Question
Around November of last year (around the same time I got my flu shot) I began experiencing sharp, searing pain in my left shoulder that radiates down the upper arm to the elbow.  The pain is deep....almost too deep to be a muscle because massage doesn't seem to help....and I only get it when I raise my arm a certain way or reach for something just a certain way and it only goes away when I let my arm hang limply at my side for several minutes.  And I am unable to sleep on my left side because any pressure on the upper arm caused by laying in that position causes it to start aching.  I have not fallen, dislocated and relocated my shoulder, done anything to pull a muscle or injure it in any way.  I have been having some issues with the vertebrae in my neck (specifically C7 and 8) going out of alignment every few days which causes the muscles in my neck, shoulder and upper back to get all knotted up resulting in a migraine headache and my chiropractor has been working with me on that....but otherwise I haven't stressed any muscles out or injured them.  These are my questions. (which my chiropractor can't answer (won't answer).

1. How do you test for a pinched nerve?
2. Does this sound like a pinched nerve?
3. If yes to question #2....could it somehow be related to my issues with my neck?
4. If no to question #3...since I haven't injured myself...how could the nerve have gotten pinched?
5. If yes to #2....what can be done to fix the problem?

Oh....and I am 59 years old and I suffer from asthma and C.F.I.D.S.

Answer
Sounds like a herniated disc/bulging disc in the lower neck. Have an MRI if the cervical spine. The disc can be in bad condition due to aging or past injury as well as bone spurs. A rotator cuff tendon issue should be considered, but it is associate with raising the arm or lifting with the arm and often has snapping or catches. Shoulder issues come with aging also and repetitive strain over time not always due to an "injury".  Chiropractic with physical therapy often takes care of most the problem, otherwise pain management/surgical evaluation is recommended.