I’ve had chronic neck pain/tension for about 3 years now and I’m honestly running out of ideas - M27
This is my first time posting on reddit, bc I am out of sources I can ask and I am getting a bit desperate.
The pain is mainly at the base to mid neck with constant tension between my shoulder blades. I notice it basically every day. One thing that really triggers it is pulling my head straight back horizontally, like a chin tuck movement. Pulling my shoulders back actually feels a bit relieving. Static tasks like desk work, typing or even cooking/chopping for a while tend to aggravate it, and I constantly feel the urge to crack or stretch my neck for temporary relief.
What frustrates me is that I’m actually very active. I run, cycle, sometimes swim, and go to the gym (so sports 3-5x a week). I’ve also spent more than 6 months specifically training neck/shoulders/chest/posture related stuff. I got noticeably stronger and improved my posture habits, but the pain itself never really changed. If anything, the gym sometimes makes it slightly worse the next day.
I've been reading in here for a while and also tried many things you guys advise. Incl. standing desks, stretching, thoracic mobility work, foam rolling, ergonomic changes, walking more, etc. X-rays were clean. A sports doctor and orthopedist basically told me it was posture/desk work related, and physio mostly gave me generic core exercises that didn’t help much.
What’s weird is that hiking for several days actually improves it noticeably. Running doesn’t worsen it either.
No major neurological symptoms like numbness or weakness.
Anybody been through something similar and found something that actually helped?