Severe upper right back pain

[WhereIsMyPhone]

Good evening - in a lot of pain and not sure why!

A couple of weeks back I started with a slight niggle in the upper right area of my back around the shoulder blade area sort of underneath the blade and around the sides and it has progressively gotten worse and worse. The last few days it has been extremely painful making it impossible to get comfortable- sitting is uncomfortable as is lying and walking, however there is a few moments of the pain easing only for it to flare back up again.

my partner is massaging the area for me every night however the relief is only very temporary. I am trying different stretches that I have seen online and this also eases pain temporarily. Painkillers such as naproxen aren’t touching it nor is a hot bath - hot water bottles also only offer limited relief. It feels ok for an hour first thing in the morning but then its not long before the pain builds up and it’s agony again.

i have a history of lower back sciatic problems with which I had a recent really bad flare before the shoulder blade episode. I will see my GP. I have no abdominal pain or fever and seem fine otherwise. The pain is really hard to ignore and my pain tolerance is usually very high.

anyone have any ideas, please, or can relate? I thank you in advance

Definitely go to the GP. I know that right sided shoulder pain can be related to the liver (I have current liver problems) and definitely needs looking into, especially if pain killers don't touch it. Good luck 💐

Oh bless you. Thank you. Was this a symptom you had / have? Was it really sore if so? Mine is quite a deep relenting pain that I can hardly pin point. I hope you are doing ok 💕

Mine was more like a strained feeling, rather than intense pain, but it did hurt. They think I had some sort of infection as it seems to have cleared up now. Best get yourself seen to ASAP. It's horrible being in pain 💐

I am glad it has cleared up now and I hope you continue to do well. Thank you for your help and I will most certainly contact my GP tomorrow 😊

Is it about bra band level and if you push on the corresponding point on your front (so just under right boob) is it sore, like pushing on a bruise?

If so then it's the same pain I had when my gallbladder/gallstones were playing up.

I would have attacks that were painful but bearable, they'd last a few hours during which it was impossible to find a comfortable position then would tail off. Until one night they didn't and I was in absolute agony and then projectile vomiting to the extent I went to A&E. Blood tests and a thermometer revealed an infection, ct scan and ultrasound showed my bile duct was completely blocked and the stones had caused a gallbladder infection.

3 days as an inpatient on IV antibiotics and morphine (love that stuff) did not fix the infection so they took me to surgery and whipped it out just in the knick of time as it had started to rot 🤮.

No it isn’t sore there - thank goodness! … my god you went through it didn’t you! That sounds bloody awful you poor thing 💕

When I had gallstones my back around my right shoulder blade was in agony. I was hunched over I could barely stand up straight because of the pain. No pain at front of chest at all. They did an ultrasound scan and found the stone. They dissolved it.

That’s interesting that you had no pain around the front - did your back pain become unbearable and that prompted you to be looked at? Was it an a&e visit that found this or did you end up seeing your gp? Thank you x

Hi there,

That's where I had most of the pain before I had my gall bladder removed.

However, it wasn't a constant thing. An attack would blow up agonisingly out of nowhere, last normally several hours and then end completely, just as suddenly as it had started. If it's like this then could be gall bladder.

I went to A&E. They gave me morphine. I had to stay in overnight then went home the next day still in much pain. I had to go back at lunchtime for an ultrasound scan. They found gallstones. I had treatment to shrink it. They kept me on Codeine for about 2 weeks. Each day the pain eased a bit.

Thank you to those who have replied. Lots of gallbladder problems being mentioned so will certainly take this into consideration.

as we speak the pain is very minimal, almost not there but sort of in the background waiting to rear its ugly head! The mornings have been bareable making early evening and later on at night the worst time for the pain. Monday though was horrendous and was very sore all day long.

i am hoping it is just muscular etc but i also know that wishful thinking wont get me anywhere - if it progresses again I will bite the bullet and call the gp. 😊

Yep exactly same for me. Zero notice of it starting and zero notice of it ending. Now had one lovely year of no pain post gallbladder removal..

After sitting back for ten minutes in a chair its bloody starting up again.. so tired of this! Going to call dr’s now 😩

Trapezium muscle?

https://www.physio-pedia.com/Trapezius_Myalgia

Thank you, it is quite a bit lower down than that however the pain does sometimes spread that high.. it also radiates outwards too. Like a sharp but dull pain which eventually becomes too painful to get comfortable. Only a nights sleep resolves it only for it to start up again within an hour or so of waking!

You can self refer to physio in most NHS areas look online and call for appt

Had my evening meal and the pain is agony again now- whole right shoulder blade area… tomorrow’s dr appt can’t come quick enough 😩

Good luck, OP, and I hope you get some sleep. Please let us know how you get on with GP 🤞

Sorry OP, but pain exacerbated by eating would match gallbladder issues.

gutscharity.org.uk/advice-and-information/conditions/gallstones/

Sounds like gall bladder pain. OP, thinking back, has it felt worse after eating on previous occasions?

Thank you everyone! 💞
yes I would say that eating has been a trigger sometimes but not all the time. The pain has been pretty constant though so it’s getting increasingly harder to differentiate any triggers.

Although simple things such as leaning back in a hard chair has triggered the pain almost like the pressure against my back causes it to flare up.

it is morning now though and I am enjoying the lack of pain but it always always comes back after an hour! Feels like the bloody thing needs an hour to wake up before it launches it’s painful attack!

I am so confused how my sleep isn’t affected, though. I wake up during the night a couple of times for the toilet and my back is fine! Sleep certainly staves it off overnight and I am sleeping completely fine which adds to the mystery!

Also considering the amount of pain I get into with it, I am still able to walk very long distances…I don’t drive so am a walker and I am feeling ok until I stop and sit down!

Dr’s appointment is only this afternoon. thank you for all your suggestions so far and support I really appreciate you all.❤