Sore Neck from Desk Work: Why It Happens and 7 Fixes

I've taught tennis for more than 20 years, and a big share of my students are people who sit at a desk all week. I can usually tell who they are before they hit a ball. Their shoulders are up around their ears, their head sits a couple of inches in front of their body, and when I ask them to turn and look at the ball over their shoulder on a serve, they turn their whole body because their neck won't go.

"My neck is always stiff." "I get this knot between my shoulder blades by Thursday." I hear it every week. A sore neck from desk work is not a sports problem, but it shows up in every sport, so here is what I actually tell people.

Why a desk makes your neck and upper back sore

Your head weighs about as much as a bowling ball. When it sits right on top of your spine, the muscles in your neck barely have to work. When you lean toward a screen, those same muscles have to hold that weight out in front of you, all day, without a break. They aren't hurt. They're tired, the same way your arm would be tired if you held a gallon of milk out in front of you for an hour.

Where you feel it usually tells you what's going on:

Back of the neck and base of the skull: your head drifts forward toward the screen, or you look down at a laptop or phone.
The top of the shoulders: you shrug without knowing it, often because your chair is too low, your desk is too high, or you're reaching for a mouse.
Between the shoulder blades: you round forward for hours and the muscles that pull your shoulders back are stretched and worn out.
One side more than the other: your screen is off to one side, or you hold the phone between your ear and shoulder.

The mistake I see most

People try to fix eight hours of sitting with one big stretch at night, or one hard workout on the weekend. It doesn't work that way. The ache comes from staying in one position too long, so the fix is to change position often. Small and frequent beats big and rare. A 30-second reset every half hour does more than a 30-minute stretch session on Sunday.

7 fixes that work

Raise the screen. The top of the monitor should be at about eye level, an arm's length away. If you use a laptop, put it on a stand or a stack of books and use a separate keyboard and mouse. This one change helps more people than everything else on this list.
Set the chair, then the desk. Feet flat, hips a little higher than knees, and your elbows close to your sides at about a right angle when you type. If your shoulders creep up while you type, the desk is too high for the chair.
Bring the mouse in. Reaching forward or out to the side for a mouse all day keeps one shoulder working. Keep it close, right next to the keyboard.
Chin tucks. Sit tall and gently slide your chin straight back, like you're making a double chin, without tipping your head down. Hold for a couple of seconds, do 10. It's the opposite of the screen lean, and it's the first thing I have desk workers do before they warm up on court.
Shoulder blade squeezes. Pull your shoulder blades back and down, like you're tucking them into your back pockets, hold for 5 seconds, relax. Do 10. Then roll your shoulders backward slowly a few times.
Get up every 30 to 45 minutes. Refill your water, take the call standing, walk to a coworker instead of messaging them. Set a timer if you have to. You don't need a workout, just a change of position.
Put the phone up. Hold your phone closer to eye level instead of bending your head down to it, and use a headset or speaker for long calls. Never pin the phone between your ear and shoulder.

What I tell my students before they play

If you sat at a desk all day and then go straight to the court, your neck and upper back are cold and tight, and the serve and overhead ask them to do the most. Give them five minutes first:

Slow neck turns, looking over each shoulder as far as is comfortable, 5 each way.
Big arm circles, forward and back, then cross-body arm swings.
A few easy shadow serves before you hit a real one.

The same warm-up works before golf, pickleball or a gym session. If you play pickleball after work, my guide to sore muscles after pickleball has more on that.

At the end of the day

When you get home, walk for 10 or 15 minutes if you can. It loosens your upper back better than sitting on the couch. A warm shower helps. Then do your chin tucks and shoulder squeezes one more time, and go easy on the screen in bed. Lying propped up on pillows looking down at a phone is the desk posture all over again.

Check your pillow too. If you wake up stiff, your pillow may be too high or too flat to keep your head in line with your body.

Where a topical pain reliever fits

I started Active 10 because my students and I wanted something to rub on after a long day that actually felt like it was working. The Active 10 4oz tube uses menthol and capsaicin as its active ingredients, with magnesium in the formula. It's for the temporary relief of minor aches and pains of muscles and joints associated with simple backache, arthritis, strains, bruises and sprains. A tired, achy neck and upper back after a long week at the desk fits that description.

A few tips from desk workers who use it:

The 3oz roll-on is the easiest way to reach the top of your shoulders and between your shoulder blades without getting cream on your hands. Plenty of people keep one in a desk drawer. There's more on that in my article on roll-on relief for back and shoulders.
Keep it on the back and sides of the neck and the shoulders, away from your face and eyes, and wash your hands after using the tube.
Don't use it on broken or irritated skin, don't wrap the area tightly, and don't use it with a heating pad.

Always read the Drug Facts label for directions and warnings before you use it. If your elbow or wrist also aches from the mouse and keyboard, my tips on a sore elbow, shoulder or wrist from repetitive motion cover that.

When it's more than a stiff neck

Everyday desk soreness is a dull, general ache that eases when you move and gets better over a few days once you change your setup. See a doctor if:

the pain runs down into your arm or hand, or you have numbness, tingling or weakness;
it started after a fall, a car accident or another injury;
you have a bad headache, fever, or a stiff neck that comes with feeling sick;
the pain wakes you up at night, or it isn't better after a week or two.

The short version

Raise the screen, bring the mouse in, and get up every half hour. Do chin tucks and shoulder squeezes a few times a day. Warm up your neck and shoulders before you play, take a walk at the end of the day, and take care of the sore spots at night. Get anything that runs down your arm checked out.

Your neck isn't broken, it's just tired of holding your head out in front of you. Give it a better setup and a few breaks, and you'll be turning to watch the ball on your serve again.

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Darrin Cohen is a tennis pro with more than 20 years of teaching and the founder of Active 10.