The most common diseases that provoke pain under the left shoulder blade from behind are osteochondrosis, angina pectoris, pneumonia, peptic ulcer and panic attack. Along with the pain syndrome, patients may be troubled by nausea, vomiting, heartburn, coughing, sputum production, and sensory and motor impairment. The diagnosis of the patient's condition is based on research, examination, laboratory and instrumental tests. The tactics of treatment depend on the underlying cause of the disease.
Reasons
Pain under the left shoulder blade from behind is a great symptom that can be observed in diseases of the spine or serious disorders of internal organs. At the same time, in 7% of cases such a pain syndrome occurs due to surgical pathology requiring urgent surgical intervention.
Among the main causes of pain in the left shoulder blade are:
- Diseases of the spine (congenital malformations, ankylosing spondylitis, spondylosis, osteochondrosis, intervertebral hernia, etc. ), provoking compression of the spinal roots;
- Muscle pathologies (dermatomyositis, fibromyalgia, etc. ), which causes a characteristic pain - myalgia;
- Neurological disorders (Guillain-Barré syndrome, polyneuropathy, intercostal neuralgia, etc. ), which are characterized by the appearance of specific neuropathic pain;
- Diseases of the internal organs:
- Hearts - angina pectoris, arrhythmia, heart attack;
- Lungs - bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis, pleurisy;
- Stomach - gastritis, ulcers, polyps;
- Spleen - ruptures and other pathologies.
- "Blood cancer" (leukemia), which causes pain in the thickness of the bones containing the bone marrow (pelvis, sternum, scapula, tubular bones).
Sometimes the pain syndrome is provoked by disorders of the autonomic nervous system, which regulates the work of all organs and systems. In such cases we talk about exacerbation of vegetative-vascular dystonia - ie panic attack.
Symptoms
The most common cause of pain under the left shoulder blade is osteochondrosis, angina pectoris, pneumonia, peptic ulcer or panic attack.
Osteochondrosis
The disease is caused by the destruction of the intervertebral disc, which normally "softens" the movement in the spine. Usually the pathology occurs against the background of extreme physical exertion and natural aging of the body.
Thus, the destroyed intervertebral disc (often in the cervical region) protrudes and affects the spinal roots. For this reason, patients (on the side of the lesion) are concerned about acute pain in the back of the head and neck with spread to the shoulder blade and shoulder. Over time, superficial sensitivity in these areas is impaired, so patients do not feel temperature and vibration on the skin.
As the disease progresses, the brachial plexus becomes involved in the pathological process, which significantly complicates the mobility of the shoulder. At the same time, the strength of the muscles of the affected arm is significantly weakened, which in advanced cases leads to immobilization.
angina pectoris
Angina pectoris is a syndrome of pain that occurs in the chest, also known as "angina pectoris". The cause of the pain is a violation of the blood supply to the heart muscle due to vasoconstriction or the formation of cholesterol plaques in their lumen. Provoke an attack of stress, emotional and physical overload.
Patients are usually concerned about sudden stabbing or burning pain in the chest area. In this case, the pain often spreads to the left shoulder, as well as along the elbow surface of the left hand to the little finger. Often the pain syndrome is combined with a feeling of interruption of the heart and fear of death.
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is a disease often caused by a bacterial or viral infection. As a rule, patients complain of a significant increase in temperature (up to 39, 5-40 ° C), fever and "piercing" pain in the chest or shoulder blade of the affected lung. In this case, the pain is aggravated by sneezing, coughing or intense breathing.
With the development of the disease there is a cough and purulent sputum, which sometimes acquire a "rusty" character (due to impurities in the blood). Patients often experience shortness of breath and shortness of breath even with little physical activity.
stomach ulcer
The cause of the disease is the local destruction of the gastric mucosa with the formation of a peptic ulcer (ie ulcers). The provokers are bacterial infection (Helicobacter), increased acidity and disorders of gastric motility.
The main complaint of peptic ulcer disease is paroxysmal pain in the upper abdomen (epigastrium), which occurs or worsens after eating. Often exacerbations of the disease are combined with nausea and vomiting, which brings relief. In the meantime, patients complain of heartburn, belching, bloating, and a feeling of heaviness after eating.
Vegetative crisis
The cause of the pain may be a crisis of vegetative-vascular dystonia, also known as a panic attack. Patients usually worry about "migrating" pain, which occurs either in the heart, or under the shoulder blade, or in the abdomen, and so on.
At the same time, patients complain of fever, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, fear of going crazy or confused thoughts.
Such crises can be a manifestation of both organic pathology (tumor of the adrenal glands, heart disease) and mental (phobias, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder). In some cases, panic attacks are the result of medication.
Diagnosis
Diagnostic measures usually consist of:
- A study that allows you to determine the conditions of occurrence and nature of pain;
- Clinical examination with clarification of the location of pain and identification of pain points;
- Laboratory tests to detect infection (with pneumonia or ulcers), inflammatory changes in the blood or muscle protein levels, which show their destruction (troponin in myocardial infarction);
- Instrumental methods using X-rays, ultrasound, CT or MRI.
Also in case of heart attack electrocardiography is performed, and in case of gastric ulcer fibrogastroduodenoscopy (examination of the stomach with an endoscope).
Treatment
If there is pain under the left shoulder blade behind the back, patients should urgently seek medical attention, assuch pain syndrome may indicate emergencies (myocardial infarction, rupture of the spleen, perforation of the ulcer, etc. ). In this case, it is not recommended to take painkillers, becauseanalgesics can hide the symptoms and complicate the subsequent diagnosis!
- Osteochondrosis. The main therapy includes non-steroidal and steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Muscle relaxants are used to relieve muscle spasm. Chondroprotectors are prescribed as a long-term treatment aimed at delaying the destruction of the intervertebral disc.
- angina. Relieving the acute attack is done with the help of nitrates. However, general therapy is based on lifestyle changes, the use of acetylsalicylic acid (to "dilute" the blood), and statins to lower cholesterol levels.
- Pneumonia. The main drug in the treatment of pneumonia is an antibiotic, the choice of which depends on the cause of the infection.
- Stomach ulcer. The treatment of ulcers consists in the destruction of the provoking bacteria (Helicobacter pylori). For this purpose, several antibacterial agents are prescribed, as well as drugs that reduce the level of acidity in the stomach contents.
- vegetative crisis. In most cases, the treatment of panic attacks can be limited to psychotherapy sessions. At the same time, the appointment of psychotropic substances (antidepressants, tranquilizers) is often unjustified.
Precautions
Prevention of pain under the left shoulder blade behind the back is based on:
- timely diagnosis of congenital and acquired diseases of the spine (fusion of the cervical spine, spondylosis, osteochondrosis, intervertebral hernia, injuries);
- early detection of muscle pathology (dermatomyositis, fibromyalgia);
- recovery of neurological disorders (intercostal neuralgia, polyneuropathy);
- treatment of diseases of the internal organs:
- cardiac - angina pectoris, arrhythmia, heart attack;
- lungs - bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculous pleurisy;
- stomach - gastritis, ulcers, polyps;
- spleen - ruptures and other pathologies.
- conducting a blood test for presymptomatic diagnosis of leukemia.
Remember that pain in the left shoulder blade can indicate acute pathologies requiring urgent treatment or surgery!