What do you mean my shoulder hurts because of my neck?

Every year I get people in the office complaining of shoulder pain and after performing my exam, I find that their shoulder pain is coming from issues in their neck. Here are a few tips to help with this issue:

1. How is my neck causing my shoulder pain? All the nerves for the shoulder arm and hand start up in the neck. This means that an issue in the neck can cause pain, numbness, or tingling in the shoulder, down the arm, or even all the way down to the fingertips.

2. Try fixing your posture. By sitting up straight, pulling your shoulders back and down, and keeping your head tall and chin tucked in. Make sure you don’t look down at any computer or phone screens while you work. This small change can make a big difference.

3. Can my shoulder affect my neck? Absolutely! If you have noticed neck pain after a shoulder injury, the 2 issues can be related. Additionally, poor shoulder posture can force the neck to slouch or hyperextend.

Give it a try: Sit up straight with good posture (notice where your head is), now slouch your shoulders forward and observe where your head position moved to. Now in that slouched position, try to lift your arms over your head (without correcting your posture). How far up did they go?