question: Hello doctor, I am a 21-year-old female. I have been suffering from neck and shoulder pains almost every single day for about three years now. It occurred suddenly one day very mildly. I just assumed I 'slept wrong' and thought it would go away on its own. The pain has been more on my right side. It has progressed very slowly but I feel like it just gets worse each day. I have an appointment with a chiropractor in four days. I believe I have mild scoliosis from my own observations of lower right shoulder and neck pain.So, I have always noticed for some years now that the vein on the right side of my neck (I think it is the jugular vein) bulges from time to time when I am straining, yelling, coughing, etc. But, I never paid much attention to it since I thought it was normal and never had any issues or concerns. Now, from the past few days, I have been feeling a lot of discomfort along with my usual neck and shoulder pain. I can feel it bulging with a minimal amount of strain. I am very worried, but since it is only about a 1 or 2 on a pain scale from 1 to 10, I am not sure if it is too serious. I am not experiencing any other symptoms aside from this pain. That area of my neck looks normal for the most part except when the vein bulges. I currently do not have any health insurance and do not want to go to the hospital for something minor.