Understanding Shoulder Blade Pain And Its Treatments
Shoulder blade pain could disturb your normal life. It won’t let you work, rest, or even focus on the treatment. The pain will hinder your movements and affect your quality of life in the long run. While the physical injury is the major cause of pain on a shoulder blade, the pain could originate due to an underlying cause like a collapsed lung or liver problems.
Are you prone to shoulder blade pain?
If you work for hours sitting in the same position, you are more prone to develop pain in your shoulder blades. Similarly, an injury to your shoulder could cause inflammation and pain in a shoulder. Also, you could develop pain in your shoulder blades while lifting a heavy weight.
Pain in the shoulder blades also indicates an underlying condition, if you have nerve met an accident and you don’t sit for hours in the same position. You need to be cautious about the pain in your shoulder blades and get ready to see a doctor if there are more complications like:
• Chest pain/difficulty in breathing/irregular heartbeat
• Fever/excessive seating/losing consciousness
• Pain or inflammation in legs
• Paralysis
• Coughing up blood
• Problems with vision
Keep a close watch over your shoulder pain and the accompanying symptoms to act fast if you face any of the above-mentioned symptoms. An underlying condition could become critical if ignored for a long time. If you have shoulder blade pain with no history of any physical trauma then you should be careful about underlying conditions.
How to control shoulder blade pain?
By the time you go to see a doctor for your shoulder blade pain, you can try some home therapies that can give lasting relief from the pain and suffering. And these remedies can even cure pain due to physical trauma.
- Ice Or Heat Compress
Depending on your convenience and comfortability, you can choose to apply a cold or hot compress over the affected area. A cold compress will have analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects that will relieve pain and swelling. But a hot compress will reduce pain by improving blood circulation.
Leave the ice or heat compress for 5-10 minutes then remove it only to repeat the process 2-3 times daily until the symptoms improve. You will feel the impact of the treatment within a short time and it will be long-lasting as well.
- Epsom Salt Bath
Epsom salt contains magnesium that has amazing inflammation-reducing properties. Bathing with Epsom salt water will provide fast relief from the pain and suffering. It can relieve your shoulder blade pain faster than anything else.
Add 1 cup of Epsom salt to a tub of water and allow the salt to dissolve in the water completely. Then soak in the salt bath for 15-20 minutes to allow the magnesium in the salt to start working on your shoulder blade. For better results, you can take this bath once a day or alternate days.
- Stretching
It is a physical activity performed before exercising. Its advantage is that it prepares the body for exercise. Similarly, doing this activity after exercises will prevent muscle soreness and injury. Stretching can also relieve your shoulder blade pain if you are in pain. Simply do “warm-ups” to cure the pain and suffering and the result will be instant.
You can try the stretching exercises you do before and after regular work-out. And if you are new to stretching, you can approach a personal trainer to help. An experienced personal trainer can suggest some warm-up exercises that you can practice at home when you are in pain.
- Massage Therapy
Therapeutic massage therapy can also relieve your shoulder blade pain. Massaging the affected area will reduce the swelling and the suffering associating with inflammation. And the relief will come as soon as you get the treatment. The light press on the affected area will reduce the inflammation that will reduce the pain and soon it will be gone.
But you need to go to a physical therapist to get a therapeutic massage. Or one of your family members can massage the affected area. It will be a short treatment that you can get at home. Also, there is no harm in getting it again and again.
- Kinesiology Tape (KT)
It is a tape that can control the scapular movements for patients with shoulder blade pain. It supports the inflamed muscles when a patient tries to move the affected shoulder. It can also provide short-term pain relief.
Take a kinesiology tape and put it across the affected area. You can keep the tape on the affected area even for a week. It won’t hinder your regular movements and jobs. But you need to use the tape in the right manner. You can ask a professional to help or take training on how to use the tape in the right manner to get maximum benefit.
The above-mentioned tips can help manage your shoulder blade pain without relying on regular painkiller medicines that could have serious side effects in the long run. But you should also be cautious about your shoulder condition and take the following measures to prevent pain.
• Take a healthy diet rich in nutrients to get the energy needed to brave pain and suffering.
• Do moderate exercises daily. Do them twice a day, if possible.
• Avoid lifting heavy objects that require more shoulder pressure as it can trigger pain.
• Change your sleeping position and avoid sitting in the same position for too long as it could unnecessarily pressure your body.
• Always wear a seatbelt when driving a car.
• Allow your body some time to get used to a job you are doing for the first time.
Follow these tips to prevent the pain from coming back. These tips will help in managing the pain without seeking medical intervention. But you shouldn’t delay getting medical treatment, in case the pain persists despite taking all precautions and treatments. When you in deep pain, a surgeon can inspect the underlying conditions causing pain and provide the right treatment.
Disclaimer: If you have shoulder blade pain then you should consult a doctor before trying any home therapy.
