This tender discrete spot in your upper neck is a puzzle. Normally these can be trigger points as we discussed earlier and are normally a result of deeper disorders and not a cause of them. Nonetheless, if this spot is not near a dangerous structure (vertebral artery or cord), you could try dry needling. An MRI could also identify it if on a good machine (3.0 Tesla).
Just like how general surgeons identify certain masses by putting a needle into the unknown tissue mass, you could consider that technique to identify the mass but I doubt that you could find a physician who would do that.
NSAIDs can be used by many individuals long term but a liver/kidney lab test needs to be performed every six months to make sure the NSAIDs are not causing problems. If there is GI disturbance, these medications need to be stopped.
Dr. Corenman
Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.