8 Muscles That Cause Neck Pain at Your Desk

Working at a desk for 8+ hours a day can be a pain in the neck, figuratively and literally.

We have all had that same tight, burning, grabbing neck pain as the day progresses. The next morning we wake up with our necks stiff as a board and think, "Did I play a pro football game yesterday, or did I get hit by a buffalo at some point?" No, my friends, that's the price you pay when you have a poor ergonomic workstation and work at a desk all day.

Muscles Related to Neck Pain

Before we run through the causes, symptoms, prevention, and treatment of cervical spine/shoulder desk-related injuries, it’s important to first to have a solid basis of the anatomy. Below, I've included some pictures that will help explain the anatomy better than I ever could. I do want to highlight a couple of key structures that will be popping up throughout this article.

Pectoral Group- a large, broad muscle group covering most of the chest. These muscles are commonly overactive/shortened/tightened in desk workers. Since we perform a majority of our work in front of us, they are contracted continuously when working in the frontal plane.

Upper trapezius/levator scapulae- this group of muscles covers most of the posterior neck and shoulder portions. They allow our shoulder blade (scapula) to move up and down and are often overactive (contracted) in desk workers. This group can also refer to pain into the neck and cause headaches as the day progress. These present with tightness or burning running from the shoulder blade into the base of the skull. 

Suboccipital muscles- this group of muscles sits right below your skull (occiput). They aid in the movement of the neck and, most notably, rotation of the head on the neck. The suboccipitals are notorious for causing headaches from staring at a computer screen too long. If you find yourself pushing right below your skull to relieve pain, these guys are the culprits. 

Scalenes group- these muscles originate on the lateral parts of the neck vertebral bodies and insert into the 1st and 2nd ribs. Their function is flexion of the neck, lateral flexion of the neck, and aid in breathing mechanics. If the scalenes are overactive, they may compress the brachial plexus (a nerve bundle that comes out of the neck). Compression of the brachial plexus can lead to numbness in the arm and hands, commonly known as Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.

Sternocleidomastoid muscle- the large meaty muscle that runs from the sternum to just behind your ear. The action of the SCM is to flex your head and allow the head to rotate from one side to another. While we are staring at our screens throughout the day, our cervical spine is naturally flexed forward, which is the main action of the SCM.

Deep neck flexors- these muscles run along the front of the vertebrae in your neck and typically are turned off throughout the day. They are inactive due to the standard neck positioning while at your desk and the above muscles being overactive. The deep neck flexors are crucial in stabilizing your neck. Yet, since they are turned off a majority of the time, they tend to become weak (if you don't use them, you lose them) and therefore play a role in chronic neck pain.

Lower trapezius- this muscle is crucial in the stabilization of the scapula and, therefore, the entire shoulder complex. Unlike its overactive upper cousin, the lower trapezius is often inhibited/turned off. Weak scapular stabilizers are known to cause the rounding of shoulders (hunching over) which in turn causes pain within the upper back and neck.

Serratus Anterior- this is the last muscle in our quick anatomy lesson because I'm assuming you are all sleeping by now or have scrolled through this section already. The S.A. sits in between the scapula and the rib cage. The S.A. is a primary stabilizer of the scapula; lack of motor control within the scapula will cause altered biomechanics throughout the upper thoracic and cervical spine.

Causes of Neck and Shoulder pain

Lack of upper back support- The sole purpose of a backrest is to support the entirety of the back (heck, it's even in the name). We tend to lean forward and come off the backrest as we work throughout the day. In doing so, we begin to round the back and rely on the paraspinal muscles to hold us up, which invariably causes burning and tightness.

Monitor Height is too low- The eye level of your monitor should be at the upper 1/3 of your screen. In most cases, the monitor height is too low, causing the head to tilt at a downward angle. This head positioning causes the muscles of the posterior neck musculature to become stretched and fatigued from stabilization and the anterior neck muscles to become tight.

Hunching forward while working/gaming- The classic hunched-over computer worker position (see above) is common as we type throughout the day; however, you may not notice it. The first problem is head protrusion forward, causing neck strain. This positioning also exponentially puts more and more load on the discs and vertebrae of the neck. The muscles of the back are stretched and fatigued throughout the whole process. The complete opposite occurs in the chest, where the pecs are consistently contracted/tightened. This chronic out-of-balanced position can snowball more and more as time passes.

Viewing documents on your desk surface- It still boggles my mind how people can not feel the straining effects of looking straight down for hours on end. The downward head tilt places your neck in a flexed forward position. Once again, causing the muscles of the neck and upper back to continually become more out of balance. An easy solution is to get a document reader, which will prop up the documents at an ideal viewing angle. 

Viewing multiple computer monitors- This scenario isn't detrimental as long as you have the screens set up correctly. The primary screen should be directly in front of you, with the secondary display directly adjacent. Screens that are too far apart or split in front of you will cause the rotary muscles of the neck (see above if you skipped down here) to be overactive and strained. The split is encouraged if you are using the dual monitors equally in screen time. 

Phone cradling- The classic position of holding the phone between your shoulders and ear for extended periods of time. In recent years many workers have switched to headsets, which helps alleviate this old-school issue. In this position, we see significant stress placed on the trapezius muscle. The trapezius muscle becomes contracted and can spasm if held for prolonged periods of time.

Causes of shoulder pain

A majority of desk-related shoulder injuries arise in the dominant hand but can periodically occur in both. In recent years I’ve seen more cases associated with the mousing arm, as we tend to kick the mouse out in front of the keyboard or off to the side throughout the day.  This positioning causes the shoulder blade to wrap around the upper back and strain as the day progresses. 

Keyboard distance- The distance to your keyboard should be minimal as we want the peripherals to be as close as possible to our body center. I call this zone the “wheelhouse” as it minimizes muscle strain and force throughout the day. The arm/shoulder complex makes a relative 90-degree angle at the elbow in terms of desk height.  If you are looking for a solid gaming keyboard that meets my criteria, check the guys out at Dygma.

Poor wrist positioning- The wrist should be in a relatively straight line to the elbow in both the X and Y planes of motion. Most individuals have the elbow below the wrist, which puts the wrist in extension. Wrist extension causes strain on the tissues of the anterior wrist and can lead to numbness throughout the hand if it's not corrected. Deviation to the pinky side, aka the ulnar side, will also cause compression of the ulnar and median nerve if not addressed. 

Lack of a proper backrest- The absence of a proper backrest puts a strain on the upper back and the shoulder complex. Leaning forward with the neck, back, and shoulder causes the anterior muscles to contract (shorten) and the posterior muscles to be strained (lengthened). Both groups were anatomically designed to be in the most neutral position possible when at rest. 

Desk work and, more importantly, poor forward posture changes all of that. The second part of this article will cover prevention and treatments that you can use to help combat daily neck pain. Most of the upcoming prevention steps can be found in our equipment series.

Every piece of the desk setup is broken down and explained to improve your workstation (except the paper clip, I didn't want anyone getting too attached …….you wanted jokes, well, you got ‘'em). 

Have a great day, and thank you for reading.

If you have questions or comments, please feel free to email us.