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Knot under Scapula

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Posted 8/12/2015 12:37 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Everyone,

I am new to this forum. I have suffered for over 12 yrs with this knot under my right scapula. Everytime I use my right arm in a repatitve motion the next day I have such a headache and pain where the knot is. The only thing that helps is laying on a hardball (baseball) and move around the knot you can feel it moving around. If I press hard on the knot the head pain stops, the minute i let go of the knot the headaches comes right back. My husband sometimes uses his elbow to rub it and he gets so freaked out because he can feel it moving all around, Its huge!!!!!

I have been to PT numerous times 40 weeks at a time, no relief. Massage therapy, accupuncture, Injections, pain meds, anti-inflammatories, you name it. The Mri and CT scans show nothing is there, put you can feel it with your fingers, so something is there!!!!

ALl the doctors basically say live with it, nothing helps. How can these scans show nothing when you can feel it?? Help please!!!!
Posted 8/12/2015 12:43 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Michelle.

I had something similar. For me it turned out to be a referred pain pattern from my neck where i had a ruptured disc.

Were any of the scans of your neck? Although a referred pain does not cause a physical knot. Hmm...

Something is a treatment called dry needling. This is much different than accupuncture.

A trained physical therapist inserts an accupuncture size needle into the affected muscle, sometimes directly into the knot.

Post Edited (Fireplaces) : 8/11/2015 6:52:48 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 8/12/2015 2:31 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Michelle,
You sound just like me. In fact, I just returned from a deep tissue massage for the same thing. My pain begins with the exact knot you explain. It travels up my neck and shoulder and eventually turns into a migraine type headache behind my right eye. I've had migraines since I was seven but this was not always the origin. This started about two or three years ago. I've also had trigger point therapy for several weeks. Going to the doctor is very frustrating because they don't have any answers except more pills. I need to function; I can't take pills all the time. Even the dry needling hasn't helped. If you find anything that does, please post.
Posted 8/12/2015 3:59 AM (GMT 0)
Hello Michelle & welcome to the chronic pain forum. First off, please understand none of us are drs here, we just speak from our own personal experiences.

My first thought would be that you have some serious muscles spasms going on. I too have to wonder if any of the dsr has bothered to look at your neck. I would be getting myself back to the dr & insist that they look at my neck. Has any of them seen the knot you speak of?

Take care.
Posted 8/12/2015 6:23 AM (GMT 0)
Welcome to the forum and I second the neck issues here. A little anatomy here and the physiology of whats happening sometimes in people such as yourself. If you have a cervical issue say a nerves getting trapped by a collapsed disc then the nerves sending signals that are misguided and or interrupted into the muscle causing the muscle to spasm and knot up and that nerve may possibly be directed at or actually be a cranial nerve,that in turns likely to cause severe and prolonged headaches. That's anatomy and certainly not a diagnosis because its a symptom of something else..

I would be looking for a Neuro Dr and expecting the mri to be of the cervical spine area. Make sure that the Neuro is board certified and avoid orthopedic Drs who specialize in spines because they're not as likely to be looking for nerve related problems,they deal with structural integrity such as bone.

When the muscle is relaxed and pushed on its possible its enough to release some of the pressure on those nerves and alleviating the pain for awhile.
Posted 8/12/2015 12:35 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Michelle, welcome to the forum.

I have symptoms similar to yours. I had 2 'accidents' close together. First, hit by a truck, not enough to knock me down, just a hit to the right shoulder that spun me a bit. Then, 2 months later, a fall. The first accident caused a tear in the labrum of the shoulder joint (which already had had 2 surgeries for the rotator cuff) the second accident caused a 3rd degree separation of the shoulder.

Since then, using my right arm (I'm right handed) causes such a knot under the right shoulder blade. I've had trigger point injections, p.t. etc. No medication has helped. My daughter massages it for me and I get a small amount of relief but nothing long lasting.

The only thing that has helped me manage is figuring out how to position my arm when I do use it. The arm hangs out of the socket since part of my collar bone was removed surgically and more of it was reabsorbed over time. Add in the stretched out ligaments and the shoulder socket is a total mess.

I sometimes use my sling to give it good rest in a better position. This is very helpful when the knot reappears. In addition to the sling, I roll a hand towel and place it in the arm pit. This, I have been told, is the optimal 'resting' position for the shoulder joint.

Working 'overhead' seems to be the worst trigger. I've rearranged the kitchen cabinets to keep most of what I use frequently below shoulder level. I have a couple of step stools to help in situations where I must reach higher than my 4'11" body should try.

I hope you can figure out what your worst triggers are. Avoiding them will be the most useful tool in your arsenal of fighting this most frustrating and painful situation.

I too have cervical spine issues. Addressing them has been helpful but not perfect. For me, it's all about prevention from getting it started more than what to do when it happens.
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