Expert Advice For Fast Shoulder Blade Pain Relief

Are you looking for shoulder blade pain relief after suffering with stiffness and tension in your shoulders and neck?

Perhaps you notice this when you are reaching up when you are doing housework, throwing a ball for the dogs, and picking up the grandchildren?

In our clinics, we saw a dramatic rise in patients visiting us wanting shoulder blade pain relief after the various lockdowns caused by the pandemic.

With our lives returning back to normality, we are still seeing a lot of patients visiting us with shoulder and neck problems, and this blog article is packed with helpful tips and expert advice to give you fast shoulder blade pain relief and get a more active, pain-free life.

Shoulder Blade Pain

When we talk about shoulder blade pain, this typically appears as aches across the upper back; starting at the bottom of the rib cage up to the top of the shoulders, and sometimes into the neck and base of the skull.

If issues with your shoulder blades are severe, this often leads to pain in your neck can lead to frequent and severe headaches.

Some people might experience right shoulder blade pain, left shoulder blade pain, or it may affect both. If you notice only one side is painful, then this could indicate that you have some imbalances which is creating pressure and stress on just one side of your shoulder.

What Causes Pain Between Shoulder Blades

Jonny, one of our expert physio team, explains how working from home, long durations of driving and/or excessive sitting can lead to pain between your left, right or both shoulder blades.

The reason is that leaning over a desk, or driving for long periods of time mean that your upper body is hunched over, and often stuck in that position for hours at a time.

As a result, this puts pressure on the muscles which connect to the shoulder blade, and causes discomfort or pain in the shoulder joint when raising the arm above the head, or reaching behind.

Advice For Fast Shoulder Blade Pain Relief

For fast shoulder blade pain relief, you don’t have to resort to painkillers or simply put up with it.

There are several natural, yet powerful ways to ease pain such as:

Using ice packs (or a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a tea towel) on the affected area for a period of 15 minutes at a time, before allowing the skin to return back to normal temperature before repeating.
Using heat packs (or hot water bottle) on the affected area for a period of 15 minutes at a time, before allowing the skin to return back to normal temperature before repeating.
Keeping active and avoid long periods of inactivity (which leads to muscles become tight, and joints becoming stiff)
Relevant exercises to help mobilise the shoulder joint

Simple Exercise That Contribute Towards Shoulder Blade Pain Relief

For people who sit for long periods of time, either at a desk, or when driving, performing shoulder circles as demonstrated in the video above can be an effective way to avoid muscles associated with your shoulder blades becoming overworked, and discomfort setting in.

To perform shoulder circles:

Raise the shoulders up
Squeeze the shoulder blades back together in the centre of your upper back
Hold for 5 seconds
Slowly lower the shoulders
Repeat for around 1 minute before resting

This exercise works the muscles between the rib cage and the spine which when strong allow proper movement of the shoulder and takes the pressure of the shoulder joint. By doing this it reduces the risk of nipping nerves which is a major cause of pain.

To avoid pain returning, try to minimise hunching over and bring your shoulders back, and down.

Natural Ways To Get Shoulder Blade Pain Relief

Due to the increasing long waiting lists on the NHS, more and more people are putting their faith in private physiotherapy to ease their muscle pain, and get back to doing the things that they love; whether that’s returning to the golf course, being able to get back to their favourite exercise classes, or simply being able to enjoy weekend activities with their family.

However, we know that there are still some people unsure whether private physiotherapy is going to be the right option for them, and confused as to how it even works.

To help people, potentially like you, who want to end their shoulder and neck pain so they can sleep better, feel happier and make the most of their free time with their loved ones…

We offer free taster consultations which give you the opportunity to find out more about how we can help you.

So if you are:

Confused about how to end your shoulder blade pain (either both shoulder blades, or your left shoulder blade or right shoulder blade individually)
Worried that it will never get better and you’ll always struggle to get a great night’s sleep
Frustrated that your GP’s only advice was to rest and see what it’s like in six weeks
Annoyed that you’ll need to rely on painkillers to supress regular headaches that wreck your weekend plans

With four clinics across the North East (Darlington, Durham, Guisborough or Hartlepool), we are ready and waiting to help the great people of the North East, so get in contact today!

Click the link below to arrange your free taster consultation with one of our friendly, and knowledgeable team who can remove all your confusion, anxiety and give you optimism that you can get better.

Start Your Journey To A More Active, Pain-Free Live With A Free Taster Consultation

Other Free Resources

Our founder, leading UK physiotherapist, and multi-time No.1 bestselling author Paul Gough has written a FREE downloadable report for anyone who wants fast shoulder blade pain relief and wants to know…

“How To Ease Annoying, Daily, Irritating Neck and Shoulder Pain Naturally – Before It Gets Any Worse…”

Download Your Free Neck and Shoulder Pain Report Now

Or check out other fantastic blogs:

Read Our Blog – Shoulder Pain: Simple Exercises You Can Do From Your Desk, To Maintain A Healthy Looking Posture

Read Our Blog – How To Loosen A Stiff Neck And Shoulders During The Winter Months

Read Our Blog – Is Sitting Really That Bad For You?

Want more videos on demand? Check out our YouTube channel (remember to hit subscribe so you don’t miss out on our new video!)

About
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Paul Gough

Paul Gough is an internationally known Physio and Founder of The North East’s Leading Specialist Private Physiotherapy Practice for People in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, who want to keep healthy and active.

You might know Paul as an expert Columnist who writes weekly health articles for TWO of the North East's biggest daily Newspapers, The Northern Echo And The Hartlepool Mail, he is a regular Speaker at Industry Seminars around the globe and a Radio Personality, often heard on the BBC. Paul has been an expert guest on dozens of Radio shows and regularly interviewed in newspapers, magazines and trade journals all over the world, including the Guardian.

Paul’s background included working extensively in the Premier League with a Top Professional Football Team, and since quitting his job in Professional Football in 2007, his Physio Practice has become the fastest growing in the UK and biggest in the North East. So successful, that companies like BUPA, ASDA, The Vela Group And Coast & Country, repeatedly retain his Physio company's services to keep healthy their own staff and workforce. Paul Gough Physio Rooms is now a large multi-physio, multi clinic speciality practice in Darlington, Durham, Guisborough and Hartlepool.

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