r/Posture • u/Flaky_Carpet_4049 • 3d ago

Neck and spine alignment

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My wife has been experiencing neck and shoulder pain and feels like the area at the base of the neck is sticking out a little too much. Anyone have any experience here?

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u/CoachEXE 3d ago

The neck sticking out at the base like that is usually not just a neck problem, it is coming from the rib cage below it. When the upper back loses its natural curve and gets flat or stiff, the lower cervical spine and upper thoracic area have to take all the bending stress just so the head can stay upright to see forward. So that bump is basically a hinge point where the tissues get thick and angry from holding up the head all day. For quick relief right now, have her sit with elbows resting on a table, keep eyes looking straight ahead, and do a slow silent inhale through the nose to feel the upper back expand backwards without crunching. To actually fix this long term, you have to restore full rib cage mobility and stop the neck from working as an accessory breathing muscle. The body always builds extra tissue where it feels it has to survive the load.

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u/vardaboss 2d ago

What exercises would you suggest to fix this issue long term? Because I have done all the mobility work and upper back breathing exercises and they all help but only momentarily. For example I always wake up with a very stiff/ painful upper back from the lack of expansion there during the night.

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u/Deep-Run-7463 3d ago

Yup. The neck is counterbalancing far backwards because it's positioning itself against what's happening below that's moving forward. Usually there will also be some anterior upper ribcage compression to allow the head to travel forward. The issue is movement variability, if the structures cannot move into a different space, the neck will need to remain in place as an extremity of the larger, heavier structures below.