Stabbing Pain Under Left Shoulder Blade: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

Stabbing pain under the left shoulder blade can limit your arm movement, affecting your daily activities. The shoulder blade is the triangular bone forming your upper back or shoulder. This interscapular pain can be sharp or stabbing, felt between the shoulder blade and the spine, or tender, affecting the entire upper back.

The common causes of stabbing pain under the left shoulder blade are poor posture, improper lifting techniques, overuse of shoulders, dislocated rib, or cardiovascular issues. This pain is not usually problematic and only requires a few at-home treatments to get better.

However, sometimes, it can indicate a more severe, underlying health issue requiring urgent medical attention to avoid worsening. It’s recommended to consult a healthcare provider if this pain persists for a long time.

Symptoms of Pain Under Left Shoulder Blade

The symptoms of shoulder blade pain vary depending on its cause. The most common ones include the following:

• Dull or stabbing pain around the scapula
• Weakness in one or both arms when moving them
• Limited range of motion
• An audible, snapping sound when moving the left shoulder
• Projecting scapula called “winging.”
• An improper, tilted posture on the affected shoulder

Causes of Stabbing Pain Under Left Shoulder Blade

The causes of shoulder blade pain usually vary from person to person, indicating a mild injury or a severe medical condition. Below are 6 common factors resulting in this pain:

1. Improper Posture

Sitting in a poor posture for extended periods can make considerable structural changes in your spine. When left untreated, the pain can extend to your shoulder blade, making it hard to move your arms comfortably. Poor posture can be caused by continuous head tilting, back hunching, or sitting to one side of the hip.

These actions can pressure your spinal discs significantly and weaken your muscles and ligaments. As a result, you feel a stabbing pain under left shoulder blade. 

2. Poor Lifting 

Lifting heavy objects requires proper technique. Doing it incorrectly will put significant pressure on your upper back and shoulder blades, leaving you susceptible to injuries and traumas. 

Lifting a too-heavy object over your head with a misaligned spine will strain your ligaments and muscles or injure your shoulder joint and spine. Any of these factors can result in significant pain near or under your left shoulder blade. 

3. Muscles Overuse

Different daily activities or physically-demanding jobs can lead to the overuse of muscles. Anything that puts pressure on your upper back and shoulders can strain your muscles and ligaments. This results in stabbing pain under left shoulder blade and spine. 

Muscle overuse can also lead to a more painful condition called scapulothoracic bursitis or snapping scapula syndrome. It refers to the inflammation of the bursa between both shoulder blades and the thoracic spine. When left untreated, it leads to intense pain under shoulder blades and the entire upper back. 

4. Cervical Herniated Disc

A cervical herniated disc is when the inner layer of the neck’s disc ruptures through its outer wall. This happens when the outer layer becomes weak enough to tear, allowing the inner layer to come out. It causes inflammation and pain in the surrounding nerve root, extending to the arm, shoulder, and hand. 

More particularly, a herniated disc in the lower cervical spine causes stabbing pain in or near the shoulder blade. However, it’s also possible that a disc herniation in the upper thoracic spine can lead to pain under the shoulder blade.

5. Dislocated Rib

Continuous strain or a sudden injury can make your rib displace from its place, leading to a sharp pain near or under your shoulder blade. While it rarely happens, you should consult a healthcare provider when you find it hard to breathe or feel shoulder pain. 

6. Cardiac Issues

Some heart issues, such as aortic dissection, can cause intense pain in or under your shoulder blade. It is a severe condition in which the largest artery of the heart gets ruptured, causing extreme pain throughout the shoulder blade. 

Another factor can be a heart attack that leads to intense pain in your upper back and shoulder, particularly in women. 

Treatment of Shoulder Blade Pain

Mild pain under left shoulder blade can be easily treated with conventional methods upon a professional’s guidance. If the problem persists and worsens over time, you might have to go for advanced treatment options, such as CELLAXYS’ orthobiologic methods: cell-based and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapies. 

1. Rest Your Upper Back

If doing any activity worsens your pain, try avoiding it and rest for some days. This could be exercising, lifting objects, or doing household chores. Preventing these activities can reduce your pain. 

However, don’t leave them for too long and live sedentary, or they may lead to severe upper back pain. Sitting in one position for a long time can also aggravate the discomfort. So, try to change your position and take breaks between your prolonged sitting sessions. 

You can also use a foam roller to massage your upper back whenever it hurts. 

2. Apply Ice or Heat Packs

Cold or heat therapy can also alleviate your back pain. You can apply the ice or heat pack on your back for 10 to 20 minutes and then take a 2-hour break between the sessions. For an ice pack, wrap the ice in a cloth and put it on your back. For heat therapy, a heating pad works fine. 

Whatever option you choose, always add a piece of cloth between your skin and the heat or ice source for protection. 

3. Take Over-the-Counter (OTC) Medication

OTC medications work wonders in relieving pain under left shoulder blade. You can purchase them easily from your nearest drugstore. The best ones include aspirin, ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), and naproxen (Naprosyn, Aleve, and Anaprox DS). Acetomphen (Tylenol) is ideal for altering brain signals for pain sensation. 

You won’t need any prescription to buy these medications, but it is ideal to consult a professional to avoid the risks.

4. Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy (PRP)

PRP is an orthobiologic treatment for several spine and sports-related injuries. The process involves taking the patient’s blood sample, extracting platelets from plasma, and reinjecting them into the injury site. 

Platelets are the healing components of our body. So, a high number of platelets in the affected area promotes healing and early recovery. PRP takes about 45 minutes to complete, and you can go home right after the procedure. 

5. Cell-Based Therapies

Also known as stem-cell therapies, this method uses the patient’s own cells to boost healing in the affected area. The doctor harvests healthy, highly-concentrated cells from the patient’s adipose tissues (called Minimally Manipulated Adipose Tissue Transplant) or bone marrow (known as Bone Marrow Concentrate), processes them, and reinjects them into the painful part of the body.

Stem cells are the natural building blocks of our body. Both MMAT and BMAC take about 1.5 to 2 hours to complete. At CELLAXYS, our patients report positive results and early recovery from PRP and cell-based therapies.