That nagging shoulder pain that won’t go away? It might not be coming from your shoulder at all. Your neck and shoulder are intimately connected through a complex network of nerves, muscles, and fascia, which means problems in one area often show up as pain in another.
When vertebrae in your cervical spine become misaligned or compressed, they can irritate nerves that travel down into your shoulder and arm. This creates what we call “referred pain” – discomfort that you feel in one location but actually originates somewhere else.
This is why rubbing your shoulder or applying heat might provide temporary relief, but the pain keeps returning. You’re treating the symptom, not the source. Many patients initially come to Corner on Wellness Chiropractic Center frustrated because months of shoulder treatments haven’t helped.
If your shoulder pain is accompanied by neck stiffness, headaches, or arm tingling, there’s a good chance your neck is the real culprit. The good news? Once we identify and treat the actual source, lasting relief often follows quickly.