Upper back pain in between shoulder blades

[GingerFish]

I've had upper back pain on and off for years. Always gets worse when I have a bad panic attack/anxiety phase.

I have it so bad at the moment. Ever since my stepdad died a few months ago, I've been getting this pain almost every month for about a week or so at a time. It feels right in the middle of my upper spine/in between shoulder blades. It doesn't hurt at all to breath or cough. Don't usually feel it while walking either. It hurts to lie down on my back, when I move my neck certain ways, when I move my shoulders certain ways, hurts a bit to touch as well etc. Trying to sleep is the absolute worst since it hurts in almost any position unless I lie on my back on a certain way. If I move my neck the opposite way while lying on my back, it's agony. Can be sore to sit down when my back leans against a chair. It's a sharp and deep pain and almost like an electric shock kind of pain. Only lasts for a few seconds. If I bend my neck back or down whether I'm lying down or standing, it hurts and I can feel such a strong "about to rip or tear" feeling down my spine area.

I've tried painkillers and they haven't really helped much. Deep freeze gel helps but it doesn't last too long. Have any of you had this pain before?

[Midnight-mouse]

Yep! All the time. Tension caused my stress and poor posture resulting from the tension, catch 22 because then I adjust more because of the pain eventually causing more pain!

Focus on relaxing your shoulders and adjusting to better more neutral posture, I carry so much stress in my shoulders!

Positive vibes,

Mouse


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GingerFish]

Yep! All the time. Tension caused my stress and poor posture resulting from the tension, catch 22 because then I adjust more because of the pain eventually causing more pain!

Focus on relaxing your shoulders and adjusting to better more neutral posture, I carry so much stress in my shoulders!

Positive vibes,

Mouse


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's so painful, isn't it? Feels beyond just muscular pain sometimes. The first time I ever got it about ten years ago, I ended up in A&E with it. How do you manage to sleep when you have the pain? It's so hard for me to find a comfortable position. I keep waking up from it :(

[GingerFish]

I had a good night last night in regards to this pain. It was still there a little but I could sleep in any position, even managed to cuddle into my husband's back which I haven't been able to do in over a week since it hurt to lie on that side but when I woke up after 8 hours sleep, my upper back and shoulders were absolute agony and its spread a little to under my left boob. Trying to keep the anxiety at bay over it all but it is hard even though I have had this all before. The only time the pain goes away and I feel fine about everything is when I am in the bath. Wish I could just live in the bath until this bad anxiety phrase goes away but I suppose that could just be running away from it, wouldn't it?

Debating whether I should call up my GP tomorrow for advice on the back pain. Don't think they would be able to see me with what is going on but maybe they could prescribe me more Naproxen or give some advice?

[ankietyjoe]

I have it too and it's postural.

I was seeing a really good physiotherapist before the lockdown who was helping me deal with it, but it's a hard nut to crack.

For me, it was about the posture I had been baking in to myself for years, the anxiety 'hunch' where your shoulders roll forwards causing your chest muscles to become incapable of expanding like the should and it pulls your shoulders forward causing the muscles at the back to become permanently stretched and sore.

I can only sleep on my side, and quite often when I wake up in the morning it's agony for 20 minutes or so.