The muscles, ligaments and tendons in your shoulder can all cause shoulder pain. Yet your pain can also come from other places outside of your shoulder. This is known as referred shoulder pain.
How can you tell the difference? A physical therapist can tell you that moving your shoulder may help or worsen your shoulder pain if you have shoulder problems like a pulled muscle or osteoarthritis. But you may not notice any difference in referred shoulder pain if you move your shoulder.
Physical therapists can also help you learn about common places in your body that your referred shoulder pain could be coming from.
4 common places that referred shoulder pain may come from
- Neck/upper back — Numerous nerves run through the neck and upper back and into the shoulders. An issue that pinches one of these nerves can be the source of referred pain in the shoulder. A bulging disc, for example, can press on a nerve and cause pain to radiate down into the shoulder.
- Gallbladder — The gallbladder is another area from which shoulder pain can originate. An issue like gallstones causes the gallbladder to become inflamed and swollen. These symptoms can cause the gallbladder to irritate the nearby phrenic nerve. This nerve runs from your abdomen to your neck. As a result, many people with gallstones develop pain near their right shoulder blade.
- The esophagus/stomach — Heartburn is a common issue that is caused by stomach acid getting into the esophagus. The acid triggers irritation and pain that’s often felt in the central chest area, but it can also spread through nearby nerves into the shoulder blade area.
- The ovaries — Ruptured ovarian cysts are often a normal part of a woman’s menstrual cycle. Unfortunately, they can also cause right shoulder pain and discomfort. The reason? A ruptured ovarian cyst can irritate the nerves running up to your diaphragm and between your shoulders. After the cysts heal, the pain tends to subside.
How can physical therapy help with referred shoulder pain?
Your physical therapist will assess and prescribe the right protocol for your pain. Strengthening exercises can help increase support in areas like the neck where a nerve may be pinched. Manual therapy and cupping can also help treat sources of radiating shoulder pain.
Whatcom PT can help you address referred shoulder pain
If you believe your shoulder pain stems from another condition, our team at Whatcom Physical Therapy is here to help discover the root cause. A free screening is one tool we can use to determine the source of your shoulder pain. Our physical therapists can then build you a treatment program that can reduce pain and keep it from returning.
Contact our team today for more information on our shoulder pain treatment services or to schedule an initial appointment.
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