Sharp pain in upper back and left shoulder, pain increase upon breathing.

[EcoFeral]

I have been having a sharp burning pain in my upper back mostly on the left side by the shoulder blade.  At times my neck and left arm are effected too. The pain is present upon rising and lasts throughout the day. I am concous of my posture and do not believe it to be the cause. The pain worsens if i am carring anything at arms lengths or even if i am carring a light bag over either of my shoulders.  I have tried; hot, cold, advil and exercise but i haven't seen any releif for the past 5 months. The only thing i think that could have caused the pain is when i moved about 5 months ago.  There was a great deal of lifting and stress. I am 26 years old and feel like this pain is limiting my ability to go about my daily task. Any suggestions please?

[ChefBrandon]

Hi everyone. I have had a problem with back pain in between my left shoulder blade and spine that feels like a burning/pinching/stabbing annoyance that progresses through the day to become unbearable. I've been to the ER and was prescribed muscle relaxers and 800mg ibuprofen. Neither of which help. I am also a chef and am constantly lifting pans with my left and right arms, sometimes overhead. I have also started(4 months ago) to notice severe pain in my left shoulder sometimes radiating to my chest as well as down my arm. I believe(as I am no doctor) that all of this pain is due to a torn rotator cuff. I am not sure but it all makes sense. I believe it is due to the fact that I have a lot of repetitive movements of 10+ pounds throughout 10 hour shifts. I also know that this type of damage can happen suddenly from falls or improper lifting(mine seems to be from 19 years in the business). Know that the shoulder blade, shoulder and collarbone are all involved when moving your arm, so the pain can seem like it's coming from your back. I deal with pain daily and by the end of the week I'm ready to rip people's heads off. Unfortunately I can't take time off of work. I would suggest to many to get your shoulder checked, it may not be a back problem, however it could easily be a herniated disc. Good luck, pain *****.

[srt10]

Also I have the upper pain, but I have no problems with breathing at all

[srt10]

Late July 2012 is when it started for me.  I fell on my left shoulder playing soccer and felt a little on pain and stopped playing.  Then less than 5 minutes the pain was gone.  About 5 days later I woke up with a numbness feeling and shooting pains.  I went to the clinic and they did an EKG and the result was abnormal heart beat.  Heart rate was between 33-53 beats a minute.  I got rushed to the ER where I did a CAT Scan, Xray, and blood work.  All negative for a Heart attack.  Then was scheduled to see a heart specialist and a neurologist.  With the Heart specialist I past a stress test with no problems.  Wore a heart monitor with no problems as well.  

I had an MRI done of the left shoulder and cervical spine done.  The results of the MRI was there is a Cyst in the left shoulder with slight encroachment of a nerve andminor arthritis.  Cervical Spine there is disc hernations between c-3, c-4, and c-6 also minor narrowing of the spine.

The first neurologist did the EMG test to see where a pinched nerve was at.  The results of that test just showed a slight nerve blockage behind the left elbow and carpal tunnel of the right wrist.  There is no pinched nerve.

Saw the first orthopedic doctor which tried a cortisone shot in the shot which just made me get nausea right away and didn't help the pain.  Then proceeded to tell me to just live with it.  

I have tried physical therapy twice with no help.  I had one MRI, a few X-rays, and two CAT Scans.  

Right now trying pain management to help with the pain.

Still don't have an answer to what is causing the pain in the upper left shoulder blade?

[Mala1978]

It's sad to see we all have a problem and noone is giving an answer... Hello, is there any doctor out there that can give some good advice... Please help us!!!!

[jnothappynemore]

I have the same problem. When I turn my head left or right it I get pain in my upper left back by shoulder blade and it feels like something is pinching me by my left shoulder blade. If I am riding in a car on a bumpy road the pain gets so bad that the left side of my head hurts too. I cannot lie on my left side anymore because it gets so bad I am in tears after a five minutes and it feels like something wants to snap in half. I cannot live with this.

[Mala1978]

I have the same problem, left shoulder blade stabbing, pins and needles down my left arm, I can't breathe properly, this has Destroyed my life I want to cry... I don't know what to do, had ultrasound, MRI, x ray and nothing.. I am sick of being told its anxiety when I felt a burst in my shoulder blade, since this I can't breathe properly... Suffered for one year now...Does anyone from 2007 have an answer, I would love to know how u are going..

Good luck!
From mala