I seem to hold a lot of tension in my neck at work. My job isn’t physical, but it’s stressful. Could my neck pain have anything to do with my work?

Experts believe there’s a fairly strong connection between mental stress and the kind of muscular tension that causes neck pain. This relationship seems to apply to the workplace.

Researchers in the Netherlands recently looked at the relationship between job factors and neck pain. Examining data from 977 workers over a three-year period, they found that people who worked under a lot of time pressure were more likely to have neck pain. So were people who didn’t feel like they got much support from their coworkers. To a lesser extent, people who didn’t get to make decisions at work were also more susceptible to neck pain.

You may want to talk with your doctor about ways to manage your neck pain–and your stress at work. The more you can minimize your stress level, the better you’ll feel all around.