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We have to get a little technical because that is where the issue is. Pain is a symptom not a cause, so please bear with me. I promise to pull it all together at the end.
The triad of neck, upper back and shoulder pain in the absence of repetitive trauma is usually related to simple posture. Posture isn't just how you sit or stand, it is a function of proprioception ( the awareness of where one part of the body is in relation to another). So if you develop an imbalance in related muscles, you develop an imbalance in function and this leads to irritation of the structures and causes pain. So to reduce the pain and restore the function of an area , in this case the cervical/thoracic region, we must identify the cause.

Your brain is the command center for your body and as such it is imperative that it sits evenly and securely in your skull. This allows proper regulation of blood and fluids throughout the organ. Other than walking, running or getting food, your body's job is to keep your head even and straight. If you walked around with one high heel on and one flat shoe, your body would compensate to keep your head as centered as possible. One knee would bend, one leg would rotate, your pelvis would twist as would your spine...little adjustments would be made all the way up until your skull could sit as comfortable as possible on top of your neck. So that being the primary concern, what is causing you all this pain?...Your Rhomboids.
Rhomboids are more than something you think you learned in geometry, they are important muscles in your back that silly enough are shaped like rhomboids ( tilted rectangles.) These geometric powerhouses act to anchor your scapula, the flat bone in between your shoulder and spine, against you back and through a sequence of events pulls your shoulder into its socket. All the way around to the front lies the pectoralis muscles. These are the muscles making up your chest. These muscles rotate your arm in and pull it forward. So to make it simple go through the motion of pulling your arm back like you are throwing a punch...when you do this your rhomboids have to get shorter or flex, which brings your scapula in towards your spine which by action of a few other muscles in between pulls your shoulder back. With your arm back in this position you are shortening your rhomboid and stretching your pect muscles. No slowly extend your arm as if you are throwing a punch at that same geometry teacher and while you do it turn your thumb down towards

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