Last Updated on April 4, 2024

Have you been experiencing pain under your shoulder blade?

Shoulder blade pain can wreak havoc on your life. It can make performing daily tasks difficult, and it can keep you from enjoying the activities you once loved.

Shoulder pain can have many causes. You might injure your shoulder in an accident or fall, or you might have overworked your shoulder when performing a chore such as painting or doing too many overhead presses at the gym. Believe it or not, shoulder pain can also result from having poor posture after sitting for long hours at your desk.

In some cases, pain in the shoulder stems from a chronic condition, such as arthritis. The good news is, there are many things you can do to relieve your shoulder pain.

Read below to learn the top remedies for shoulder pain relief.

Table of Contents

1. Acupuncture

Female back with steel needles during procedure of acupuncture therapy

Acupuncture is a complementary therapy that originated thousands of years ago in China. During treatment, an acupuncturist will insert tiny needles into specific points on your body.

The insertion of needles helps to improve blood flow, decrease inflammation, heal torn tissue, and reduce pain. It also helps to increase your range of motion. Your acupuncturist may also gently twirl or move the needles to apply heat to the pain site. For most patients, the needles stay in place for 10 to 20 minutes while you lie still.

While having a bunch of needles inserted into your body may sound painful, acupuncture is a painless procedure. People often don’t feel the needles being inserted at all.

Acupuncture can help treat shoulder pain stemming from all sorts of issues, including arthritis, tendonitis, bursitis, and rotator cuff injuries. Many people receive acupuncture in conjunction with massage therapy and chiropractic care.

In addition to helping with pain management, acupuncture can also help relieve headaches and stress and boost your mental health.

2. Massage Therapy

Certain forms of massage therapy can also help relieve shoulder pain. There are many different types of massages, including:

Deep tissue massage
Trigger point massage
Thai massage
Sport massage
Shiatsu massage
Reflexology
Trigger point massage
Prenatal massage

While all types of massage can help with shoulder pain to some degree, typically, deep tissue and Swedish massage are the best options for shoulder pain relief.

Swedish massage is a gentle form of full-body massage that’s great for those who have a lot of tension. During a Swedish massage appointment, your therapist will use a combination of:

Tapping and vibration
Kneading
Long, flowing strokes toward the heart
Passive range of motion techniques

These techniques will help relieve muscle knots and relax your whole body. On the other hand, deep tissue massage involves more pressure than a Swedish massage.

During your appointment, your therapist will use deep finger pressure and slow strokes to relieve tension in your shoulder. Deep tissue massage is a great choice for those experiencing chronic shoulder problems, such as injury, soreness, or imbalance.

3. Chiropractic Care

Chiropractor adjusting shoulder on patient

When experiencing shoulder pain, many people turn to a chiropractor for help. A chiropractor is a trained medical professional who performs adjustments on the spine and other parts of the body.

The goal of chiropractic care is to fix alignment issues, ease pain, and support the body in the natural healing process. Your chiropractor will form a treatment plan based on the root cause of your shoulder injury.

For example, someone dealing with dislocation may receive a different treatment from someone with rotator cuff issues. Most chiropractors will use a combination of the following treatments:

Massage: Chiropractors offer both hand and hydromassage to alleviate shoulder pain. Massage helps to relieve stiffness and tightness and restore range of motion.

Adjustments: There are five main adjustment techniques chiropractors use: the Gonstead technique, the activator technique, the diversified technique, flexion distraction, and the Thompson technique.

Posture Correction: When people work at a desk all day, they tend to develop poor posture, which leads to excess pressure on the muscles and joints. Your chiropractor can teach you the correct posture to prevent your shoulders from rolling forward and causing stiffness and inflammation.

Your chiropractor may also assign you specific exercises to strengthen your shoulder muscles. They may also use electrostimulation therapy, which involves sending painless electric waves to sore shoulder muscles.

Are you wondering how to select the chiropractor for your condition? Click here to learn how.

4. Heat or Cold Therapy

Applying a heated gel pack to your shoulder can help soothe stiffness and relax the tension in your muscles. If you don’t have a heated gel pack, you can also use a heated water bottle or heating pad.

You can also apply a cold compress to your shoulder to reduce swelling and numb sharp pain. You can apply an ice pack to your shoulder for 20 minutes at a time, up to five times per day.

If you don’t have a frozen gel pack, you can put ice cubes in a bag or use a bag of frozen peas. However, don’t apply the cold pack directly to your skin- wrap it in a towel first.

5. Pain Medication

Your doctor may recommend medication for your shoulder pain. If you’re suffering from arthritis, tendonitis, or a rotator cuff injury, then your shoulder is likely inflamed.

To reduce inflammation, you can take a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication (NSAID). Popular examples of NSAIDs include ibuprofen, aspirin, and naproxen. If you’re experiencing muscle spasms or tensions around your shoulder joint, your doctor may also prescribe muscle relaxants.

Common examples of muscle relaxants include baclofen, tizanidine, and cyclobenzaprine.

6. At-Home Stretches

There are many at-home stretches you can perform to relieve pain in your shoulder blade. Some of the best options include the:

Neck Release: Tuck your chin into your chest and roll your head from side to side.

Across the Chest: Bring one arm across your chest and hold it with the other arm. Hold for one minute before switching sides.

Seated Twist: Sit upright in a chair and twist your body to one side. Hold the position for 30 seconds.

Time to Relieve Shoulder Blade Pain

As you can see, there are many things you can do to relieve pain in your shoulder blades. With the above tactics, your shoulder pain should ease and soon you should be able to return to your favorite activities.

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Are you looking for shoulder pain relief in the Portland, Oregon area? Contact us today!

At Inner Gate Acupuncture we provide a healing environment where patients are educated and guided to achieve improved health.

Katherine V.

March 9, 2023.

While recovering from injuries sustained from a car accident, I have seen a few different acupuncturists as well as a chiropractor and masseuse at Inner Gate, and I have appreciated them all. The care I've received has been stellar - compassionate, personable, considerate, and soothing. Truly, Inner Gate practitioners have greatly helped me in my healing process. Thank you!

Abbie W.

July 26, 2022.

I have been seeing Nick Maxwell for Craniosacral massage for the last several months after a car accident left me with whiplash, nagging low back pain, a mild concussion, and stress and anxiety. He is an incredibly gifted healer that has helped me immensely! I have had a plethora of bodywork over the years, and I can undoubtedly say that his massages are the best. He has also helped with digestive issues/SIBO/nervous system recovery. I would never see anyone else again after finding him. I am much calmer, happier, and healing well thanks in big part to his care.

Elizabeth M.

February 10, 2022.

Well, I will start by saying that Nicholas Maxwell is my favorite massage therapist. I went to him after 1 year of shoulder pain. Before going to him, I was waiting for the pain to just go away; it didn't. He was the first person I sought any help from. I'm sorry to say, I didn't expect that much relief from a massage but after about 3 sessions I felt close to cured of 1 whole year of pain! He recommended a great physical therapist to solve my shoulder stiffness and pain. My pt said that Nick did a great job of loosening up the muscles for a quicker recovery. Nick seemed to wipe out all the surface pain and extraneous tenderness so that my pt could pinpoint my injury which turned out to be shoulder tendonitis. Now I see both of them concurrently. They both gave the same estimate for recovery, which was shorter than I thought it would be. I've had more that 50 massages in my lifetime (CA, NY, NV), Nick is the only massage therapist I have been to that leaves me feeling better for days and days after the actual massage. If I could describe what Nick's massages feel like, it would be like this: If the ocean waves had massaging hands, they would be Nick's. Before going to Nick, I am a chuck steak. After my massage, I am filet mignon. What can I say, Nick Is Awesome!!

Julian J.

November 4, 2021.

My physical therapist suggested acupuncture for my chronic knee injury in July 2021. I'm going to explain my story, but I want to say at the beginning that Emma Ellsworth at Inner Gate Health & Wellness saved me from a life of chronic pain. It's really difficult and frustrating to find good care anywhere these days, so trust me when I tell you that you can end your search now. Just call Inner Gate and ask for Emma. I always find it helpful to read health care reviews from folks who suffer from the same issues as me, so here's a bit about my medical history: My orthopedic physician diagnosed me with IT band syndrome in my right knee in January 2021. I began a course of physical therapy, but not only did the IT band syndrome not get better, I actually developed IT band syndrome in my left leg due to overcompensation. I pushed myself a little too hard and started noticing that even very light exercise would cause my symptoms to flare up (inflammation, pain, swelling, etc.). By May 2021, I could not walk more than 3 blocks at a time without my knees flaring up. Keep in mind that I'm an otherwise healthy person in my mid-30s. I then developed hamstring tendinopathy in both legs, I assume to disuse. Along with preexisting patellofemoral pain syndrome issues, suffice to say that my knees were totally busted, okay. After all that, my physical therapist and orthopedic physician basically threw their hands up and suggested either cortisone shots for the rest of my life, acupuncture, or prescription pain medication that I really shouldn't be taking due to family history of hypertension. In comes Emma. I'm a huge believer in modern Western medicine and everything, but Emma succeeded where two physical therapists, a physiatrist, my orthopedic physician, and my primary care doctor all failed. Emma succeeded not only because she did something they did not - acupuncture - but she succeeded because she was more effective and patient at taking time to find the actual root cause of my issues. She is super methodical about interviewing me at the beginning of every session, evaluating what worked / didn't work from last time, trying out new areas for acupuncture, and over the course of 4 weeks eventually found an acupuncture solution that reduced my pain. I remember when it happened - I had an acupuncture session one Friday in October, and two days later I was going for a walk and ended up walking like 3 times further than I had walked in the past 6 months. I stopped and was like, "Wow my legs don't hurt at all." The pain literally vanished, went from a 5-6/10 on the pain scale all day every day down to 0-1. The massive pain reduction has allowed me to resume my physical therapy exercises with less pain and start rebuilding my knee strength. I still go to acupuncture to deal with some knee meniscus issues and overall wellness / mental health issues. Honestly, I feel such a tremendous sense of wellness after every acupuncture session that I kind of don't ever want to stop going. Anyway, if you made it this far, thanks for reading and hopefully my story is helpful. Seriously, go see the folks at Inner Gate. You won't regret it!!

Mitchell P.

October 19, 2021.

Inner Gate Health & Wellness provides exceptional care! Their staff, specifically Emma Ellsworth, is skillful, compassionate, and effective at providing holistic healing services, including acupuncture. I highly recommend treatment with Inner Gate and Emma Ellsworth for symptoms including depression, anxiety, pelvic floor pain, back pain, and digestion issues.

Ruben S.

April 15, 2021.

This is a long overdue, rave review for Terry. I've been to many acupuncturists over the last decade and she is hands down the most helpful and accommodating. I came in with a very unsolvable problem (tinnitus) and had tried everything before coming to Terry. Terry has helped improve my symptoms with Tinnitus and a number of other issues. She's also extremely patient and takes time out of every session at the beginning to go over progress and how I'm feeling. She has a good understanding of my problems and is always ready with solutions to help. Acupuncture with Terry is one of the highlights of my week -- thank you for being so great!!

Dr. Kaley B.

November 28, 2020.

Very impressed! Great acupuncture, well organized front desk. Liz is fantastic, and I'm not a fan of needles. Finally got some relief from back and neck pain. Looking forward to a few more sessions!

Abbie W.

September 15, 2020.

I highly recommend Oliver Leonetti at Innergate Acupuncture! I have seen him for the last 12 years for various ailments - ranging from nagging sports injuries to digestive issues to insomnia/anxiety, and he always provides the highest level of care that truly lasts. Not only is he extremely knowledgeable and skilled, but he is super kind and caring and always take the time to truly listen. I always feel better after leaving my appointment. I honestly do not know what I would do without Oliver or Innergate Acupuncture! Also, I've seen several of the acupuncturists there, and they are all fantastic as well.

M W.

July 9, 2020.

I can't recommend these guys enough! I have a 10 yr old competitive skier who was having some knee pain & had never had acupuncture done before...not only did these guys gently ease him into the entire process - they also helped him get back on the ski hill after the first couple of treatments I was super impressed with their professionalism & how both Liz and Casey approached his injury - now my little guy looks forward to going to his acupuncture appointments! Yay! Thank you a zillion times over for taking such good care of my little guy.

Abby J.

January 9, 2020.

I used to think acupuncture was sort of hokey. Not total witchcraft, but definitely not the magic, cure-all that people said. Well, folks, a few months in and I can report that I'm a changed woman! Well, really, it only took one session. Terry took my whole health history into consideration and helped with everything. Anxiety, sleeplessness, colds, ankle injuries, back pain--you name it. I've come in with problems and always left improved. I'm sure all the acupuncturists are lovely, but I want to stress how awesome Terry is. She takes my concerns seriously without making me feel like I'm at a stuffy doctors office. She approaches her work with humor and friendliness and is spot on with her treatment. Terry has made me feel comfortable from the get-go and has made my weekly appointments something for me to look forward to. My friends all have heard me rave about her, so I'd say everyone I know should go see her, but then I may never be able to squeeze in my appointments again! Just kidding, of course. Also, big props to the front desk staff too. They have been super kind and helpful when guiding me through insurance issues or unexpected after work traffic. I'd highly recommend Inner Gate SE to anyone with any ailment!

How to Relieve Pain Under Your Shoulder Blade