Strange aching, sore spot deep in left front neck/throat

Hi, I have this same problem and have been diagnosed with
Trigger points. These can and do occour in the neck.
Most doctors are clueless about them. I have to pay privately
To so a physiotherapist who specialises
In trigger points and myofascial release. Give it a try!

Seriously guys All these symptoms you are talking about are trigger point related. It took me 2 1/2 years to find the answer. Trigger points are like small blisters in the muscle that cause pain (and referred pain) tightness and basic misery. Please all here see a specialist in trigger point therapy and myofascial release. Your doctor will find nothing but I guarantee you, a good Physio will work wonders. I was bed ridden with pain but am on the mend now. Also don't worry too much. X- rays scans nothing will show these. Also a book that helped me from amazon, called the trigger point work book... Or something along that line. My symptoms were, extreme vertigo, when over stretched, extreme pain. Tightness in upper body arms back ( I have upper trapizius trigger point) the pain referral will travel in your body from one day to another. You're nor alone in this. :-) do as much research as possible and you'll see all the symptoms match.

Please all look at this link and see if it fits you're symptoms :)

***edited by moderator*** web addresses not allowed

I had no idea so many other people have had this concern too. An area inside my left neck area (and sometimes up into my ear) will mildly ache, and it comes and goes. I've had this a good 15 years. It was worse when I was in my early 20's. It's an ache in the left side of my neck, almost muscular, but with a hint of feeling like there's something infected or swollen inside the tissue. Doctors see nothing when they look in my ear or scope my throat. I have vaguely suspected there was some sort of pocket of infection or a diseased or inflamed lymph node somewhere inside my neck. I do seem to have more of the soreness and tightness when my immune system is down. The low grade ear ache is always a warning to me that whatever it is that flares up in the left side of my neck is going to be feeling worse. Allergies, cold, cold sore, stress-- pretty much any mild strain on my body can make this neck sensitivity act up for a couple days at a time again. The level of symptoms varies throughout each month. I wish someone who knew what this is would post on here.

Hi everyone, So my symptons started about 2 months ago, I had this deep innner pain in my neck, only on the left side. Its in the middle of my neck on the left side. Its always been in the one spot, it feels small, but the pain can get intense. Some days I feel it, some days I dont. I went to the doctor, to get it checked out, they told me the problem was that i had a sinus infection. I have been dealing with that my whole life and i knew that wasnt it. I took the antibiotic they gave me, still not better, So they referd me to the gastro, and now have to get an endoscopy with biopsy and dialation. They think it might be my esophogus. I dont think so, they also did an ultrasound on my thyroid gland, it did show that the one side of my thyroid was a bit bigger than the other side, but not to where it would cause me discomfort. Not only that the bigger part wasnt on the side where my neck was hurting. Im curious as to what they will find. I will keep people posted on what they figure out.

I, too, have the same thing happening. The ear doctor says NO ear infection. The Dentist says NO cavities. He also took a panoramic jaw
x-ray with thought maybe Fosamax I recently re-started might be doing something...but that was also normal findings. He is suggesting an MRI should be next. There are no palpable lymph nodes. I can pinpoint the pain....deep in left throat....NOT a "sore throat" as with tonsillitis. Has me scared...... the dentist also suggested TMJ, ... I have some of the symptoms, but do not grind my teeth, altho possibly guilty of "clenching" jaw..... do not fit the "age profile" for TMJ however....it started suddenly and have had it about 5 weeks now.

:D

Okay... Hello All...If you have what I have you will save yourself 5 years of aggravation, countless emergency room visits, doctors misdiagnosing you, people telling you that your crazy, your pain is psychosomatic ITS ALL IN YOUR HEAD....GOD THAT DRIVES ME CRAZY!

Anyway, I read everyone's posts.... Basically, I have had severe throat and neck pain on my left side for 4-5 years. I am a male and I was 24 when all this bs started. I would wake up in the morning in such pain and it felt like i had strep throat everyday.. I was given antibiotics for laryngitis, sinusitis, pharyngitis all in the first six months...All to no avail....Than I saw an ENT. I was scoped, and everything...He told me that my Vocal Cords were Swollen and Red, and that I had REFLUX, larynpharyngeal reflux..I was prescribed nexium and told to beat it....This pain was so bad that I would have to seek pain killers out illegally because no doctors would prescribe me anything. It ruined my life, i lost all relationships, i stopped excercising, stopped going out, got laid off, everything. I turned into a recluse...So anyway, the reflux medicine didn't really work too well.. So I got a barium swallow..They said I had mild reflux...I went to the emergency room about 12 months after the start of it because i was deficating blood...They did an MRI of my brain and it was negative and they let me go...But before i left the doctor stuck his finger in my butt (yes a male doctor) and they treated me for an ulcer...Anyway, after that I scheduled an Endoscopy at the hospital and the doctors knocked me out and looked down my esophagus.. All they said was that I had slow digestion and gave me some BS med's that i really didn't take to long because i knew that wasn't really the issue...Anyway another year or so went by and 5 ENT doctors later, the doctor prescribed me some steroids, methylprednisolone for the inflammation, since he said it was very inflamed and red...That really didn't do anything either...SO FOUR YEARS AND I HAD BEEN THROUGH SO MANY TESTS AND OVER 15 DOCTORS WITH NO ANSWERS. I now had no insurance, and no job and could barely get out of bed due to the pain and depression that no one really believed me or knew what was wrong.... Anyway, I couldn't sing, argue, yell, talk for long periods of time, laugh too hard, eat anything spicy or greasy...I couldn't drink any alcohol, smoke any weed or cigarettes....anything fun i couldn't do...excercise nothing....It sucks so bad...So finally I had saw a doctor about 2 months ago....This guy was an ENT who was the director of Medicine at TEMPLE college. He was 75 and had been practicing for 50 years... I told him my history and he did all the tests that he had to do....AND FINALLY after over 4 years I was lead to what my diagnosis is....For anyone that has neck pain/throat pain, TMJ even that doesn't go away for years..... THE PROBLEM IS MUSCULOSKELETAL IN NATURE....he said this could be one of 5 things....first we checked - eagle's syndrome / that wasn't the culprit after an catscan (make sure you get a 3d axial catscan if you can afford it or you have insurance)... I than got an ultrasound on my thyroid due to a cyst on the left side....nothing normal...ruled out thyroid problems...THAN I got an MRI of my neck on the left side in the front....Along with the Catscan and MRI my doctor concluded that I had Superior Cornua syndrome...It's when the thryroid cartilage elongates and grows due to calcification or atrophy and messes with your transverse process... This causes pain and inflammation and is degenerative...( it can also be called hyoid bone syndrome) (its like bursitis in your thyroid bone cartilage)....Tell your ENT that you want a 3d catscan on your neck with particular reference to your stylohyoid ligament on whatever side is bothering you or both....

THE REASON WHY DOCTORS MISS THIS IS BECAUSE IT IS VERY RARE AND IT IS A DIAGNOSIS OF EXCLUSION!
HAVE YOUR DOCTOR PRESS ON YOUR HYOID BONE AND WHERE YOUR STYLOHYOID LIGAMENT IS AND IF IT IS VERY SORE AND GETS WORSE YOU PROBABLY HAVE THIS...ESPECIALLY IF IT DOESN'T GO AWAY FOR MONTHS NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO~

After this if you have insurance: You would like to get a DL (direct laryngoscopy to confirm your diagnosis)

NOW HERE IS THE KICKER: unfortunately for me I have medicaid and I live in NJ...The only treatment for to permanently fix this is really surgery to excise the excess cartilage.... Now the best way to deal with the symptoms is to get the superior horn of the thyroid cartilage injected with a steroid concoction directly....The problem with this is it costs 5-10K....I don't have this!

So pretty much I'm screwed because charity care will only cover the hospital bill and not the surgeon or the anestesiologist or the materials...OF COURSE WHEN I HAD INSURANCE AND A JOB FOR 3 YEARS I WAS MISDIAGNOSED, BUT NOW THAT I DON'T HAVE INSURANCE THE DOCTORS FINALLY FIND THE CULPRIT BUT BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE INSURANCE I CAN'T FIX IT...BS MAKES ME SO MAD!

So i'm trying to find a job with insurance to help me pay for this....
I do believe I had some reflux first that started this problem caused by irritation.

To deal with the symptoms is what I'm doing now.... I eat very healthy... REDUCING YOUR STRESS IS IMPERATIVE - for me the more stress the more pain, the more arguments - the more pain, you get the drift...

MY MAIN FOODS to deal with inflammation: Popsicles, Water Ice, Hot natural Tea Chamomile w/slippery elm, licorice and other herbs that reduce inflammation...definitely honey.... fresh carrot juice, spinach, pineapple, apples.

Medicines: STRONG ibruprofen, Aleve, Naproxen, Torridol, anything for anxiety helps so much...muscle relaxers.. pain killers at times of the worse pain. I hope this helps someone....Because for 5 years my life has been ruined and now its just starting to get better because i see an ending in the near future....my email is ***this post is edited by moderator *** *** private e-mails not allowed **
Please read our Terms of Use
if anyone needs support...As for the clickers of the throat search "hyoid bone problems..! There are surgeries they can do to fix it, it's just that most ENT's don't know anything about this c**p because its farely rare stuff... the neck/throat is a complicated place, just look at grey's anatomy and see...Most doctors would rather give you the wrong diagnosis than tell you they don't know what your problem is.....Good luck everyone, I hope this helps someone...! :cool:

Can anyone trace the time of symptoms starting to a heartbreaking event in their life?

This blog has been most helpful. I went to my doctor yesterday and she too as many of you said thinks it is muscular. I now know it is NOT. I knew it was not my glands, it felt like nothing I have ever experienced before. It radiates from my jaw to my neck to my ear. I have been able to find the exact spot on my neck and it is very tender. I also have a sore throat, with some mucus, but I have allergies, so I did not think much of that symptom. I am also feeling very fatigued. I get plenty of sleep but am finding it very difficult to get out of bed in the morning, not feeling rested. Thanks so much for your help. I look forward to going back to my doctor with new information about a possible cyst on my thyroid.

I have the same exact problem.   My symptoms are much like all of yours listed  It is worse on the right side, but is sometimes on the left, and has radiated upward, into my ear, and even into my tonsils and chin.  I think I remember it radiating downward once, too.  There are times when I don't feel it at all, but I know it's there.  If I turn my head to the right, or strain my neck in a certain fashion, I will feel it immediately.  And sometimes it will feel like there is a sore inside my throat.  ?????  I smoked and drank quite a bit in my 20's, so naturally I panic that it is cancer.  But, I have had tests run before which showed only a thyroid nodule.  The thyroid MD did not think the pain was related.  It may not be related, but I also did used to get an external sensitive nerve pain on my neck, to the touch, before all this started.  I wonder if that was related somehow?  It does make me feel better to know that I'm not crazy, and maybe it isn't cancer.  Thank you all for your posts!

I have a weird pain that radiates from the middle of my throat up into my head it feels like i am being shocked in the brain when it does this,my skin on my face feels tingly and sensitive to touch. It only happens every few months but when it does it is crippling i have had a cat-scan to see if it is seizures but nothing showed up. The pain is very intense when it radiates. Please can someone out there help me.

I had this problem, or a very similar issue. My doctor couldn't figure it out and told me I had nothing to worry about. I went back for a check up once a year, and always mentioned that I had this sensation that was borderline painful roughly in the area behind the sternum/ right collarbone, and it was inclined to come and go in a throbbing kind of way. Finally after 5 years of not being able to get a diagnosis, I had a CT scan and an ultrasound, both of which came back clear.. this was even more frustrating (even though there was a certain relief in knowing there was no mass detected anywhere)

Cleavers Tincture, I have to give this a try....Thanks, I hope I get some relief!

I have been suffering from the same pain. I have seen 7 doctors! I had an ultrasound on my thyroid and neck area, dental xrays, antibiotics, and even had my neck adjusted, just in case it was pain coming from the back of my neck, but I still have the pain 4 months later! Salvary gland blockage has been ruled out, dental problems ruled out, antibiotics didn't work, so it wasn't an infection. I know it is not muscular pain (it is very different). Several doctors said my lymph nodes are not swollen, and they have no idea what would cause this pain. I am scheduled to see an ENT, but don't feel confident that anything will be found.



Help! Does anyone have any advice - I see lots of people are suffering like me - I put pain patches on my neck at night to try and sleep. I had breast cancer, but my cancer doctors don't seem to worried about it - they said they couldn't see or feel anything wrong with me. I had to demand a referral to an ENT--they didn't suggest a referral, but I won't give up on this.



I was so glad to find others suffering like me - I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one suffering from this pain - the doctors look at me like I'm making this up or something.

I can sympathize with many of the frustrations and complaints posted in this thread. On and off for the last eight months, I have been suffering from a bizarre and worrying array of symptoms affecting my neck and throat. I have an ENT appointment at the end of this month which may help shed more light on the problem, but as of now I have had only basic bloodwork done which came back totally normal. That is a comfort to a degree for now, but I know many cancers cannot be detected except through biopsy. I am a female in my late twenties. I smoked briefly as a university student and drink only socially.

Firstly, I have had a deep throbbing pain in the front left side of my neck that radiates up through the left side of my tongue and seems to refer to the back left side of my throat as well. As mentioned by a few others in this thread, it certainly originates in the tissues of the front of my neck, not in the throat and it is certainly NOT a muscle pain. It is a strong, quivering, nervy pain that, as I said, throbs. I often have the sensation that something is caught in the left side of my throat, but I have no pain when eating or swallowing. I have occasional earache and jaw pain that comes and goes, also all on the left side. Sometimes when I talk for an extended period of time or hold my neck a certain way for too long, I find that the left side of the FRONT of my neck goes numb, as if the entire length of my adam's apple on that side is aleep. Additionally I have a small but peristent need to clear my throat all the time and sometimes feel a little hoarse, though no one else has mentioned any of these things to me about myself so maybe they don't occur to the degree I think. Finally I have palpable and mobile lymph nodes on the left side of my neck: one cervical, one sperclavicular, and two suboccipital way at the back of my neck at the base of my skull in the hairline. I do not necessarily think they are "enlarged" but because I have never felt them at ALL before, I wonder if they are an issue.

All of the above symptoms come and go at what seem to be entirely random times, but I never have a day free of all symptoms and on the worst days--such as the original episode that sent me alarmed to my primary physician--I feel debilitated by all of them at once.

I took one of the posters' advice and ordered Cleavers Tincture and am on day two of using it; if nothing else it is starting to help psychologically :)

I have not found any postings that match ALL of the issues listed here, but this thread matches my problem best. If my problem sounds like yours, post a reply and let me know--especially if you have any answers!

Thanks and good luck to everyone on here.