I know this tread kinda went in another direction, but Kipsy, I wanted to get back to your neck problem.
Now, I am no doctor, but I own an office chair manufacturing business (chairs and upholstery have been a familly thing for 3 generations) and I know quite a bit about ergonomy and the problem that can result. Don't worry, I am not trying to sell you anything, just some advice
In my business, I deal with that kind of problem on a daily basis. A lot of companies and employers don't see the value of a good chair until they start paying penalties like partial salary to an employee on a medical leave, after it had been prove that the chair/desk is causing the problem. Unfortunatly, this also applies to individuals and their home computer.
Problems created by a bad chair can affect your whole body: legs, wrists and manily back, shoulders and neck problem. If you have a seat too long for instance, it will hit you behind the knee and will reduce your blood circulation, causing numbness in your legs, even if you sit for as little as an hour. Having a chair to high compared to your desk can create problems in your wrists and back/shoulders.
Again, I don't know what your setup is at home, but this comes from my experience and it applies in probably 80% of the cases. First of all, you need a proper lumbar support. Your back must be entirely resting on your chair's backrest and your (excuse my english there) spine must be verticaly aligned. Your head weights an average if 15 pounds, so you can imagine that if it is even slightly bended forward, your spine no longer supports it's weight and it causes a lot of stress in your neck muscle, since they are now almost pulling to keep your head from falling on your desk
I know it's hard to keep your head straight, even more when you are fighting and try to survive in FFXI!!! But with a good chair, it helps a lot. Also, you can arrange your screen so that it's at a higher level, so you can look straight at it. If you don't have an adjustable screen support, just place some books like a dictionnary (finally some use for that) to raise your screen, but keep it safe to! Finally, if you can have the chair going under the desk, it allows you to get closer to the screen to, without leaning for it.
The armrests are also very important. If you don't have any on your chair, I suggest you have someone install some, adjustables! Your regular furniture dealer can probably come over and install them for a minimal fee. Adjust the armrests so that it supports your forearms, without any stress in your shoulders. Your shoulders must be in a natural position, not to high, not to low. Try to get your foreams at a 90 degree angle while standing up and keeping them that way for 4 hours... that's almost what you are doing if you do not have any armrests. I know you can rest them on the desk, but notice how your shoulders then are higher then the normal position? It produces the same results, stress in the muscle that will extend in your neck.
Finally, the keyboard. Always adjust your chair's height so that it will allow you to type at your keyboard while your forearms are resting on the armrests. And don't use those little legs at the back of your keyboard! I know it raises the back of your keyboard and allow you to see better, but it makes you bend your wrists upward to type. Just move your wrists right now towards you and see how it pulls in your armrests, all the way to your shoulders? The same is happening when you type if your wrists are bend that way. Try to have your keyboard in such a way that your wrists will rests in the most natural and straight position. You will again remove some stress in your shoulders/neck.
Finally, every hour or so, take a break! Get up, walk around for 15 minutes or go get a glass of water. These breaks will prevent your muscles from settling in too long and getting over stressed. It will also force you to take back the appropriate position when you sit back. Everyone, even me :lol: , will keep the correct position for 30-45 minutes and change it without realizing it. Also gets your mind on something else for a few minutes.
Again, it may not solve your problem, but I can guarantee you it will helps relieve some of the pain. Just stop for a sec and think about the amount of time you spend in front of your computer. Don't be ashamed, we all spend a LOT of time. We work on it, then get home and go back on a computer for different reasons. If you don't provide your body with the proper support, I guess you can see now that a lot of problem can result from it.
Oh, almost forgot. If you start feeling the slightest pain or stress, change your position or get up and resume the proper position, don't though it out!!! Your body is basicly telling you RIGHT NOW that it might not be able to keep that stress level for too long.
AND get a good chair! I know a 350$ chair seems a lot of money compared to to 75$ one at Business Depot, but it's really worth it! It will prevent a lot of problems and you will usually keep it for 10 years at least.
Sorry for the long post, but I hope it helps! Again, I am sure you will see some improvements and the pain might even go away for a while, but don't stop seeing your doctor! Only he can tell you when you are back at full health!
Take Care!
Edit: Just realized this is a very very long post!!!! lol Sorry again!
