Shoulder Blade Pain Relief: A Physio's Guide to Solving Tightness & Dysfunction
As a Physiotherapist, I understand how frustrating persistent shoulder blade pain can be. That tight knot between your shoulder and spine that just won't ease up, no matter how much you stretch or massage it. What I've learned from clinical practice is that lasting relief often requires looking at the problem from multiple angles.
In my recent video series, I break down a comprehensive approach to shoulder blade pain that goes beyond just treating the symptoms. I wanted to share these insights with you directly, as understanding the "why" behind your pain is often the first step toward fixing it.
How to Permanently Fix Shoulder Blade Pain
In this first video, I outline the three-part framework I use clinically: addressing restrictions, building strength, and correcting daily habits. It's a holistic approach that gets results.
What you'll learn in this video:
- The interconnected reasons why shoulder blade pain persists
- Step-by-step mobility exercises for tight muscles and stiff joints
- How to identify and correct the postural habits that contribute to your pain
- The importance of a phased approach: mobilise first, then strengthen
Breaking Down the Video's Key Strategies
The Three-Part Framework Explained
In the video, I explain that shoulder blade pain rarely has a single cause. More often, it's the result of several factors working together:
- Finding Restrictions: The tight muscles you feel are often protecting underlying stiff joints in your upper back and ribs.
- Building Supportive Strength: Once mobility improves, targeted strengthening helps maintain the new, freer movement patterns.
- Changing Daily Habits: This is often the most crucial piece. Without addressing the postures and movements you repeat daily, other interventions may only provide temporary relief.
Key Insight from the Video: I demonstrate how to perform a banded scapular stretch that specifically targets those hard-to-reach muscles between your shoulder blades and spine. The technique I show uses a specific hand position and body rotation to ensure you're effectively targeting the right tissues.
The Often-Missed Factor: Your Neck
After publishing the first video, I realised there was an important piece missing from the conversation. Many people don't realise that shoulder blade pain can actually originate from your neck - a concept known as referred pain.
Follow-Up Video: Is Your Shoulder Blade Pain Neck-Related?
This second video dives deeper into how neck dysfunction can manifest as shoulder blade pain, even when your neck itself doesn't feel particularly sore.
In this follow-up video, I cover:
- How to perform a simple self-assessment to check if your neck is contributing to your shoulder blade pain
- Specific techniques for mobilising the base of your neck using a simple ball
- Why neck posture during daily activities matters just as much as shoulder posture
- A before-and-after testing method to determine if neck work is helping your shoulder blade symptoms
How to Get the Most From These Videos
Watching these videos is just the beginning. To apply what you learn effectively, consider these steps:
- Watch the first video completely before trying any exercises to understand the full context.
- Follow along with the mobility exercises as demonstrated, paying close attention to the positioning cues I provide.
- If you don't get the relief you hoped for from the first video's approach, watch the second video on neck involvement.
- Be consistent but patient. These strategies work through gradual adaptation rather than instant fixes. Having said that, you deserve to see results. A lack of progress doesn't mean you need more time; it often means the things you're doing may not be working.
- Pay attention to your daily postures. As I emphasise in the videos, changing how you sit, work, and relax is often the key to lasting change.
Clinical Perspective: In my practice, I've found that people who combine the approaches from both videos - addressing the local shoulder blade issues and potential neck contributions - tend to achieve more complete and lasting relief. The videos are designed to complement each other.
When to Seek Additional Guidance
While these videos provide comprehensive guidance for many common causes of shoulder blade pain, every person's situation is unique. If you've tried these approaches consistently for several weeks without meaningful improvement, or if your pain is severe or worsening, it may be helpful to get an individualised assessment.
Need Personalised Help Applying These Techniques?
Sometimes, having a professional guide you through these principles can make all the difference. In a one-on-one consultation, we can:
- Tailor the exercises from the videos to your specific body and pain pattern
- Help you identify which of the approaches is most relevant to your situation
- Develop a progressive plan that evolves as you improve
- Address any other factors that might be contributing to your discomfort
