HealthCareMagic is now Ask A Doctor - 24x7 | https://www.askadoctor24x7.com

What Causes Severe Radiating Pain From Neck To Shoulder?

Posted on Thu, 25 Jun 2015

Question: Good Afternoon,

I am currently experiencing neck pain on the left side. The pain extends up to behind my ear and and down into my shoulder. It has been bothering me for about 3 days now. Just wondering what it may be because I am the mother of three small children and do not want to pass anything on to them.

Thanks

Answered by Dr. Grzegorz Stanko (18 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Neck nerve irritation.

Detailed Answer:
Hello!

Thank you for the query.

This issue is caused by nerve irritation located in the neck area. Such irritation can be caused by inflammation or compression in the spine.
Inflammation can appear due to long term cold air blow directed to the neck (have you been sitting close to the vent or AC recently so it has been blowing right to the neck?).
Inflammation can also appear after staying for a long time in one position or even sleeping in not comfortable position.

Nerve compression can appear due to spine disc changes. Symptoms can be similar to inflammation. You may have occasional headaches, palm tingling and pain.

I suggest you to continue with cold compresses and antiinflammatory medicines for next couple of days. This helps in most of the cases. If the symptoms wont go away, consult orthopedist.

Hope this will help. Feel free to ask further questions.
Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar