12 Causes of Pain in Between Shoulder Blades

If you have recurring pain between your shoulder blades, you may have herniated discs, muscle strain, or even arthritis. You can only know the real reason after consulting your doctor. They will thoroughly diagnose your affected area and develop the treatment plan accordingly. 

Mild pains can easily be treated with stretching and medications, but severe cases may require you to go under the knife. Depending on your condition, your doctor may recommend orthobiologic treatments, including platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and cell-based therapies. 

This article gives you a deeper outlook on the pain between your shoulder blades. So, let’s dive in.

Where Does the Pain Between the Shoulder Blades Develop?

The pain between the shoulder blades can develop within any part of the body, such as:

• Muscles that keep your shoulder blades intact (rhomboids, middle trapezius, and lower trapezius)
• The center area of the spine called the thoracic spine
• The largest vessel transferring blood to the entire body from the heart, called the thoracic aorta
• Heart
• Any part of the esophagus 
• Any part of the lungs

Referred Back Pain can also be a possibility. It’s when the nerves send signals to initiate pain between the shoulder blades, even when its source is different.

12 Causes of Pain in Between Shoulder Blades

Many factors can result in mild or intense pain between your shoulder blades. The 12 most common ones include the following:

Muscle Strain

Also known as a pulled muscle, muscle strain is the primary reason for the pain between the shoulder blades. 

You may experience pulled muscles due to poor posture, lifting heavy objects, or performing strenuous activities like golf or tennis. You can also strain your muscles by sleeping on a poor-quality mattress for an extended period. 

Trauma

Any trauma near or on your shoulders can lead to intense pain between shoulder blades. It can cause injuries like rotator cuff tears and shoulder joint separation. The latter condition doesn’t mean your shoulder dislocates from its position; it just causes pain in your shoulder joint.

Pinched Nerves

Pinched nerves can lead to different types of pain and muscle spasms. One common condition causing pain between shoulder blades is myofascial pain syndrome.

Herniated Discs

Degenerative disc diseases can put pressure on your spine or nerves in the thoracic or cervical spine. It leads to intense pain, tingling, and numbness between your shoulder blades. You may also feel pain in both of your arms.

The herniated disc pain in the cervical spine may be positional. It means flexing or extending your neck can either make the pain better or worse. 

Arthritis

Arthritis in the ribs or neck can lead to pain between the shoulder blades without affecting your neck.

Heart Attack

A study found that women can experience different heart attack symptoms than men. It means their heart attack pain doesn’t always begin in the chest. Instead, it’s more likely to start between their shoulder blades.

The pain is usually mild but lasts for an extended period. Other symptoms include lightheadedness, chest pain, and difficulty breathing. 

Cancer

Different types of cancers can also cause pain between shoulder blades. These include:

• Mesothelioma
• Lymphomas
• Lung cancer (Pancoast tumor) 
• Esophageal cancer
• Liver cancer
• Breast cancer

In these cancers, the source of the pain isn’t your shoulders, but it spreads to your neck and shoulder blades. 

Gallbladder Disease

If you have gallbladder disease, you may experience intense pain between your shoulder blades after having a fatty meal. The shoulder pain can be accompanied by nausea and abdominal pain. 

Scoliosis

A curvature or scoliosis is a rare cause of pain in between shoulder blades. It’s initiated in the thoracic spine, causing a stabbing pain in your entire back and shoulders.

Shingles

Shingles is a viral infection that affects specific nerve pathways on one side of the body, including the shoulder blades. It is caused due to the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), the same virus responsible for chickenpox. 

Shingles lead to stabbing pain, burning pain, or rash in the affected areas of your body. 

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) 

The pain caused by GERD can spread to your back and between the shoulder blades. Some other symptoms include chest pain, difficulty swallowing, and a hoarse voice. 

You may also experience this pain due to an inflamed pancreas, which lies close to the diaphragm (a thin muscle layer between your spine and chest).

Thoracic Vertebral Compression Fractures

Thoracic vertebral compression fractures are caused when the spine is squeezed due to osteoporosis or metastatic cancer. They can lead to intense pain in the shoulders. However, the condition is rare.

Treatment of Pain in Between Shoulder Blades

The treatment of interscapular pain usually depends on its underlying cause. If it’s muscle strain, over-the-counter pain medications will be enough to minimize the pain. Your doctor will also recommend stretching exercises and icing and stop you from doing strenuous activities.

You may need surgery if the pain is due to a rotator cuff injury. However, in case of heart issues, lifestyle changes or medications will work. 

If your interscapular pain persists, you might need to undergo platelet-rich plasma (PRP) or cell-based therapies. At CELLAXYS, we perform both of these surgeries with special care. Depending on your shoulder’s condition, they may opt for either of the two methods:

Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP)

PRP involves extracting platelets from the patient’s blood plasma and reinjecting them into the affected area. A higher number of platelets boosts healing, relieving the patient’s pain in just a few hours. These blood-clotting elements perform three crucial functions. 

First, they release 10 Growth Factors to promote the development of new cells. They also attract healing tissues from the blood and generate fibrin, a web-like scaffolding that boosts recovery. 

The doctor takes a blood sample and processes it to isolate platelets for reinjection. The entire process takes about 45 minutes, allowing the patient to go home after a few hours of the completion. 

Cell-Based Therapies

Cell-based therapies are primarily of two types depending on the areas the doctor harvests cells from. If they extract highly-concentrated cells from your bone marrow, it is called Bone Marrow Concentrate (BMAC). The process is called Minimally Manipulated Adipose Tissue Transplant (MMAT) when they harvest adipose (fat) tissues. 

Both types of stem-cell or cell-based therapies are performed on the patient’s own cells. The doctor extracts the healthy cells, concentrates them, and reinjects them in the pain site to promote healing. The process takes about 1.5 to 2 hours to complete.

Patients at CELLAXYS report an instant improvement in their pain between shoulder blades after undergoing our orthobiologic treatment. Connect with us today to find your best solution for persistent interscapular pain.