I just made an effort to always think about the muscles when using arms. First engage the muscles then raise an arm.
I could not use my arms much due to pain so it was not that hard.

Don't think it had any direct effect on pain, but over time I was able to use my arms more. In my case the upper traps were doing all the work which lead to neck spasms.
A year ago I was not able to raise an arm above shoulder level without triggering bad pain. This is not a problem anymore. I still have neck pains, but no disabling pain which I had last year.