Chronic headaches due to vague neck problem, need some advice on possibilities

[TomThailand]

Had chronic headaches for years, stupidly never sorted it due to various issues. Now I have been told it is a cervical problem, but finding it hard to figure out just what as I live in another country at the minute. My two questions are -

1. How bad can the problem be? I've never had an injury, apparently it is just caused by bad posture. Could I really have damaged my neck that badly? Is it possible to damage it bad enough to need surgery, for instance, just by sitting a computer too long? Bearing in mind I'm only 24

2. The doctor has been doing cervical traction everyday for two weeks, which helps a lot... for about two or three hours. Is it possible that this could fix the problem long term, if I give it time? The fact that it takes about three hours to go straight back to normal strikes me as saying no, but I don't want to give up. If not, what can fix the problem long term?