If a better chair fixed neck pain, nobody who owns one would have it. The research on posture and pain is surprisingly clear: there is no single correct way to sit, and the people with the straightest spines are not the ones with the fewest problems.
The problem is stillness
Tissue that stays in one position for an hour gets stiff and irritable, however good the position was. Your best posture is your next one. Change it every twenty minutes: lean back, sit forward, stand for a call, put one foot on a box.
Two minutes that help
- Turn your head slowly to each side ten times, as far as it comfortably goes.
- Shrug your shoulders up, then pull them down and back, ten times.
- Tuck your chin gently, as if making a double chin, and hold for five seconds. Ten times.
Do the set every hour or two. It takes less time than reading this.
When to come in
If the pain runs into your arm, if your hand feels numb, or if it has been more than a few weeks without improvement, book an evaluation. Neck pain is one of the most treatable things we see, and most people are surprised how quickly it turns around once they stop waiting it out.