You know, I had exactly that same thing happen about 3 weeks ago. Mine was only on one side of my throat and neck. You explained it perfectly, not a cold kind of sore throat. It did hurt to swallow, but it was a muscle pain and not the sore throat kind of pain. It lasted about one week and went away as mysteriously as it came. No problems now at all. I chalked it up to mucsle spasms. All I know, is I'm glad it's gone.