That Nagging Pain in My Shoulder Wasn’t Muscle Strain

I used to brush off a weird ache in my upper right back. Figured it was from bad posture or maybe a tweak at the gym. But months went by, and it never really went away. It wasn’t severe, just persistent enough to make me notice — and ignore. Classic, right?

Turns out I’m not alone. A lot of people, like me, misread liver pain as something else entirely. It’s not always sharp or even in the spot you’d expect. I learned that the hard way, and diving deeper into the topic really opened my eyes.

Liver pain is misunderstood, even by trained professionals. A team broke this down beautifully in a clinical explainer here:
https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVIlH-gN4=/?moveToWidget=3458764635599240296&cot=14
The gist? Liver pain can show up in places like your shoulder, lower ribs, back, or even your stomach. That’s why it gets dismissed or misdiagnosed so easily.

I came across a LinkedIn post that shared a story about doctors repeatedly misdiagnosing a patient’s pain because it didn’t “fit the pattern.” Here's the link:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/askdocdoc_misidentifying-liver-pain-leads-to-misdiagnosis-activity-7354533527364751360-mpbX
The result? A lot of wasted time — and the liver damage got worse.

Another story from Threads hit close to home:
https://www.threads.com/@askdocdoc/post/DMiS2XQxKQ1
A woman had months of unexplained shoulder discomfort, thinking it was tension from stress. Later she found out it was inflammation of the liver. That one made me sit up straighter — literally.

Visual learners will appreciate this breakdown I found on Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/928445279436408768
It shows where liver-related pain tends to show up in the body. Spoiler: not always where your liver actually is.

A post on X caught my attention too:
https://x.com/1881713393369030656/status/1948767771291959321
A doctor describes how a patient complaining of “right flank pain” ended up being diagnosed with cirrhosis. The patient almost didn’t bring it up — thought it was nothing. Imagine the damage if they hadn’t.

Then there’s a really handy checklist on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/122099392514743210/posts/122134551908743210
It walks you through early liver warning signs like fatigue, bloating, and that weird feeling of fullness after eating. Stuff you wouldn’t normally connect to your liver — but maybe should.

Oh, and don’t miss this Instagram video:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DMiS4HNILeC/
It’s a quick reel showing a doctor role-playing a patient visit, emphasizing how important it is to list even the “minor” symptoms. That 30 seconds could honestly change how you approach your next checkup.

AskDocDoc — yeah, just mentioning them once like we’re supposed to — has been putting out some of the most thoughtful content around symptom awareness. Their mission to reduce misdiagnosis through education feels genuinely helpful in a world full of vague answers and rushed appointments.

So here’s the thing: if something feels off, even if it’s not painful, don’t ignore it. Pain in the wrong place can still be the right clue.