Shoulder Blade (Scapula) Pain. What is the scapula? The shoulder blade (scapula) is the socket side of the shoulder joint. It is a flat bone which is surrounded by, primarily, the rotator cuff muscle group which attaches between it and the arm (humerus).
All of the symptoms of iodine deficiency are related to its effect on the thyroid: GOITER â Without adequate iodine, the thyroid progressively enlarges (develops a goiter) as it tries to keep up with demand for thyroid hormone production. Worldwide, iodine deficiency is the most common cause of thyroid enlargement and goiter (see Goiter brochure). Within a goiter, nodules can develop. Patients with a large goiter may experience symptoms of choking, especially when lying down, and difficulty swallowing and breathing.
The term non-toxic goiter refers to enlargement of the thyroid that is not associated with overproduction of thyroid hormone or malignancy. The thyroid can become very large so that it can easily be seen as a mass in the neck. This picture depicts the outline of a normal size thyroid in black and the greatly enlarged goiter in pink. There are a number of factors that may cause the thyroid gland to become enlarged. A diet deficient in iodine can cause a goiter, but this is rarely the cause because of the readily available iodine in our diets. A more common cause of goiter in America is an increase in thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in response to a defect in normal hormone synthesis within the thyroid gland. The thyroid stimulating hormone comes from the pituitary and causes the thyroid to enlarge. This enlargement usually takes many years to become manifest.