Pain near neck, shoulder chest area

[TXTennisFan]

Wondering if anyone has experienced this pain. I actually thought it was from my soft mattress since I first noticed the discomfort when I was trying to sleep comfortably on my side.

I noticed last Saturday that I felt some pain when I served. It got better after I loosened up. But it was worse on Tuesday. It felt better today, so I served and was ok, but then as my match progressed I felt it more.

The pain doesn’t feel like it’s in the shoulder joint area. Instead, it radiates from my the middle of my neck near the jugular vein into the scapula area. Forehands and backhands don’t really bother it. It’s the motion where I move my arm forward and accelerate when I serve. And arm movement isn’t affected, except for some pain when I move my arm inward towards my other arm (like the motion you’d make on a butterfly chest press machine, if that’s what it’s called...that inward motion).

I am sitting here writing, in no pain at all, and I just had a lesson. When we were practicing volleys, I felt the neck discomfort when the instructor fed the ball too high and I had to really reach for it.

I know I’m not getting medical advice here, just wondering whether anyone knows whether I might be dealing with a muscle strain, and if so, which muscle. Or a tear...I don’t think I’m in rotator cuff territory. At least I hope not.

 

[shamaho]

Sounds like muscle strain - but you need to determine the cause for that...
I just came out of something similar... on the non-dominant arm though, but affected the toss (I could not complete a match when it spiked, and was severely hampered even after some treatment) - before that episode, it all started with a neck torticollis or crick after a bad night's sleep...

Physio & some osteopathy treatments seemed to do the trick but issues in my cervical were also detected (possible cause).

 

[shamaho]

Also, we must be much more aware of tension in our neck & shoulders and do something about it to reduce that tension... otherwise we're always bound to get issues again.
pay special attention to bad working / lounging / sleeping positions....

 

[Harry_Wild]

I think it would be wise to take a rest from physical activities for at least 10 days other then walking in the hope that the body will heal itself. Then slowly increase your physical activities back up if there is no longer any pain maybe 14 days ramp up.

 

[Crocodile]

Could be lots of things including pinched nerves in your neck which control muscles in your shoulder and chest. Seeing a physiotherapist therapist is your first point of call.

 

[TXTennisFan]

As much as I don’t want to, I will take a couple weeks off after my match tomorrow. I practiced today, without serving, and was fine, with the exception of when I reached for a high lob. I felt it then, in the shoulder, but not in the neck. Have felt ok since, good range of motion, just sometimes feels a little “weird.” Not sure how to describe it. Hoping I can avoid a doctor visit. It Is probably nothing serious, but I’m the type who feels something off and immediately thinks it’s a rotator cuff or labrum tear that will require extensive surgery or end my tennis days!