I am 21/female. For the last week or so, I
have been having pain in the neck ranging
from mild to moderate in intensity. The
pain is bilateral, and located on 1.
either side of the trachea and running up
under the jaw, and 2. from behind the ears
down along the sides of the neck.
Sometimes it feels swollen and warm along
with the sharp and sore pain. Other
symptoms that may or may not be related
are right sided sharp temporal/parietal
headaches(relieved by applying strong
pressure to the occiput), and pain seeming
to originate in the ears. Sometimes I feel
spasms and/or quick series or pulses in
either side of the neck that seem
abnormal. I have normal blood pressure,
eat healthily, and have just had a brain
mri w/ and w/out contrast that came back
normal(given due to headaches). My dr.
said she did not feel the neck swelling,
however she did not spend much time on the
issue. Any ideas on what this could
be?
It seems that there are several
possibilities in your case. First, it is
possible that you are experiencing a
middle ear inflammation. Likewise, you
might be experiencing a sore throat with
swollen and painful lymph nodes. These 2
possibilities could be checked by your GP
or an ENT-specialist. The muscle pain you
describe might be due to stress of the
neck muscles, bad position while sleeping,
injury etc; Further, the nerve pain may
be caused by spondylotic changes in the
cervical part of the vertebral column (low
possibility because of your young age);
These 2 possibilities can be confirmed or
excluded with an X-ray image of the neck
and examination by a neurologist or
orthopedist. Your pre-existing conditions
may also be the cause all your problems
(TMJ-syndrome, and neurosis, or anxiety).
These final 2 possibilities are connected
to one another and you may consult a
dental specialist and mental health doctor
about them for further treatment opinions
and options.
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