I am a 22-year-old female. I have had pain in the left side of the back of my neck for almost 2 years now, and this pain is usually accompanied by a dull headache towards the end of the day. On consulting a general physician, he said it might be something to do with the c1 to c7 nerves, but we did not get it scanned or anything. Now for the past 1 year, I have been having a stabbing sort of pain on the left (mostly and sometimes the right) side of my upper back (towards the end of my rib cage). Initially, it had been rare but for the past 2 months, it is more frequent (mostly everyday). I don't know what this is. When I wake up in the morning, it is a dull ache but as the day progresses, the pain increases till it reaches an intensity of a stabbing sort of pain. Taking a deep breath also makes my back hurt a lot. What could this be? What must I do for this?