I've had a strange soreness and aching in a very localized spot deep in the front of my neck next to my throat. Doctors cannot see or feel any lump. I can't feel a lump, either. There isn't any swelling.

It's as if I would have to press my finger very, very deeply into my neck in order to locate it. It doesn't feel like a large area that is sore; it feels like the soreness and aching is limited to a very small place. It gets so sore that it hurts when I swallow, or when I turn my head, or when I bend my neck.

It's not IN my throat. It doesn't feel like a lump in my throat. My throat doesn't seem to be related to it. I try to explain that to the doctors, and they can't see anything abnormal when they look in my throat with a camera. Also, nothing showed up on an xray or when dye was injected into my vein.

I wouldn't worry if it didn't happen all of the timefor 1 week. Not only does it get extremely sore at times, but sometimes it aches. Yesterday it ached all day long, always in one localized spot deep in the neck next to my throat.

Also, whenever it gets sore, there's a strange feeling when I swallow, as if a tendon or ligament moves over something there, so that it makes a "popping" or "clicking" feeling.
I've tried relentlessly to diagnose the problem myself. I've searched so many websites trying to find photos of the internal structure of the front of a neck. I've looked on sites about lymph nodes, thryoid, ligaments, salivary glands, etc. I can't find anything that helps me understand this.
This is really worrying me. I'm tired of the chronic soreness and pain. It sometimes is so sore that I don't want to move my head or even swallow. And then whenever it aches, I worry about that!

Does anyone have any insights for me? I just don't know what else to do. Would an MRI detect a possible lump deep in my neck? What other tests might help? I am about to go crazy trying to get help.