A pain under the right scapula can be caused by various disorders. Possible causes include liver damage. These can cause pain which reverberate up to the level of the right scapula.
This phenomenon is called "the syndrome of referred pain ». What is the main mechanism of this syndrome? Is this the only cause? And above all, what are the proposed solutions? Discover all the information related to this subject in this article.
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Anatomy
Before getting to the heart of the matter, we should first recall the anatomical situation of scapula and liver.
The scapula is a flat bone located on the postero-upper part of the thorax, that is to say at the top of the back. Also called "Scapula", the scapula takes on a triangular shape with a lower apex.
It's a bone pair and symmetrical. Thus, one distinguishes on each side of the costal grill the left scapula and the right scapula. These are in contact with many muscles, vessels and nerves. Also, each of the shoulder blades articulates with the clavicles and humeri.
The liver is an abdominal organ located under the side right of the diaphragm. It is partially protected by the last six straight ribs. The liver is considered the largest digestive organ, it can reach up to 28 cm in length in the transverse plane.
Scapula pain, possible causes
Shoulder blade pain can be caused by:
muscle damage
The pain can be caused by traumatic damage to the muscles that are localized near the scapula.
posture
Shoulder blade pain can be caused by prolonged poor posture or bad habits; as well as by anatomical changes such as scoliosis, kyphosis or scapular dyskinesia.
Cervical damage
Cervical involvement leads to irritation or pressure on the nerves at the level of the cervical spine. The pain caused then radiates to the shoulder blade.
Dorsal hernia
La herniated disc refers to a tear in the fibrous ring surrounding the intervertebral discs in the dorsal (thoracic) region. The perforated disc irritates surrounding structures causing pain that spreads to the shoulder blade.
Costal involvement
The pain caused by a rib injury is located mainly in the thoracic region, but it can spread to the scapula.
heart disorder
During a heart attack, pain may be felt between the shoulder blades and not necessarily in the chest area.
Gall bladder
Apart from the characteristic symptoms of gallbladder involvement, sharp pain in the shoulder blade may also be felt.
osteoporosis
Osteoporosis can cause a compression fracture of the vertebrae. The latter is the cause of back pain that spreads to the shoulder blade.
Neighborhood
Shingles can cause interscapular pain depending on where the virus is located in the body.
Liver
Liver damage is often accompanied by pain felt under the right shoulder blade. This pain is described as being intense during hepatic colic, while it is rather dull in the case of cirrhosis.
What is the link between liver pain and right shoulder blade pain?
The concept of referred pain
The link between pain in the liver and the right scapula can be established by the " referred pain syndrome ". This syndrome is manifested by pain felt in areas that are not at theorigin of the disorder.
In other words, when the liver is affected by a pathology, the pain caused can spread to the right shoulder blade. As a result, it is not the scapula that is affected, but the liver.
The mechanism of referred pain syndrome is quite simple. Arrived in the spinal cord, the afferent sensory nerves of the liver and the scapular region converge into a single bundle. The latter is then responsible for bringing sensory information back to the cerebral cortex.
For your information, an afferent sensory nerve is responsible for bringing the sensations felt through the body back to the brain. And all the afferent nerves first stop in spinal cord before ascending to the cortex.
Thus, when the liver is in pain, it sends sensory signals to the brain via its afferent nerves. But the cortex cannot precisely distinguish the location of the disorder: hepatic or scapular.
Following this, the person with liver disorders feels pain in the liver region and under his right shoulder blade.
Other causes of liver and shoulder blade pain
In other cases, the painful sensation emanating from the liver may just radiate to the areas around it. The pain is thus felt under the right scapula, due to the anatomical situation of the liver which is located mainly on the right, in the upper region of the abdomen.
In this case, the pain is localized precisely on the right side around the hepatic region, especially in the shoulder, collarbones and of course under the right shoulder blade.
THINGS TO DO
As mentioned earlier, there are several causes that can cause the pain under the right scapula. It can be difficult to pinpoint the very origin of the disorder. First, you need to see a doctor. The latter will carry out a clinical examination and will clarify the diagnosis.
Once the origin of the disorder has healed (here, the liver) the pain under the right shoulder blade should be abolished.
If the pain in the right scapula is of hepatic origin
If the liver is responsible for the pain in the right shoulder blade, then the medical treatment depends on the pathology in question. Drug treatments are prescribed by the doctor who made the diagnosis.
Case of hepatic colic: The medical treatment will rather focus on taking antispasmodic drugs, analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs if the person is feverish.
Case of cirrhosis: The treatment of cirrhosis is mainly symptomatic. Combined with this, the person must rule out the harmful agents responsible for the deterioration of the liver.
If the right shoulder blade pain is from another cause
If the presence of liver disease has been ruled out, pain management should be done differently. The sufferer can, for example, perform:
Physiotherapy sessions (physiotherapy): Physiotherapy sets up real analgesic techniques aimed at relieving the pain felt in the right shoulder blade.
Osteopathy: This is an external manual practice that helps to remedy pain in the right shoulder blade.
Painkillers: Analgesics may be necessary to calm acute pain attacks.
Massage: A massage focused on the scapular region can help relieve pain in the right shoulder blade. Especially if the origin of the disorder is muscular, the massage helps to decongest the surrounding muscles.
However, it is always advisable to call a health professional to have good results quickly.
Apart from that, regular stretching exercises, postural correction and applying poultices to the painful area are highly recommended ways to reduce pain in the right shoulder blade.
Young medical student passionate about writing, I was able to find the perfect compromise between these two activities by being a web editor. Writing health articles allows me to increase my knowledge, but also to share my knowledge. My name is Joanna Ray Ariselina and I'm proud to be a health writer.
