A Rhomboid Strain
Overview
The rhomboid muscles are a group of muscles in your upper back. They’re located on either side of your back, between your shoulder blades. They attach the edges of your shoulder blades to your spine.
Pain in the rhomboid muscles can be caused by a few things, such as:
sprain: the stretching or tearing of ligaments, which are bands of thick tissue that connect bone to bone
strain: the stretching or tearing of a muscle or tendon, which is the tissue that connects muscles to bones
spasm: a sudden, intense contraction of a muscle
Symptoms
The pain of a rhomboid injury will be centered in your upper back, between your shoulder blades. The pain may increase when you move or breathe.
In addition to pain, both sprains and strains can cause these symptoms:
swelling
bruising
trouble moving the affected area
A muscle spasm comes on quickly. You’ll feel a sharp pain and tightness in the muscles of your upper back. You might also see a lump under your skin.
Possible causes and risk factors
You can sprain or strain your rhomboid muscles by doing any activities that overwork your back, shoulders, and arms, including:
repetitive sports movements, such as throwing a baseball, serving a tennis ball or volleyball, swinging a golf club, or rowing
carrying a heavy backpack
Slouching while you work at a desk or computer can also put strain on these muscles.
You’re more likely to strain or sprain the rhomboid muscles if:
You haven’t properly warmed up before you play sports.
Your muscles are weak because you haven’t exercised or played in a long time.
Your muscles are overtired.
Causes of muscle spasms include:
staying in the same position for a long period of time
overusing the muscle
drinking too little fluid (dehydration)
Treatment
The first thing to do when you have a rhomboid muscle injury is to stop the activity that caused the injury. Resting your muscles will give them time to heal.
From time to time apply a Reusable gel ice pack with strap. This will relieve you. The product of the Proclaus brand does the job very well. Click on this link to access it directly: Amazon.com.
Ask your doctor when it’s safe for you to play again.
See a physical therapist. The therapist can teach you exercises to help you regain strength and movement in the affected muscles. You can also use a foam roller at home to massage and gently work out any knots in the muscles.
To relieve pain from a rhomboid muscle injury, try these self-care measures:
Take an over-the-counter pain reliever such as ibuprofen (Aleve, Motrin) or acetaminophen (Tylenol).
Place an ice pack under your upper back every 2 to 3 hours. Keep the ice on your muscles for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. Ice works best within the first day or so after an injury. It brings down inflammation and numbs pain.
If your muscles continue to feel tight a couple days after the injury, or you’re having muscle spasms, put a warm, wet washcloth or moist heating pad on your back for 15 to 20 minutes at a time.
Recovery
How quickly you recover from a rhomboid sprain or strain depends on the severity of the injury. A mild rhomboid injury might get better within a few days. More serious injuries can take weeks — or even months — to fully heal.
To prevent future episodes of rhomboid pain:
Always warm up for at least 5 to 10 minutes before you exercise or play sports, and stretch for a few minutes afterward.
Take breaks while playing to avoid overusing your arm or shoulder muscles.
Use the correct form. Hire a coach or pro to check your pitch, serve, or golf swing to make sure you’re doing it right.
Drink plenty of fluids before, during, and after your workouts and games.
Whenever you work at a computer, sit up straight. If you tend to slouch, buy an ergonomic chair and adjust it so that the back of the chair supports your back and keeps it straight.
Complications from rhomboid injuries
It’s important to stop whatever activity caused your rhomboid muscle pain. Continuing to exercise or play sports could worsen the injury.
Outlook and takeaway
Rhomboid sprains and strains will heal with rest and time. Depending on how severe the injury is, it could take days to months for it to heal.
If you injured your rhomboid muscles and the pain isn’t improving, see your primary care doctor or an orthopedic specialist. More severe injuries may need surgery or other interventions to heal.
Examen médical par Seunggu Han, MD , le 27 mars 2018 - Rédigé par Stephanie Watson
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The rhomboid muscles are a group of muscles in your upper back. They’re located on either side of your back, between your shoulder blades. They attach the edges of your shoulder blades to your spine.
Pain in the rhomboid muscles can be caused by a few things, such as:
sprain: the stretching or tearing of ligaments, which are bands of thick tissue that connect bone to bone
strain: the stretching or tearing of a muscle or tendon, which is the tissue that connects muscles to bones
spasm: a sudden, intense contraction of a muscle
Symptoms
The pain of a rhomboid injury will be centered in your upper back, between your shoulder blades. The pain may increase when you move or breathe.
In addition to pain, both sprains and strains can cause these symptoms:
swelling
bruising
trouble moving the affected area
A muscle spasm comes on quickly. You’ll feel a sharp pain and tightness in the muscles of your upper back. You might also see a lump under your skin.
Possible causes and risk factors
You can sprain or strain your rhomboid muscles by doing any activities that overwork your back, shoulders, and arms, including:
repetitive sports movements, such as throwing a baseball, serving a tennis ball or volleyball, swinging a golf club, or rowing
carrying a heavy backpack
Slouching while you work at a desk or computer can also put strain on these muscles.
You’re more likely to strain or sprain the rhomboid muscles if:
You haven’t properly warmed up before you play sports.
Your muscles are weak because you haven’t exercised or played in a long time.
Your muscles are overtired.
Causes of muscle spasms include:
staying in the same position for a long period of time
overusing the muscle
drinking too little fluid (dehydration)
Treatment
The first thing to do when you have a rhomboid muscle injury is to stop the activity that caused the injury. Resting your muscles will give them time to heal.
From time to time apply a Reusable gel ice pack with strap. This will relieve you. The product of the Proclaus brand does the job very well. Click on this link to access it directly: Amazon.com.
Ask your doctor when it’s safe for you to play again.
See a physical therapist. The therapist can teach you exercises to help you regain strength and movement in the affected muscles. You can also use a foam roller at home to massage and gently work out any knots in the muscles.
To relieve pain from a rhomboid muscle injury, try these self-care measures:
Take an over-the-counter pain reliever such as ibuprofen (Aleve, Motrin) or acetaminophen (Tylenol).
Place an ice pack under your upper back every 2 to 3 hours. Keep the ice on your muscles for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. Ice works best within the first day or so after an injury. It brings down inflammation and numbs pain.
If your muscles continue to feel tight a couple days after the injury, or you’re having muscle spasms, put a warm, wet washcloth or moist heating pad on your back for 15 to 20 minutes at a time.
Recovery
How quickly you recover from a rhomboid sprain or strain depends on the severity of the injury. A mild rhomboid injury might get better within a few days. More serious injuries can take weeks — or even months — to fully heal.
To prevent future episodes of rhomboid pain:
Always warm up for at least 5 to 10 minutes before you exercise or play sports, and stretch for a few minutes afterward.
Take breaks while playing to avoid overusing your arm or shoulder muscles.
Use the correct form. Hire a coach or pro to check your pitch, serve, or golf swing to make sure you’re doing it right.
Drink plenty of fluids before, during, and after your workouts and games.
Whenever you work at a computer, sit up straight. If you tend to slouch, buy an ergonomic chair and adjust it so that the back of the chair supports your back and keeps it straight.
Complications from rhomboid injuries
It’s important to stop whatever activity caused your rhomboid muscle pain. Continuing to exercise or play sports could worsen the injury.
Outlook and takeaway
Rhomboid sprains and strains will heal with rest and time. Depending on how severe the injury is, it could take days to months for it to heal.
If you injured your rhomboid muscles and the pain isn’t improving, see your primary care doctor or an orthopedic specialist. More severe injuries may need surgery or other interventions to heal.
Examen médical par Seunggu Han, MD , le 27 mars 2018 - Rédigé par Stephanie Watson
Reduce Swelling
Melissa from Columbia University reports that you can relieve puffiness around and underneath the eyes by applying a soothing, cool eye mask. Store gel-filled masks designed for this purpose in the refrigerator. Pull one out whenever you need it, and allow it to rest on your puffy eyes for 10 to 20 minutes or until the gel no longer feels cool.
Ice and cold treatments constrict blood vessels, helping to decrease swelling. Even though you may think heat feels better, heat dilates or opens up the blood vessels, like turning on the faucet full blast. If you injured your ankle and it was swollen as big as your head, do you think the swelling is going to be resolved in 2 days? Given this new knowledge, do you really think it’s a good idea to switch to heat on day 3 for your still swollen ankle? Icing is beneficial for sprains, strains, and fractures.
Although I can’t imagine icing stiff and arthritic fingers, there is good evidence in the literature for icing arthritic hips, knees, ankles, shoulders, necks, and backs. It is a misconception to ice only known injuries within the first 48 hours. When interviewed on turning 50, Denzel Washington noted he was still very active physically. After vigorous physical activity, he noted he ices practically everything, almost like filling a tub with ice and getting in!
During treatment with the ice pack, you will go through the following stages:
-Cold
-Burning
-Aching
-Numbness
To be clear, icing is not recommended because it feels great when you’re doing it, but it is a proven tool in our arsenal against pain and inflammatory conditions!
Ice initially constricts local blood vessels and decreases tissue temperature. Overall, ice will:
-Decrease inflammation
-Decrease pain
-Speed nutrients to the area
-Promote healing
-Decrease swelling
-Decrease tissue damage
-Decrease muscle spasm
To avoid getting an ice pack burn, be sure to limit the application of ice pack to no more than twenty minutes and do not fall asleep lying on an ice pack.
As with all pain relief treatments, there are some cautions with applying ice and using ice therapy.
Never apply ice directly to the skin. Instead, be sure that there is a protective barrier between the ice and skin, such as a towel.
Limit the ice application to no more than fifteen or twenty minutes at a time.
Ice application should be avoided by patients with certain medical conditions, such as for patients who have rheumatoid arthritis, Raynaud’s Syndrome, cold allergic conditions, paralysis, or areas of impaired sensation.