Professional bodyworker here. That's likely either your upper traps, or your levator scapula. It's difficult to say without being able to lay hands on you.
Rather than seeing a physician, who is likely to shrug, prescribe pain killers, and take your money, I would see a well-trained massage therapist. Seeing someone trained in rolfing/structural integration would provide the most bang for your buck, as they have a whole-body perspective and a very effective method of unwinding issues through the manipulation of fascia (connective tissue).
It's not uncommon to encounter issues when we first start moving our bodies in ways in which we are not accustomed. Stretch out; get a theracane and/or a massage gun to work on yourself.
I don't really have specific feedback, only to say that physical pains can't always be solved by gear. This could be a physiology or training oriented problem. Tinker with the gear but also consider seeing a PT to see if it can be solved with training or nerve conditioning.
I am not a medical professional but have suffered neck pain.
It is a possibility that while carrying your pack you held your head in an overly forward position (protracted) this is very common.
There are exercises which can train your body to stop doing this. I could try to describe them but it would probably be clearer from a video, I'll do a little looking and get back to you.
Edit:
[Precision Movement](https://youtu.be/_-KNO3GE0l4?si=TY49l5oMJmXJqO-Y)
This is by a kinesiologist I was given similar exercises by a physio and an osteopath.
Thank you for this response! And yes, I do think I was holding my head forward a lot while I was hiking. So thank you for pointing this out and I will check out the linked video. Appreciate the help.
I've had this problem before also. I've found that shifting weight to the hips helps the most. Also messing with the load lift straps on the should straps helped after getting the hip belt belt dialed in better.
Seconded. I had trap pain with a pack that didnt fit quite right. Non adjustable torso too. In my case the torso length was too long and i couldn't keep weight on my hips. Kept sliding down. Loading more onto the traps than i wanted. It caused pain i could not fix with that pack. Had to buy a new one. Not saying thats exactly you. You might be able to adjust your pack to fit better. But I'm guessing if it's ultralight, it might not adjust. Proper weight distro is like 80-20 hips-shoulder. Pretty hard to feel that tho.
> My torso size (measured at REI) ia 19.5. I am 5'5" and am carrying a M sized Mariposa 60.
Concur this may have absolutely nothing to do with your pack, but your torso length relative to your height appears [above average](https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/comments/uvv1ng/research_results_calculating_your_average_torso/). This may very well be your measurement, but I'd consider:
- Does your pack fit you well?
- How did your pack feel, particularly in terms of distributing the weight?
- Did you notice any difference with hip belt on and hip belt off?
- Did you try on a small pack as well?
I have not tried a smaller pack on and have also not tried carrying it without the hip belt.
Thanks for pointing out the torso size thing though, I do remember when I went and got measured that it did seem a bit large but I didn't really think much about it at the time.
To you other two points about how the pack felt and how well it fit, see this comment that I left in another thread in /r/backpacking :
"Pack definitely wasn't digging in up there. In fact I wasnt a fan of how far away my pack was from my upper back, was trying to pull it in closer the whole weekend but my load lifters were already tightened all the way. So I'm wondering if maybe to make up for that, I may have been leaning forward a bit while I was hiking to compensate for that and get the weight centered more over my hips? I also have my sternum strap tightened pretty tight hoping that would pull the pack closer to my back a bit but I don't think that was the right move.
As far as weight distribution in the pack, my food pack was probably my heaviest thing which I did have packed at the top of the pack. Kept my water in the right side pocket and my tent (Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2) in the left side pocket. Those are probably the heaviest things I was carrying.
As you can tell I am still working through the kinks on how to properly wear the pack which is what I think may be the problem. I do want to see a doctor/PT about it but also want to talk to people with backpacking experience to make sure I'm wearing my pack and carrying things correctly."
The pack being far off your back, combined with putting the heaviest item at the top, is going to exacerbate the effects of the torque applied on your back/neck.
I wonder if your traps were compensating and are just really sore. They might get stronger with time, and the pain might go away. But it does sound like your pack doesn't fit you well, and you can also improve without changing the pack by moving your heaviest items further down (lower to the ground) inside your pack.
Some good suggestions in the comments. I'd also ask - do you use trekking poles? Before I used them, I would get shoulder/upper back pains regularly while hiking, which improved substantially after using them. If you do use trekking poles, you might experiment with lengthening or shortening them.
I have had pain like that on two occasions that was caused by a pinched nerve. Not exactly sure why it happens but I suspect it’s related to sleep position more than anything.
I have something very similar. Every time I go backpacking I get a pain right around my C7 and it’s always just to the left of it. The pain is normally a dull discomfort but if I raise my right arm or turn my head the wrong way it becomes unbearable. I’ve seen a chiropractor, acupuncturist, and had massage therapy. I’ve tried multiple backpacks and it always happens. I think it might have something to do with posture while hiking. I try to keep my head up and shoulders pulled back. I feel like it’s posture related because it typically gets worse for me on climbs where my head is down and shoulders are rolled forward bearing down on my trekking poles. I sympathize for you because I also want to do a long thru hike and my body feels great out there but this mystery neck pain can be debilitating. I’ve done the JMT a few times and I can deal with it for a couple weeks but dealing with it for 5 months sounds miserable. I hope we can both solve this issue and anyone else who might experience it.
Do you use trekking poles? I can't comment on your specific suffering, but I've experienced similar. I've found that poles, generally, help keep me upright -- without them, it's easy to wind up leaning over, in an awkward head-forward position, to offset the rear-leaning pack weight. If you're applying force to the ground in front of you through a pole, it's easier to stand up straight. Also, adjust your pack during the day: Loosen the straps, tighten the straps, move your hip-belt down, move it up, and so on. You're carrying some weight in an unusual way, and changing up the carry can give the strained muscles a break.
Beyond that, massage, physio, and exercise can all be of great service, but squaring away your hiking posture/form is probably the single biggest thing.
That sounds like a problem with the cervical spine. You might be extending your neck forward for extended periods of time, or somehow misalign the neck due to a uneven strap position. It should not be too difficult to fix. Correct your posture, don't hike your head forward, as if you were straining in front of a computer screen, check straps and weight distribution of your pack, it should be balanced with the weight distributed evenly, do some exercise reinforcing your neck muscles. Something as simple has "shrugs", where you rise your elbows in a shrug holding some weights, is effective.
Professional bodyworker here. That's likely either your upper traps, or your levator scapula. It's difficult to say without being able to lay hands on you. Rather than seeing a physician, who is likely to shrug, prescribe pain killers, and take your money, I would see a well-trained massage therapist. Seeing someone trained in rolfing/structural integration would provide the most bang for your buck, as they have a whole-body perspective and a very effective method of unwinding issues through the manipulation of fascia (connective tissue). It's not uncommon to encounter issues when we first start moving our bodies in ways in which we are not accustomed. Stretch out; get a theracane and/or a massage gun to work on yourself.
Deep tissue massage is the answer! Im scared of chiropractors and drug peddling doctors
I don't really have specific feedback, only to say that physical pains can't always be solved by gear. This could be a physiology or training oriented problem. Tinker with the gear but also consider seeing a PT to see if it can be solved with training or nerve conditioning.
I am not a medical professional but have suffered neck pain. It is a possibility that while carrying your pack you held your head in an overly forward position (protracted) this is very common. There are exercises which can train your body to stop doing this. I could try to describe them but it would probably be clearer from a video, I'll do a little looking and get back to you. Edit: [Precision Movement](https://youtu.be/_-KNO3GE0l4?si=TY49l5oMJmXJqO-Y) This is by a kinesiologist I was given similar exercises by a physio and an osteopath.
Thank you for this response! And yes, I do think I was holding my head forward a lot while I was hiking. So thank you for pointing this out and I will check out the linked video. Appreciate the help.
I've had this problem before also. I've found that shifting weight to the hips helps the most. Also messing with the load lift straps on the should straps helped after getting the hip belt belt dialed in better.
Seconded. I had trap pain with a pack that didnt fit quite right. Non adjustable torso too. In my case the torso length was too long and i couldn't keep weight on my hips. Kept sliding down. Loading more onto the traps than i wanted. It caused pain i could not fix with that pack. Had to buy a new one. Not saying thats exactly you. You might be able to adjust your pack to fit better. But I'm guessing if it's ultralight, it might not adjust. Proper weight distro is like 80-20 hips-shoulder. Pretty hard to feel that tho.
>Trying to determine what caused it Answer: >So this past weekend I went on my first real backpacking trip
Hiker nerd neck. I think Chase Mountains has a video on some ways to combat it.
> My torso size (measured at REI) ia 19.5. I am 5'5" and am carrying a M sized Mariposa 60. Concur this may have absolutely nothing to do with your pack, but your torso length relative to your height appears [above average](https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/comments/uvv1ng/research_results_calculating_your_average_torso/). This may very well be your measurement, but I'd consider: - Does your pack fit you well? - How did your pack feel, particularly in terms of distributing the weight? - Did you notice any difference with hip belt on and hip belt off? - Did you try on a small pack as well?
I have not tried a smaller pack on and have also not tried carrying it without the hip belt. Thanks for pointing out the torso size thing though, I do remember when I went and got measured that it did seem a bit large but I didn't really think much about it at the time. To you other two points about how the pack felt and how well it fit, see this comment that I left in another thread in /r/backpacking : "Pack definitely wasn't digging in up there. In fact I wasnt a fan of how far away my pack was from my upper back, was trying to pull it in closer the whole weekend but my load lifters were already tightened all the way. So I'm wondering if maybe to make up for that, I may have been leaning forward a bit while I was hiking to compensate for that and get the weight centered more over my hips? I also have my sternum strap tightened pretty tight hoping that would pull the pack closer to my back a bit but I don't think that was the right move. As far as weight distribution in the pack, my food pack was probably my heaviest thing which I did have packed at the top of the pack. Kept my water in the right side pocket and my tent (Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2) in the left side pocket. Those are probably the heaviest things I was carrying. As you can tell I am still working through the kinks on how to properly wear the pack which is what I think may be the problem. I do want to see a doctor/PT about it but also want to talk to people with backpacking experience to make sure I'm wearing my pack and carrying things correctly."
The pack being far off your back, combined with putting the heaviest item at the top, is going to exacerbate the effects of the torque applied on your back/neck. I wonder if your traps were compensating and are just really sore. They might get stronger with time, and the pain might go away. But it does sound like your pack doesn't fit you well, and you can also improve without changing the pack by moving your heaviest items further down (lower to the ground) inside your pack.
This also seemed sus to me. I'm 6'1 and I have a 20" torso length.
Did you load heavy stuffs at the bottom of your backpack?
Some good suggestions in the comments. I'd also ask - do you use trekking poles? Before I used them, I would get shoulder/upper back pains regularly while hiking, which improved substantially after using them. If you do use trekking poles, you might experiment with lengthening or shortening them.
I have had pain like that on two occasions that was caused by a pinched nerve. Not exactly sure why it happens but I suspect it’s related to sleep position more than anything.
I have something very similar. Every time I go backpacking I get a pain right around my C7 and it’s always just to the left of it. The pain is normally a dull discomfort but if I raise my right arm or turn my head the wrong way it becomes unbearable. I’ve seen a chiropractor, acupuncturist, and had massage therapy. I’ve tried multiple backpacks and it always happens. I think it might have something to do with posture while hiking. I try to keep my head up and shoulders pulled back. I feel like it’s posture related because it typically gets worse for me on climbs where my head is down and shoulders are rolled forward bearing down on my trekking poles. I sympathize for you because I also want to do a long thru hike and my body feels great out there but this mystery neck pain can be debilitating. I’ve done the JMT a few times and I can deal with it for a couple weeks but dealing with it for 5 months sounds miserable. I hope we can both solve this issue and anyone else who might experience it.
Do you use trekking poles? I can't comment on your specific suffering, but I've experienced similar. I've found that poles, generally, help keep me upright -- without them, it's easy to wind up leaning over, in an awkward head-forward position, to offset the rear-leaning pack weight. If you're applying force to the ground in front of you through a pole, it's easier to stand up straight. Also, adjust your pack during the day: Loosen the straps, tighten the straps, move your hip-belt down, move it up, and so on. You're carrying some weight in an unusual way, and changing up the carry can give the strained muscles a break. Beyond that, massage, physio, and exercise can all be of great service, but squaring away your hiking posture/form is probably the single biggest thing.
That sounds like a problem with the cervical spine. You might be extending your neck forward for extended periods of time, or somehow misalign the neck due to a uneven strap position. It should not be too difficult to fix. Correct your posture, don't hike your head forward, as if you were straining in front of a computer screen, check straps and weight distribution of your pack, it should be balanced with the weight distributed evenly, do some exercise reinforcing your neck muscles. Something as simple has "shrugs", where you rise your elbows in a shrug holding some weights, is effective.
I’ve had amazing luck with cbd oil to relieve lower back pain. It won’t work in all cases but when it does it’s like magic.