“Is it possible to recognize when a problem’s going to arise so you can head it off early?”
No, it is more a sudden thing - it’s okay, then it isn’t. I know it happens when the neck stays in a looking down position too long but I never know I’ve done that until it starts hurting. Do you know at every minute of the day where your neck is positioned? No, you just do your day not thinking about the position of your neck.
When it starts that pain, then I keep the neck in that cushion resting on the back of my recliner so the neck doesn’t have the job of holding the head up. A head weighs approximately five pounds.
This problem is a pain - a neck pain, that is.
I have a long neck, and it really can be a pain.