{"id":3684,"date":"2019-02-04T06:25:57","date_gmt":"2019-02-04T06:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/?p=3684"},"modified":"2021-03-25T18:57:49","modified_gmt":"2021-03-25T18:57:49","slug":"15-tips-to-relieve-pain-between-shoulder-blades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/15-tips-to-relieve-pain-between-shoulder-blades\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Tips to Relieve Pain Between Shoulder Blades"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Chances are that you do not notice pain between your shoulder blades right away. You may be sitting at your desk working all day. Perhaps you walk around carrying a heavy bag on one side. No matter what the reason, at some point it hits you: your neck hurts, your muscles feel tight, and your shoulders are scrunched. There is a lot of tension held between the shoulder blades. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The amount of time that a person spends with their head forward and shoulders scrunched can increase the stress on the joints and the soft tissues located in the area. In other words, sedentary jobs requiring us to sit all day with the head and neck stuck in the same position can cause pain between the shoulder blades. Stress can also add to these issues. Here are 8 tips to help relieve any pain that you are experiencing in the upper back between the shoulder blades. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Posture<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the best ways to help alleviate pain between the shoulder blades is to make sure that you are practicing good posture<\/a>. You may think that your grandma was just being silly when she kept telling you to sit up straight, but the truth is that good posture can go a long way when it comes to alleviating pain, not only in your upper back but throughout the body as well. When you are driving make sure that you sit up straight towards the wheel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When at your desk and working on a computer, choose a good quality chair and sit up as straight as possible. This helps to keep your spine in line. You should make sure that your screen is sitting at eye level and the keyboard for the computer should be as close as a steering wheel is when you drive. Placing a rolled towel behind your lower back can help ensure that you sit more upright. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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2. Pillows<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many people enjoy sleeping on many soft and fluffy pillows during the night. In fact, when you ask someone how many pillows they have on their bed, chances are that the number is much higher than one per person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, when you are trying to alleviate pain in your upper back between your shoulder blades<\/a> it is a good idea to ditch all of the pillows on your bed. You should choose to sleep on one semi-firm pillow at night. This will help keep your body in line while you are sleeping. When you add in a bunch of pillows it elevates the neck. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This can cause you to go into all types of weird positions that are not natural. When you are sleeping on more than one pillow it can cause tension between your shoulder blades because of the angles. If you are experiencing upper back pain, try sleeping with just one pillow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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3. Stretching<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Stretching your neck and your shoulders can go a long way when it comes to alleviating any pain that you are experiencing between your shoulder blades. One stretch that you can do is quite simple. You will first want to tilt your head towards one of your shoulders. While your head is tilted in one direction, drop the shoulder that is opposite of your tilted head. Hold this position for about 30 seconds. Do not strain <\/a>as this can cause the stretch to hurt. Simply use the weight of your head to help stretch the areas. After 30 seconds repeat the stretch on the other side. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you have completed the stretch on each side, turn and look over one shoulder and hold it for about thirty seconds. Then do the same on the other side. These exercises are quite simple and can be done at any time throughout the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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4. Strengthening your Neck<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to pain located in between your shoulder blades, your neck plays a very important role. One of the ways to help alleviate some of the pain that you may be experiencing is to strengthen the muscles in your neck. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One exercise that you can do in order to strengthen your neck is to lie flat on your back and put your tongue <\/a>on the roof of your mouth. Move your chin down until it lies on your chest. Keep the back of your head flat on the ground. Hold the position for five seconds and then lift the head up and move it forward for five seconds. Doing this helps to stretch out the part of the spine that is located behind your ears. It can help strengthen this area, which in turn can help to alleviate some of the pain you may be experiencing between your shoulders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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5. Strengthen Shoulder Blades<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A lot of the time neck and upper back pain is caused by muscles that have become deconditioned. These muscles that are located in the area between the blades of the shoulders need to be worked and stretched just like the rest of the muscles in the body in order to remain strong and healthy. It is important to make sure that you are doing exercises <\/a>to strengthen these muscles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stretching and strength exercises can help to alleviate any pain you are experiencing between the shoulder blades. You can help keep these muscles strong by simply standing up and squeezing your shoulder blades together. This will pull the shoulders backward. Hold this position for counts of five and repeat for a minute to start. Once you have been doing this each day for a bit, try doing it for at least two minutes, slowly increase the time that you do this each week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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6. Diet<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many people simply do not realize how much their diet affects every aspect of their body. The saying that you are what you eat is really quite true. What you put into your body can greatly affect how you feel overall. This includes how your muscles and even your bones feel. If you are having a lot of pain between your shoulder blades a change in your diet may be necessary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plant foods contain a lot of magnesium. Magnesium <\/a>plays an important role in helping tense muscles relax. Drinking tea will stop the body from absorbing this important nutrient. If you eat a lot of Chinese food it is important to know that this type of food contains MSG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MSG is an excitotoxin in the nervous system. Excitotoxins are also found in several artificial sweeteners. These excitotoxins are known to increase the perception of pain. Avoiding these types of foods can help alleviate the pain you are experiencing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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7. Stress<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to being stressed, many people do not even realize all of the health issues that it can cause. Stress <\/a>cannot only cause a person to be more likely to become sick, but it can also cause a person to experience pain. It creates tetany, which is a condition that tightens up the muscles. In many cases, the neck and the shoulder area are two of the most common areas for this tightness of muscle to occur. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have been experiencing pain between the shoulder blades it is a good idea to try to alleviate stress. If you tend to be tightly wound, taking a few moments each day to simply relax is important for treating this type of pain. Yoga and meditation are two of the best ways to help calm and relax your body. These exercises can alleviate stress as they create a sense of calm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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8. Shoulder Mobility<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Another great exercise to do if you are experiencing pain <\/a>between your shoulder blades is a move that is quite easy. However, even though the motion is easy, when doing this exercise it is important to make sure that you are focusing on isolating the shoulder blades. To start you will want to stand in a comfortable position. Your arms should be at your sides. Move the shoulder blades up and then push them out and away from the body. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You do not need to move the blades very far in either direction, just about a cm will work. Make sure that you are maintaining good posture while you are doing this exercise. Hold each of the positions for a count of ten and then release. The most important thing to remember is that you are not simply moving your arms up and down. You are focusing on the shoulder blades. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\r\n

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