Shoulder Pain
When you experience pain, you expect it to be coming from the source of the problem. But sometimes, pain can be referred, which means you feel discomfort in an area other than the actual problem. A liver cyst can be a source of referred pain, and the shoulders and neck are common sites of referred pain from the liver.
One of the ways that liver cysts can cause neck and shoulder pain is by pressing on nerves that pass through the diaphragm. The phrenic nerve is one of these nerves. When pressure is placed on this nerve by a liver cyst, it can cause pain in the shoulder, ipsilateral to the location of the cyst. This type of pain is often described as sharp or stabbing. In some cases, it may radiate from the shoulder to the chest or neck.
Another way liver cysts can cause neck and shoulder pain is by compressing veins passing through the diaphragm. This compression can lead to increased pressure in these veins and venous engorgement. Venous engorgement can lead to the stretching of nerve fibers that run along these veins. This stretching can result in pain that radiates from the neck into one or both shoulders.
