Suggest Treatment For Pain In Shoulder Blades

Posted on Thu, 9 Oct 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 9 Oct 2014 Answered on

Mon, 3 Nov 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : I have been fighting a pulled muscle or something causing some pain in my shoulder blades for a few months but over the last few weeks I have what feels like trouble breathing. I can take a deep breath and have no other other problems but it gets in my head that its worse. It kind of comes and goes thought the day and eating or resting doesn't make much difference. Am I just worrying to much or can you get a feeling of hard to breath from your shoulders hurting?

Answered by Dr. Albana Sejdini (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Rule Lungs,heart,cholecyst,pancreas prob out first

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

The pain you have been experiencing during these months in your shoulder blades and are causing difficulty in breathing is related to:
- pulled muscle : observe whether this pain is subsided when you take ibuprofen or other OTC pain killers. If it is subsided, then, it's from pulled muscle.

- observes if the pain is more intense when moving? while resting? after eating/drinking?

- injury to the shoulder blades should be ruled out through X-ray

- as you are also having difficulty in breathing, further tests are needed to exclude:

1. heart problems: ECG, cardiac echo, stress test
2. pulmonary issues: chest-X-ray, respiratory function tests
3. cholecyst problems (inflammation, sludge, stones, etc.): abdominal ultrasound and liver/pancreas function tests are needed to rule them out.

You can discuss this further with your family doctor.

After having analyzed all these tests, I can specifically tell whether what you are experiencing is worrisome or not.

Hope it helped!
Dr.Albana
Let me know if you have anything unclear.

Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar