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Health

Pain in the neck on the left

, medical expert
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Probably, each of us several times in life is faced with such an unpleasant sensation as the pain in the neck on the left. Such pain is varied and causes it for a number of reasons. It is advisable to consult a manual therapist or another doctor in the case when the painful manifestations in the left part of the neck give you a long and very tangible discomfort. Pay attention to how you sleep: in some cases, a bad pillow or the position of the head during sleep directly affect the occurrence of pain. Often the consequence of the wrong position of the neck during sleep is the stiffness of her movements. Stand under the hot shower and the likelihood that the pain will soon pass is quite large. Also do not forget that the pain in the neck on the left can be post-traumatic or signal us that the body suffers from a disease.

Why does the pain on the left side of my neck appear?

During the examination, the doctor should first of all exclude the possibility of the following diseases, the symptom of which is the pain in the neck on the left: 

  • Ostearthrosis (as a result of damage to the intervertebral joints there is pain, which can be more localized on the left side of the neck) 
  • Osteochondrosis (severe pain, often also palpable) 
  • Muscle spasm (most often as a result of overexertion, hypothermia of the cervical spine, improper position during sleep, lifting of heavy objects, long transfer of weights) 
  • Herniation of the intervertebral disc (usually occurs in the lower cervical spine) 
  • Stenosis of the spinal canal (leads to damage to the spinal cord, which is not always reflected in pain, but often leads to numbness of limbs, impaired pelvic organs, a general weakness)

Pain on the left side of the neck can also be associated with the course of such diseases: 

  1. Viral parotitis (in other words, "mumps": the lymph node on the left or right side of the neck, sometimes on both sides, becomes inflamed and inflamed during the disease, which leads to severe pain, especially when swallowing) 
  2. Tumors of the brain 
  3. The tumor of the cervical spine (in most cases - a metastasis of cancer of other organs: the prostate, breast, lungs, kidney, thyroid, melanoma, if the pain in the cervical spine disturbs a person throughout the day, has a long and long-lasting character - a tumor can be deleted) 
  4. Meningitis (inflammation of the membranes of the brain causes pain in the cervical region, especially when trying to tilt the head forward) 
  5. Hyopharyngeal abscess 
  6. Acute thyroiditis (the disease is rare, there are cases of purulent thyroiditis) 
  7. Tuberculosis 
  8. Osteomyelitis, etc.

trusted-source[1], [2], [3], [4]

Be attentive to your neck

Not only terrible diseases can provoke a sensation of pain in the neck to the left. Most often, there are cases when the cause is the wrong position of the head during sleep, a sharp turn of the neck, stay in the draft. In such cases, other pains are often added to the painful sensations: nausea, dizziness, limited ability to turn the head. A good massage and manual therapy will help to get rid of such pain. Take care that the place of your sleep and workplace do not carry a hidden threat to your neck. Check if the pillow on which you sleep is good enough. Note whether there are drafts in the room where you work. Perhaps the pain in the neck on the left is caused by an excessive load on the left arm - a sharp rise or a prolonged transfer of heavy objects. But, we do not recommend persisting in self-treatment. If you have pain in the left part of the neck, then the manual therapist, traumatologist, rheumatologist, neurologist or oncologist can help.

trusted-source[5]

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