Lateral neck pain is pain on one or both sides of the neck. Soreness may be accompanied by redness and swelling of the skin, restrictions on head movements, and fever. Cervicalgia develops with inflammatory processes in the muscles and organs of the neck, osteochondrosis and spinal injuries, pathologies of the cervical vessels. To establish the cause of the symptom, ultrasound, X-ray examination, and examination of ENT organs are performed. To stop the pain syndrome, analgesics, anti-inflammatory drugs, physiotherapy procedures are used.
Short-term pain on the side of the neck is possible in absolutely healthy people. Characterized by the appearance of soreness in the morning, immediately after waking up - due to sleeping on a pillow that is too high or uncomfortable, the right or left side of the neck hurts. Also, a person complains of stiffness of the spine in the cervical part, difficulty in turning and tilting the head. In typical cases, discomfort disappears within 15-2 minutes, prolonged persistence of pain indicates pathological processes in the musculoskeletal system.
The symptom often develops in gamers, programmers and other people who work at the computer for a long time and do not maintain the correct posture. Pain in the lateral muscles of the neck appear more often in the evening, after a working day. Similar disorders are observed in people with scoliosis who walk with their torso and head tilted, which causes tension in the muscles of the neck from the side on one side. Frequent episodes of cervicalgia or a high intensity of pain syndrome are an indication for contacting a specialist to rule out a more serious cause of discomfort.
Inflammatory diseases of the cervical muscles are provoked by hypothermia, being in a draft, and sudden movements of the head. The neck begins to hurt from the side with damage to the sternocleidomastoid or other muscles of this group. Pain in cervical myositis is sharp, shooting, aggravated by head movements, after muscle strain. The skin over the inflamed muscles acquires a reddish tint, swelling and slight asymmetry of the neck are noted. Symptoms persist for 4-5 days, then the pain in the neck subsides.
Pathological deformity of the cervical region, which is combined with moderate pain on the side on the side of the lesion, occurs in adults due to spinal injuries, extensive scars after skin burns. With torticollis, a characteristic head position is observed: it is tilted to one side to the sore muscle, while the chin and face are turned in the opposite direction. With any attempt to change the tilt of the head, sharp pains are felt on one side, due to muscle strain. When returning to a forced position, the pain on the side of the neck decreases, but does not disappear.
When an abscess is formed in the pharyngeal tissue, sharp shooting or throbbing pains on the side of the neck and in the throat with irradiation to the mastoid process of the occipital bone and teeth disturb. The pain syndrome is so severe that patients with retropharyngeal abscess refuse to eat and drink, prefer not to talk, so as not to aggravate suffering. Pain in the neck on the right can be combined with respiratory disorders due to partial overlap of the lumen of the larynx and trachea. To reduce pain, a person takes a forced position with his head thrown back and tilted towards the lesion.
Pain sensations of varying intensity along the lateral surfaces of the neck may be associated with inflammatory processes in the lymph nodes located in the submandibular and behind the ear region. Lymphadenitis is caused by causes such as SARS, bacterial and fungal infections of the oral cavity, respiratory tract. The pain can be unilateral and bilateral, depending on the number of lymph nodes involved in the process. Patients describe pain as sharp, pulsating, shooting. The skin over the inflamed formations is red, tense, swollen.
With degenerative changes in the vertebrae and intervertebral discs, nerve endings and roots are often infringed, which leads to “lumbago” when the neck hurts on the left or right side. The symptom comes on suddenly. The pain is very strong, sometimes a person literally "freezes" in one position and is afraid to move, so as not to aggravate the pain in the cervical region. Cervicalgia is often accompanied by irradiation to the shoulder girdle, upper arm, or shoulder blade. The duration of the attack ranges from several minutes to an hour, after the pain subsides, discomfort and tension of the neck muscles remain.
Chronic damage to the intervertebral discs, protrusions and hernias are common causes of cervical or occipital neuralgia, which manifests itself as pain in the lateral surface of the neck. In addition to spontaneous soreness, increased sensitivity of the skin on the side is revealed, discomfort bothers even with light touches and combing the hair. In the case of intense pain that extends to the angle of the scapula and the collarbone, they speak of costal-scapular syndrome.
Intense pain in the side of the neck, combined with limited mobility of the head, is characteristic of dislocations and subluxations of the cervical vertebrae. At the same time, deformation develops, at the border of hair growth from behind, a protruding bone formation can be felt. A sharp throbbing pain appears with direct blows to the side of the neck. In this case, abrasions or bruises are visible at the site of injury, the affected area is hyperemic, and asymmetry is observed. The volume of movements is sharply limited, the person tries to keep the head still.
Malignant neoplasms of the internal organs of the cervical region are often accompanied by pain sensations of varying intensity. Pain increases gradually: first there is discomfort and periodic moderate pain, then the pain syndrome intensifies and becomes unbearable. Other symptoms develop - difficulty swallowing, hemoptysis, enlargement and asymmetry of the cervical region. Pain in the side of the neck is caused by tumor causes such as:
A feeling of fullness and dull pain in the side of the neck are observed with the expansion of the jugular veins, which is typical for the syndrome of the superior vena cava, which occurs when it is compressed. The pain syndrome is accompanied by swelling of the face and neck, cyanosis of the nasolabial triangle. Increased blood supply to the cervical veins is accompanied by involuntary shaking or nodding of the head. Soreness on the side in the cervical region also occurs with atherosclerosis of the main vessels, varicose veins of the neck.
In neurological diseases, pain usually spreads from the head to the back and sides of the neck. This complication is most typical for the inflammatory process of the meninges, which gradually passes to the cervical segments of the spinal cord. The symptom can be caused by various causes (meningitis, subarachnoid hemorrhage), which are manifested by a similar clinical picture: patients complain of severe pain in the head and neck, nausea and vomiting, impaired consciousness.
In some pathologies, the pain syndrome is localized at a distance from the actual lesion. Pain in the neck on the right is characteristic of inflammatory processes in the gallbladder. The symptom is caused by irritation of the fibers of the right phrenic nerve, which passes between the fibers of the muscle connecting the sternum and clavicle with the mastoid process of the occipital bone. Pain syndrome on the left occurs with damage to the pancreas, spleen. Pain is aggravated by pressure on the abdomen in the area of the projection of the corresponding organs (phrenicus symptom).
Patients who have neck pain on the side require an initial consultation with a general practitioner or traumatologist, then, according to indications, the person is referred to related specialists. Diagnostic search involves the implementation of modern instrumental imaging methods to determine the cause of pain, the appointment of additional laboratory tests. The most informative are:
When ultrasonography reveals volumetric formations of the thyroid gland, a fine-needle biopsy of the node is required, followed by a cytomorphological study. Be sure to do a blood test for thyroid-stimulating hormones of the pituitary gland, T3 and T4, parathyroid hormone. In some cases, duplex scanning of the vessels of the neck is required to assess the blood flow velocity. If it is assumed that the superior vena cava is compressed, chest X-ray is indicated to rule out mediastinal tumors.
The appearance of pain in the neck on the right or left can be a sign of various pathological conditions, so the patient needs to consult a specialist. Until an accurate diagnosis is established, the patient must observe physiological rest for the neck, avoid heavy physical exertion and prolonged work at the computer. With a strong pain syndrome, painkillers, NSAIDs are allowed. The use of physiotherapeutic methods of treatment and warming compresses is prohibited until the cause of the disease is clarified.
Shants collar fixes the neck and eliminates pain
Medical tactics for pain in the neck depends on the cause of the disorder. If cervicalgia is short-lived, due to sharp turns of the head, uncomfortable position of the neck during sleep or work, you can limit yourself to physiotherapy. To relieve muscle spasm, it is recommended to wear the Shants collar for 2 weeks. After the exclusion of the tumor cause of pain, thermal procedures and compresses are prescribed. For chronic pain, reflexology and exercise therapy are used. The following medications are used as etiotropic and pathogenetic therapy:
With a severe degree of osteochondrosis, it is necessary to carry out surgical interventions aimed at decompressing the spinal canal. Discectomy, laminectomy and foraminotomy are used. If the disease is complicated by an intervertebral hernia, its surgical removal is necessary. With pharyngeal abscesses, an operative opening of the abscess is performed and the subsequent washing of the cavity with antibiotic solutions. To correct torticollis, dissection of the fibers of the damaged muscle, excision of keloid scars on the skin is used.