Something in my neck is popping out of place

Posted by devonmwhite @devonmwhite, Sep 13, 2022

Hello all,

Over the past, i’d say 4 years i’ve had a very odd thing happen in my neck and it happens when I swallow or move my neck (no specific way). It doesn’t happen often, it could be 3 times a week or once in 3 months. Basically there is something that feels like a tube popping out of place and i have to use my hand to push it back in place. It’s like something is bending. It sounds really odd but it’s really really painful and when it happens a panic feels my body and i have to push it back in right away. It happens just under my left jaw and a bit over from my adam’s apple, sort of where you would check your pulse. I can’t find anything on the internet about this and haven’t decided to go to the doctor because it’s something that happens randomly.

If anyone knows anything on this, that would be great!!

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Support Group.

@iangeletti

I’ve been searching everywhere for answers and you have literally explained my symptoms perfectly.. Did you figure out what it is??

Jump to this post

Nope 🙁

REPLY
@aschauer

My ENT thinks it might be Eagle Syndrome.

Jump to this post

Thank you for suggesting Eagle Syndrome as I also have vertigo and tinnitus along with this weird sporadic throat pain. I will definitely discuss this with my doctor.

REPLY
@leosmom229

That feels like exactly what happens to me! I went to an ENT at Mass General Hospital last week and they had no idea what was happening, which was disappointing. They advised avoiding my triggers which for me is yawning while talking or with my head turned to the side. This has happened to me once or twice a year since adolescence even though I of course try very hard to avoid the triggers.
Incidentally, I have only managed to "pop it back into place" once (quite accidentally). Good for you for being brave enough to push it back in. I hope I can get comfortable with that as well.

Jump to this post

@leosmom229 Hello, did you have any luck figuring out what the diagnosis is? I don't even know what is popping out, just that it is. Any info you might have will help.

REPLY

Holy crap. This is wild I have been experiencing this exact thing for the past 6 years (I am 23M). I resonate with so many people sharing their experiences (thank you everyone I am so glad this thread exists!!!) I also do not have really any pain at all when it happens. It is only on my left side, the place where we can check our pulse as well. It is quite uncomfortable to talk or swallow when 'it' has fallen out of place. Freakkky! XD
Other random things I have that seem not connected:
-ADHD/anxiety/depression
-quite fruity in the queer community
-thats actaully all I can think of at the moment hahaha will post more later if I can think of any!

I am curious to know if anyone who has commented, is a violinist or violist by chance? Or maybe has a hobby or career which involves pressure or stress on the neck?

I saw someone else was a trombonist. I am a violinist of 14 years wanting to play professionally once I finish up my degree (relevant to this because the violin is placed RIGHT where this 'thing' is--the place where we take our pulse---and I find this interesting though it could be a coincidence!). I have had to stop playing due to a whole host of other random symptoms such as involuntary muscle jerks/jolts, subtle shakiness of hands (noticeable when drinking glass of water), finger joint weakness/instability weird fluid nerve down the head face and arm thingy, faintness when standing up/laughing etc...Currently have a doctor appointment lined up though I suspect Craniocervical instability (CCI), from playing violin so much that is has been causing the left neck tendon to weaken and become over-stretched, thus allowing for more movement in the C1-C2 spine bones which can trigger LOTS of weird symptoms.

(sorry for the long post its 10:15pm and my brain is gone :D)

ANYWAYS, I think this thing we are all mysteriously experiencing is somehow connected to these other things I'm experiencing? perhaps one triggered the other I am not very sure. Does this spark any ideas or connections with anyone else? I have truly no idea what Is actually happening, these are merely my thoughts and ideas. Might this thing we are all connecting over be caused due to an initial pressure/physical stress or trauma? I am so determined to help us all figure out what this is. I also had a doctor in the past completely disregard it saying "that's just not possible" or something similar to that. gah! I had at the time thought it was a lymph node slipping out of place or something.

With that, I am very interested in hearing what it was like when you guys FIRST experienced the 'thing' fall out of place?

For me it was after a 10 hour or so orchestral rehearsal for a camp in highschool back in 2018 (writing this currently on december 16th, 2024). I was playing violin when it happened and It felt quite uncomfortable but I don't remember any sort of sharpness to the discomfort. I broke into a fever and sweats instantly, though I popped it back in, and by the next morning I was good as normal, no fever. since then, throughout the years, like others, it will pop out at random sometimes a bunch of times in a day, sometimes once every 5 months. no fever, only a fever the first time it ever happened. its all seemingly random. Not even chatGPT knows whats happening! XD

Anyways sorry for the long post! I hope you are all as well as can be, and I can't wait to hear more of your stories and hopefully some doctor out there reading this will be able to figure it out! We believe in you! 🙂

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.