When Neck Pain Becomes a Constant Companion
Pain rarely comes out of nowhere.
Across this Joint Pain Series, we look at common pain patterns throughout the body and how everyday use, old injuries, and quiet compensation shape the way pain shows up over time. Each entry focuses on one area, not to isolate it, but to better understand how the body adapts until something starts to hurt.
Check out the Master Post: here.
A lot of the neck pain I’ve been seeing lately comes from what’s often called tech neck. This tends to build when people spend long hours looking down at phones or working at a computer. Over time, holding the head forward and down puts steady strain on the neck and upper back, even if it doesn’t feel like a big deal at first.
Neck pain often builds through small, repeated moments the body learns to live with.
This type of neck pain is often one sided, though not always, and it tends to come and go. Many people notice it flares during periods of higher stress or heavier workloads. When it’s more concentrated on one side, pain can radiate into the shoulder, upper back, or arm, and sometimes includes tingling or numbness. What I often see is that the neck adapts to these positions and demands until it reaches a point where it can’t keep compensating comfortably.
Another common pattern shows up between the neck and the shoulder blade. People might describe it as neck pain, shoulder pain, or upper back pain because it can be hard to pinpoint exactly where it’s coming from. While tech neck can contribute to this, I also see it frequently in people who work in the trades or do physically repetitive work. Using the same muscles day after day can slowly overload the tissue, eventually leading to flare ups that feel sudden but usually aren’t.
The third major type of neck pain I see comes from traumatic injuries, such as car accidents, skiing falls, or other events where the neck is twisted or compressed suddenly. Even when the initial injury seems to heal, the tissues can remain guarded. These old injuries often resurface later, especially during times of stress or fatigue.
These patterns may look different from person to person, but they tend to follow the same logic in the body. Our approach is about changing the conditions that keep neck pain cycling. When strain eases and the neck can move without guarding, people often notice fewer flare ups, less reactivity, and a sense that the neck isn’t constantly on edge anymore.
Neck tension rarely stays contained.
Next, we explore why jaw pain often shows up when people least expect it.
