Acupuncture for Neck & Shoulder Pain Relief
Relieve pain. Restore mobility. Get back to what matters.
Neck and shoulder pain can disrupt work, training, and daily life. We provide focused, evidence-informed treatments to relieve pain and restore mobility — so you can get back to what matters. Located in Long Island City, Queens.
Don’t let pain hold you back.
Conditions We Treat
Neck Pain: Pain that can limit turning, focus, or sleep.
Shoulder Pain: Pain that can limit lifting, reaching, or carrying.
Pinched Nerve: Tingling, numbness, weakness, or pain that can radiate into the arm or hand.
Tension & Stiffness: Tightness that restricts movement or causes headaches.
Frozen Shoulder: Limited range of motion in the shoulder that can make everyday activities painful or difficult.
Sports & Training Pain: Pain from overuse, strain, or injury that can limit strength, speed, or performance.
Common Causes of Neck & Shoulder Pain
Neck and shoulder pain can come from many different sources. These factors often overlap, so we take a multi-layered approach for more complete recovery.
Structural Causes
Neck and shoulder pain can come from changes in the joints, discs, or supporting tissues. These often show on imaging (arthritis, disc herniation, rotator cuff or labrum injury) but can also flare without obvious findings.
Disc problems: Bulging or irritated discs in the neck can cause pain that worsens with sitting, looking down, or holding your head in one position.
Degenerative changes: Arthritis or age-related narrowing can make looking up or turning more difficult. While these changes can’t be reversed, treatment can reduce inflammation, ease pressure, and restore mobility.
Joint or ligament strain: Sometimes pain seems to appear out of nowhere — waking up with a stiff neck, or suddenly not being able to turn. This often comes from irritated joints or ligaments after awkward sleep, a quick twist, or long hours in one position.
Shoulder problems: Injuries to the rotator cuff or labrum can make everyday movements difficult. Common trouble spots include raising the arm overhead, reaching behind the back to dress, or carrying weight away from the body.
Mechanical Causes
Neck and shoulder pain often stems from movement, posture, and daily stress. These problems may not show on imaging, but poor mechanics can strain muscles and joints, leading to tension, inflammation, and pain.
Posture: Long hours at a desk, laptop, or phone pull the head forward and round the shoulders. This constant position builds tension in the neck and upper back and stresses the joints.
Repetitive stress: Repetitive strain happens when the same movement or position is repeated so often that the body doesn’t get enough time to recover. This can come from hours of typing, phone use, or desk work – or from sports and job tasks requiring repeated lifting, reaching, twisting.
Muscle Imbalance: When some muscles are overworked (like the upper traps) and others are weak (like the shoulder stabilizers), the neck and shoulders don’t move evenly. This imbalance leads to greater friction, increasing wear and tear.
Muscle Tension: Ongoing tension can cause tight “knots” in the muscles. These areas hurt when pressed, and often trigger pain in other places such as the head, jaw, or arm. Releasing them helps restore movement and ease discomfort.
Neurological Causes
Neck and shoulder pain can also come from the nerves. This doesn’t always mean a nerve is pinched — nerves can be irritated, inflamed, or overly sensitive, which changes how pain is felt and how muscles work.
Pinched Nerve: A disc, bone, or muscle in the neck or shoulder can press on a nerve, leading to sharp pain, tingling, numbness, or weakness that can travel down the arm or hand.
Nerve Irritation/Inflammation: Swelling around discs or joints can irritate nearby nerves, causing burning or radiating pain even without direct compression.
Nerve Sensitization: After ongoing stress or injury, nerves can become overactive, so normal movements feel more painful and cause aching or burning that lingers.
Referred Pain: Because of how nerves are wired, irritation in the neck can be “felt” in the shoulder or arm, sometimes showing up as dull aching or tingling away from the actual source.
Weakness: When nerve signaling is disrupted, muscles in the neck or shoulder may not fire properly. This can show up as weakness, fatigue, or loss of control when lifting, reaching overhead, or stabilizing the shoulder.
Lifestyle Causes
Even without a major injury, daily habits and limited recovery can lead to pain and injury, or keep them from resolving.
Sleep: Poor or disrupted sleep makes it harder for the body to repair. Without deep rest, inflammation builds up, muscles stay tense, and joints remain achy. Pain lingers, response time slows, and the body becomes more prone to re-injury.
Recovery: When work, training, or heavy lifting outpace recovery, the body and nervous system fatigue. Muscle recruitment weakens, performance drops, and tissues stay under strain — setting the stage for persistent pain and reduced output in work, training, and daily life.
Stress: High stress keeps the body on edge, draining energy needed for repair and amplifying pain signals, making discomfort feel sharper and more persistent.
Sedentary: Long hours sitting or working at a desk keep muscles under constant low-level strain. Without movement, circulation slows, posture stiffens, and small aches in the neck and shoulders build into more persistent pain.
Because these factors often overlap, we take an integrated approach that addresses the full picture to restoring movement, reducing pain, and improving function — so you can get back to what matters.
Our Method
Our method takes a multifaceted approach to the different factors contributing to neck and shoulder pain. We work to reduce inflammation, relieve tension, calm irritated nerves, and improve circulation — so you can feel better and function at your best.
1. Precise Local Relief
We target the areas of pain and irritation with precise acupuncture techniques. This helps reduce inflammation, ease muscle guarding, and release tension in the neck and shoulders for easier, more comfortable movement.
2. Correct Underlying Imbalances
Neck and shoulder pain often comes from more than one source. We address muscle imbalances, postural strain, and joint dysfunction to restore alignment, coordination, and mobility.
3. Support Lasting Recovery
Acupuncture improves circulation, enhances oxygen and nutrient delivery, and supports the body’s natural repair processes. This helps healing progress more efficiently, reduces flare-ups, and supports longer-term relief.
When relief matters, you need a plan that works.
The LIC Acupuncture & Wellness Difference
Whole Person APPROACH
Neck and shoulder pain isn’t always just structural. Stress, sleep, posture, and lifestyle all play a role in keeping pain going. Our treatments take into account and address these contributing factors — which is why many patients find more complete recovery, even when other therapies haven’t been as effective.
Personalized TREATMENTS
No two necks — or shoulders — are the same. Every session is one-on-one and tailored to your history, goals, and how your pain shows up. Treatments may include orthopedic or dry needling acupuncture with supportive methods like cupping, soft-tissue work, or e-stim.
Expert Care
Our licensed practitioners are highly trained and clinically focused on results. We’ve helped countless patients manage neck and shoulder pain safely and effectively so they can move more freely and get back to what matters.
What to Expect
Consultation
One-on-one discussion of your symptoms, health history, and goals. We’ll confirm if acupuncture — or any of our services — is the right fit.
Your First Treatment
A targeted acupuncture session tailored to your condition. Supportive therapies such as cupping, e-stim, or soft-tissue work may be included to improve circulation, release tension, and support recovery.
Progress
Many patients notice relief within the first few sessions. Chronic or complex conditions usually improve gradually over a series of treatments.
Testimonials
Feel better. Move better. Live better.
Individual results may vary. No guarantee of specific results is warranted or implied. See full disclaimer.