Neck-to-shoulder pain as an unusual presentation of pulmonary embolism in a patient with cervical spinal cord injury: A case report

The study discusses a case where a patient with a cervical spinal cord injury experienced neck-to-shoulder pain that was actually caused by a pulmonary embolism (PE). This is unusual because PE typically presents with symptoms like chest pain or shortness of breath. Referred pain is when pain from one area of the body is felt in another area. In this case, the pain from the PE in the patient's lung was felt in his neck and shoulder. Because patients with cervical SCI cannot receive sensory inputs from the dermatomes below the level of injury to the spinal cord, evaluation of diseases in the thoracic or abdominal organs is recommended if patients with cervical SCI present refractory pain in the dermatomes innervated by high cervical nerve roots.

• 1
  Neck-to-shoulder pain can be an atypical symptom of pulmonary embolism, especially in patients with cervical spinal cord injury.
• 2
  In patients with cervical SCI, pain in the neck-to-shoulder area that doesn't respond to typical pain medication may indicate an underlying issue in the thoracic or abdominal organs.
• 3
  The study highlights the importance of considering referred pain when diagnosing patients with SCI, as they may not experience typical symptoms of visceral diseases.