Neck and Shoulder pain

by Danny
(North Carolina)

I am 33 years old for the past 4 months I’ve had bad neck pain and I went to the E.R and the doctor didn’t take any x-rays. He said I had a neck strain and sent me home with a few pain killers and muscle relaxers. I still have the pain but now my back left shoulder blade hurts really bad also it hurts the most when I breathe out. It’s impossible to sleep with a neck strain and I didn’t think it would last this long. I’ve tried almost everything for the pain including tylenol, motrin cold compresses and heat. My question is can a neck strain last that long and if so can it cause shoulder pain also or is there something more serious? I’ve made a doctor appointment but can’t get in for a whole month.

Neck strain or something else?

A simple neck strain shouldn't last for so many months. A neck strain normally only lasts for a week or so, not months. Clearly, there must be something more going on here. The fact that you have shoulder and neck pain maybe due to a pinched nerve. The fact that you have shoulder pain on breathing may also indicate a problem with your lung too. Conditions such as an inflamed lung, blood clots to the lung and even chronic infections such as TB could account for these symptoms. You will need to have x-rays and further tests done in view of the length of time this has been going on. The bottom line is you need to be seen by a doctor and have this examined further. It seems a long time for you to have to wait to be seen. Can you not get this expedited? I really think that you should get this checked as soon as possible and I wish you well with this.