On the physical level, neck pain is not limited to pain in the neck.  Most neck pain starts suddenly, and usually improves after a couple of days. Your neck will be sore and painful, especially when you try to move it. The pain may spread to your head and shoulders.

Neck pain is commonly associated with dull aching. Sometimes pain in the neck is worsened with movement of the neck. Other symptoms associated with some forms of neck pain include numbness, tingling, tenderness, sharp shooting pain, fullness, difficulty swallowing, pulsations, swishing sounds in the head, dizziness or lightheadedness, and gland swelling.

Neck pain also includes the following symptoms:

Many, if not all, of these symptoms are caused by poor posture and the muscular imbalances that it creates.  The posture associated with neck pain includes, but is not limited to, forward head, rounded middle and upper back, rounded shoulders, collapsed chest, sunken solar plexus, and either lordosis or a flattened lumbar curve.  With this posture, the muscles of the neck (SCM), upper and middle back (middle and lower trapezius and latissimus dorsi) are commonly weak, overstretched, and tight.  The muscles of the upper chest (pectoralis major and serratus anterior) are shortened and tight.

A forward head posture causes not only muscle imbalances, but can also lead to compression of the vertebrae as the cervical curve flattens.  Compression of the vertebrae can lead to arthritis, degenerative disc disease, and a host of related problems such as bone spurs and herniated discs.

Herniated cervical discs can cause pain that radiates to the shoulder, arm, hand, and/or fingers, tingling, numbness, and/or weakness as the disc material spills into the space occupied by spinal cord or nerve root.  Where these symptoms are felt depends on which disc is herniated.  Below is a listing of symptoms for herniation at a specific site.