development of complications.
Main reasons
The pain in the spine in the area of the shoulders is explained by the fact that here is a large number of receptors that respond to any pathological changes. With the inflammatory process, the production of leukocytes increases, edema is formed, the nerve endings are compressed, which causes pain.
When the back hurts in the lumbar region, in the shoulders, the possibility of a disease that requires a course of treatment is not excluded. Often, diseases that affect such important organs as the heart and lungs cause severe pain.
An exacerbation occurs under the influence of provocative factors - violation of posture, overweight, lack of physical activity. If your back hurts below the shoulders, this may be one of the symptoms of a stomach ulcer.
Most often, the main cause is an illness, injury, psychological state of a person.
Do not try to eliminate the unpleasant symptom yourself, using various poultices and ointments. It is necessary to identify the reasons why the back hurts in the area of the shoulders, for which you will need to visit a doctor and undergo an examination.
Shoulder injuries
This bone is located on the side of the spine, is protected by many muscles and in very rare cases is damaged. Her injury is often associated with a rib fracture, so it is not always possible to make a timely diagnosis.
In this case, the victim feels severe pain in the shoulder area, sometimes bleeding and the development of shoulder hemorrhage are possible.The cause of the damage is fall, rolling, hitting.
If your back hurts below the shoulders or above, redness and swelling appear, you should see a doctor immediately. This can be inflammation of the joint sac, which is often accompanied by stinging, a feeling of heaviness.
Dislocation, or rather the displacement of the arm and shoulder between them, is another reason why the back can ache in the shoulder area. The injury occurs with a strong jolt from the hand, during the collision. Dislocation of the scapula does not allow active movement of the upper limb.
When it is felt, intense pain is felt. Visually, the asymmetry of the shoulders is clearly visible, one of them has a noticeable protrusion of the axillary margin.
Intervertebral hernia
This is the name of a degenerative disease, which is accompanied by deformity and destruction of the fibrous ring. Any part of the spine is prone to pathology.
If the back hurts below the shoulders, this may be a sign of a lumbar intervertebral hernia. Hernia causes a variety of symptoms.
The most common of these:
- pain between the shoulders, which increases sharply with coughing or physical exertion. Its nature is different - it can be dull and acute back pain.
- Hallucinations.
- Shortness of breath, difficulty breathing.
- Muscle weakness, problems with raising the arms.
The severity of the symptoms depends on the size of the hernia and the stage of the disease.
Osteomyelitis
Pain between the shoulders can be a sign of osteomyelitis. This is the name of a purulent infection that affects the bone tissue.
This disease is usually very difficult. The tissues above the bone are quite thin, so the symptoms at the site of the injury appear immediately. The main sign of pathology is the presence of a wound, soft tissue swelling with hyperemia. A person complains that his back hurts in the area of the shoulders, sometimes chills are added to it, the body temperature rises and the pulse speeds up.
There are several varieties of this pathology. Osteomyelitis that occurs when bacteria enter bone tissue through the bloodstream is called hematogenous. Its acute form is more common in children and adolescents.
Microorganisms that penetrate the environment cause exogenous osteomyelitis. The reason for this is an injury, trauma or open fracture. When a purulent lesion passes from the soft tissues to the bone, they talk about the contact form of the disease.
Scoliosis
One of the most common causes of back pain in the shoulder area is scoliosis of the thoracic spine. As this section connects to the ribs, there is chest deformity.
In addition to the main symptom, when the back hurts below the shoulders and above the waist, one should emphasize the increased fatigue, the different levels of the shoulders.
The diagnosis is made only by x-ray. When the stage is running, the back hurts in the spine area almost constantly.
Osteochondrosis
Back pain in the shoulder area is the main symptom of osteochondrosis, when the upper part of the spine is subject to degenerative processes. The disease is often confused with pneumonia, tuberculosis.
An experienced neurologist determines osteochondrosis with many cumulative signs. The location of the pain syndrome depends on the part where the nerve endings sting. Therefore, a distinction is made between left and right pathology.
If your back hurts in the shoulder area, you should definitely be examined to start treatment at an early stage. This guarantees a faster recovery.
Spinal joint
This is the name of a multifaceted disease that often occurs along with osteochondrosis, intervertebral hernia and spondylosis. Spinal arthrosis is an arthropathy that affects the intervertebral joints and develops due to injuries, congenital malformations, excessive overload.
The suspicion of pathology causes back pain under the shoulders that occurs for no apparent reason, especially when the weather changes, when moving. The advanced stage is determined by the characteristic trauma.
Subdiaphragmatic abscess
This is the name of a rare but serious complication after inflammation that grips the abdominal cavity. The main symptoms are burning in the back, especially in the shoulder area, shortness of breath, hyperthermia, cough.
Apart from the fact that the pain in the spine is located below the shoulders, it can also pass to the right hypochondrium.
Diseases of the internal organs
If the back hurts a lot in the area of the shoulders, this may cause suspicion of existing diseases of the heart, bronchopulmonary system and gastrointestinal tract.
Therefore, these symptoms should not be ignored.. It is necessary to pay immediate attention to traction pains, especially chest pains that hide coronary heart disease and other equally serious diseases of the internal organs. It is important to make the diagnosis and start treatment on time.
Intercostal neuralgia
The cause of the phenomenon, when it burns in the area of the shoulders, there is a feeling that the back is burning, it is often the intercostal neuralgia.
Unpleasant symptoms are formed due to the fact that the pathological changes affecting the spine cause compression of the intercostal nerves.
The pain in neuralgia occurs at the level of the shoulders and has a different intensity. They may get worse when you cough or take deep breaths.
Psychological problems
Back pain under the shoulders often occurs for psychological reasons. The patient feels compression and tingling, a feeling of anxiety and unexplained fear. The pain may radiate to the right arm, to the neck.
Diagnostics
Often, back pain below the shoulder is a consequence of occupational activity. Engineers, drivers, seamstresses, athletes, designers are people whose work is associated with daily tension in the back muscles.
When the first symptoms appear, you should see a doctor and get tested.When the disease is detected early and treatment is started early, many serious complications can be avoided.
If the back hurts in the shoulder area, the doctor will prescribe modern diagnostic methods, such as x-rays, CT scans and ultrasound.
It is almost impossible to determine the exact cause of the pain yourself. As it can often happen with a heart attack, postponing a visit to the doctor is extremely dangerous.
Treatment
What to do if your back hurts in the shoulder area? Do not forget that the basis for the appearance of such a symptom can be a variety of pathologies. Therefore, treatment should only be prescribed by a doctor and carried out under his supervision.
The traumatic and articular origin of the pain requires special clinical treatment, which includes:
- Anti-inflammatory drugs. Painful sensations are effectively removed with the help of corticosteroids, non-steroidal agents. They can be used externally with the application of ointments recommended by the doctor in the area of the shoulders or by injection. The combination of these methods allows you to achieve the best result.
- Chondroprotective. Used to treat the scapular region of the back, when the pain is caused by an intervertebral hernia, protrusion. Preparations containing mucopolysaccharides, glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate will help improve the nutrition of cartilage tissue and increase its elasticity.
- Physiotherapy. With damage to the synovial tissue, physiotherapy procedures show good results.The most popular shock wave technique, in which ultrasound acts on the tissues of the body. It is able to destroy bone growth, improve blood flow, which leads to increased cartilage nutrition, reduces muscle tone and eliminates shoulder pain. In addition, electrophoresis, massage, paraffin applications and manual therapy are widely used.
If a vertebral cause of pain is identified, heating compresses using a solution of dimethyl sulfoxide, turpentine and alcohol will be effective. By improving blood circulation, muscle spasm is relieved and pain is reduced.
Folk remedies can also be used for shoulder pain, but perform only an auxiliary function.
Prevention
To avoid such an unpleasant symptom as back pain in the shoulder area, it will help you to follow certain rules.
For this you need:
- Eat right. The lack of micronutrients necessary for cartilage tissue leads to degeneration of the intervertebral discs.
- Maintain the correct posture. Uneven load on the spine is one of the leading causes of pain.
- Move more. This helps prevent excessive muscle tone, normalizes blood circulation. Useful walks in the fresh air, sports, gymnastics.
We must not forget the regular passing of medical examinations, thanks to which it is possible to detect the development of any pathology at a very early stage.