The muscle that is commonly associated with the occurrence if a stiff neck is called levator scapula and it connects the neck and shoulder .Therefore the pain you may be feeling goes down to the shoulder blades. Generally with a stiff neck, the pain occurs when trying to turn your head toward the side that hurts and you often end up turning the body instead of your neck to look behind. The generally side effect of a stiff neck is a headache; however this may not always be so. Neck strain often occurs from faulty sitting postures and excessive work done sitting at one place; for example at a desk or at a computer and thus a good way to avoid it would be to maintain a proper posture when sitting for long periods of time.However this is not the only cause and the reasons may varied and connected with each other therefore along with a bad posture it could also be caused due to depression , anxiety and even overdoing activities like hard labor and sport. If you have had a prior whiplash injury then that may also be a cause of the neck pain. Among the ways to remedy this Is; not to get stressed about the neck pain itself and get adequate rest.
Use heat to treat the pain and massage the area to relive the stress and stimulate blood flow. You can use a supportive neck pillow and also learn a proper sitting position such that it does not place stress upon your neck. Make sure to sleep on your side with the knees bent or sleep on your back with a pillow under your knees. Make sure the pillow is not too thick that you end up bending your neck.
answered by G M