why is my shoulder muscle twitching

Painful muscle twitches, also called cramps, occur when muscles tense up and contract. They happen frequently, and you can’t stop them or plan for them. These spasms can last for a few seconds or fifteen minutes. Muscle cramps that happen once in a while aren’t a big deal, but if they happen all the time, you should see a doctor.

Shoulder muscle spasms

Shoulder muscle twitches happen when muscles in the middle or upper back or chest contract without telling the person to. Some of these are the rotator cuff muscles on the shoulder and the rhomboid muscles in the back. When you do too many overhead activities like striking a tennis ball, reaching for things on a high shelf, or rowing, your shoulder and arm muscles can stretch or spasm.

One or both of your shoulders may have cramps. While there are some things you can do to avoid muscle cramps, they don’t always work. The best ways to ease them are with muscle relaxants, stretches, and massage.

To learn more about what causes shoulder muscle twitches, how they are linked to back problems, and the best ways to treat this condition, keep reading.

How do you feel when your muscles spasm?

A spasm can look like a twitch in the muscle or feel tight or hard, like a knot, and move in an odd way. The level of pain during a spasm can range from mild, uncomfortable jerks to extreme pain. Severe cramps can sometimes make it impossible to do anything. When the clenching is over, the muscle may feel sore and lumpy.

Most spasms last between 15 seconds and minutes or longer. Most people say they happen more than once before going away.

Why do muscle spasms happen?

Shoulder muscle twitches happen when muscles in this area are overused because of sports, an injury to the shoulder or its muscles, or bad posture for a long time. Any of these things can hurt the soft tissues in the back and cause pain.

Muscle strain or overuse: Sports that require you to use your upper back muscles over and over again, like tennis or pulling weights at the gym, can cause muscle strain or overuse. Shoulder cramps and pain can happen when the muscles that connect to, support, and make the shoulders are hurt.

Stress on the spine: Another major cause of muscle cramps in this area is stress on the spine in the middle or upper back. Because of this, the vertebrae in these areas squash or push into each other, making room for other body parts that usually have their own space. And when this happens, extra pressure is put on the structures, like muscles, which irritates them and raises the risk of cramps.

Underlying cause—muscle spasms that happen over and over in the same spot may also be a sign of a local cause. Once they’ve been used or worked out, weak structures, like the rotator cuff muscles in the shoulder, get tight over time. Whether it’s the shoulder joint itself or some of the soft tissues in the rotator cuff, activity can make the structures below swell. When we feel pain, our muscles contract. This is a natural way of protecting ourselves that tells us to rest the shoulder and let it heal.

Signs and symptoms

Shoulder spasms can cause:

• Shoulder, upper back, neck, upper arm, and between the shoulder blades pain
• Having trouble moving your shoulder and back because they are stiff

It is important to see a doctor if the pain doesn’t go away or starts to get worse after trying a number of treatments and ways to deal with it at home. There may be a deeper problem that needs to be found and treated, and only a trained and experienced spine expert can help you feel better.

How to Treat Shoulder Muscle Spasms?

Muscle cramps can happen at any time, even in the middle of the night or while you are working out. No magic shot or medicine can quickly stop the spasms.

These things can help you get rid of the spasms:

• Stretching the hurt area.
• Using your hands or a massage ball to rub the hurt spot.
• Putting on ice or heat. Use an ice pack and a heating pad back and forth, or take a warm shower.
• Taking over-the-counter pain killers and muscle relaxers can help ease muscle pain that is getting in the way of your daily life and improve blood flow.
• Spasms often happen because people are dehydrated, and drinking water and minerals can help you get your supply back up.

Shoulder spasms usually go away on their own after the muscle that caused them has healed. There is no big treatment or action that needs to be done.

Here are some simple things you can do to help and speed up the healing process:

• Give yourself a break from the movement or activity that hurt your shoulders for a while to help the muscles heal and stop the spasms.
• Stretching will help loosen up tight muscles and ease pain and stiffness.
• A foam roller can help ease muscle pain and stiffness.
• Go to physical therapy to get your joints moving again and ease the pain and stiffness in your shoulders.
• To relax the upper back and stop more cramps, use a spinal decompression device and do spinal decompression treatment.

It is helpful to write down when you have muscle cramps so you can figure out if they are linked to a certain action or happen at a certain time. You might be able to treat and stop the spasms better if you stop doing that action or pay more attention to what makes them happen.

What does spinal compression mean?

Pain in the shoulder is often caused by problems with the spine, especially in the upper back. Most of the time, these problems are caused by spinal compression, which is when the spine gets squashed and changes its shape and the structures around it. In this case, the nerve may be being pressed on by the muscles that join to the shoulder.

Spinal compression treatment with a special orthopedic device can help your spine feel better and help you do exercises that ease shoulder pain. You can easily do these workouts at home with just your body weight. They can help with several back problems. By undoing the effects of spinal compression, you can keep your shoulder muscles from getting annoyed or pulled from bad posture and stop spasms and pain from happening.

Final Thought

You should see a doctor if you have a muscle cramp in your shoulder blade, even if it’s not very bad. Spasms that happen over and over again could mean that something is very wrong.