Today I had a message on one of the forums I monitor on the internet. The man has lung cancer and he is now having pain in his shoulder and under his shoulder blade. All the doctors want to do is give him pain pills and it made me think of so many of the people I’ve worked with over the years.
Unfortunately, in too many cases when a person has been diagnosed with a condition, whether it is arthritis, fibromyalgia, cancer, or any disease, the source of muscle pain is just overlooked and it is lumped in with the bigger problem. There isn’t anything I can help with when it comes to cancer, but I can definitely help with a muscle spasm that causes pain in the shoulder and under the shoulder blade.
If you haven’t already done so, I suggest you first read all about repetitive strain injuries, including the sections titled “Muscles and Pain” and “What’s Happening Exactly.”
There are several muscles that can cause this pain pattern, and if you have any of my books you have access to the charts that show how to connect the pain area with the spasm that refers to that area. Let’s just talk about two points right now (there are more) because they are so common.
On your shoulder blade is a muscle called infraspinatus. If you put your flat hand on someone’s shoulder blade you are actually touching the infraspinatus. You can find the muscle by doing an internet search for the name of the muscle and that might help you locate it.
If you take a new tennis ball (an old ball is too flat to work) you can use your opposite hand to reach around across your chest and under your armpit, and then place the ball as far back onto your shoulder blade as possible. Then lean up against a wall and move a bit until you find the spasm. You’ll know immediately when you hit the spasm, it will hurt!
Stay on the spasm for about 30-60 seconds and then move a bit to find another painful point. Keep repeating this until you can’t find any more painful points (spasms) and then move to the area that is immediately in front of your shoulder blade. There are two muscles, your teres minor and teres major (find them on the internet too) that will frequently cause this same pain pattern. Just roll the ball to that area and press in by pushing your side into the ball that is resting on the wall.
As I mentioned, there are other spasms that will cause this pain pattern, but this should help you a lot.
If you have been diagnosed with a condition…any condition…don’t just ignore muscular aches and pains and tag them onto “the condition.” It is so common for these aches and pains to come from something that has absolutely nothing to do with “the condition” and that can be quickly and easily released with just a few minutes of focused attention.
Wishing you well,
Julie