A healthy neck has a natural inward C-shape.
When the curve is there, the muscles barely have to work — the head sits balanced over the spine.
But after years of looking down at laptops, phones, and Zoom calls, the curve slowly flattens.
The head drifts forward of the shoulders.
And the muscles at the base of the neck and across the shoulders end up doing the job of holding up a 10-to-12-pound head that's no longer balanced over its base.
That's why the muscles feel tight.
That's why the knots keep coming back.
That's why the headache shows up at 4pm like clockwork.
That's why the bump starts to form — it's the body's response to a curve that's no longer there.
Which is why most things people try — the heating pads, the shiatsu massagers, the posture braces — feel good for a week and then quietly stop working.
They were addressing the wrong layer.