Strange neck problems, please help.

[LML88]

Hi.

I don't know whether or not this is anxiety making me worry so much, but I'm looking for advice on a problem I have with my neck.

I'm 20 years old, male, in otherwise good health (very into health and fitness, barely drink and don't smoke).
Last year around October, I started to get this pain in my neck and around my ear whenever I did a chin tuck exersise.
I also got some slight tinitus in the ear of the affected side when doing the movement.
The pain was sort of like a stabbing, pulling pain.

I went to two doctors, both saying that they didn't think it was anything to worry about and that it might be postural.
I began doing some postural exercises, and noticed that if I maintain perfect posture that the pain goes away for about five minutes - the chin tuck exercise no longer causing pain for that time. (And oddly a similar pain often starts on the other side when the painful side has ceased).

Basically, I'm worried this is some sort of cancerous or non cancerous tumor.
There's a benign one apparently you get on the vagus nerve and one other on us the jugular vein. I'm worried I have that, and when I do the chin tuck exercise, it presses on this tumor which is on a nerve, so it causes the pain; which goes away with proper posture because the nerve is relaxed or something.

Either that, or it's something cancerous I fear, because it hasn't gone away for almost a year now. When I tip my head right back and feel around on my neck at the inner tissues, it feels like some areas are different on one side to the other. One of the muscles feels bigger and thicker than the one on the other side.

As I say I've been to the doctors twice, and both of them have dismissed it. But maybe they don't know about the vagus nerve and jugular vein tumours? Or maybe they couldn't feel it felt different on one side, because I didn't let them feel with my head tipped back? You can't feel it if my head was forward. Or, to be honest, that probably weren't even there before when I went about the other thing.

I'm panicing. I feel there are now two different potentially deadly things wrong with me . :( felt good to vent,mthoguh. What should I do?

Thanks for reading.

[LML88]

Anyone?

[EmmerLooeez]

Hey,

I'm sorry to hear that you're struggling so much with this. I don't know an awful lot about these tumours, but I do know that by reading what you have said it sounds like classic health anxiety.

Would you feel better if you went back to the doctor and told them precisely what you're afraid of? Have them thoroughly examine you and reassure you accordingly? I think it might be worth going back, not because I think you have tumours, but because I think that they may be able to help you get some relief from your anxiety and give you some coping mechanisms.

I've had health anxiety for years, I'm mostly okay now, but I was always at the doctors for one thing or another and would never believe them when they said that I was okay. I'm sure that you'll be fine, but I would recommend talking openly about your worries and then your doctor can address these with you.

Sending love. xx

[hanshan]

Postural pains are normal. Your muscles are trying to balance a really heavy weight (your head) at the top of your spine and make it feel like nothing is there. Throw that off balance a bit and you immediately put extra pressure on the muscles and tendons in your neck.

The two sides of your body are not identical. There will be differences if you search for them.

Two doctors have said you are okay. They are the experts, and have ruled out problems you haven't even imagined. Believe them when they say you are okay.