Something I learned years ago as a new lmt (licensed massage therapist) when I took a Lomi Lomi massage class is that when someone wakes up with a stiff neck, it can often times be blamed on an internal struggle. Some kind of argument within yourself- is it yes or no for some issue...
I don't know if it's true or not, though I can probably count on my fingers when this was true for me. Either way, we as humas get stressed and for some reason it often affects our upper backs, necks and shoulders. I also know that our muscles hold on to memories and emotions so I guess for some reason negative things often go to our upper back, neck and shoulders. It would have been nice if the negative stuff could have been designed to go somewhere less important, or with less feelings, but if that was the case, would we feel as likely to want to address and work on what is ailing us? Hmmm... Something to think about I guess.
Gosh, I've been getting stiff necks since I was a kid. I guess that's partly why I became a massage therapist. I want to help those who have been dealing with what I've dealt with since I was a kid.