Headaches and Neck Pain

Is there a link between headaches and neck pain?

Chiropractors are musculoskeletal providers and we focus on how your soft tissues, bony structures and other factors play a role in your condition. The most common type of headaches that come into a chiropractor’s office is called a cervicogenic headache.

Cervicogenic headaches present as pain that begins at the base of your skull or in your neck. There are nerves and an artery that travel through these muscles and those nerves become compressed causing the neck pain to travel to your head resulting in a headache.

The pain can fluctuate but usually is a “deep" pain. It maybe worse at the end of the day due to prolonged postural stress or waking up with a headache due to sleeping positions. The pain can be aggravated by neck movements like looking down, or turning your head side to side. Some patients experience sensitivity to light and/or sound.

Often the neck pain will present with decreased range of motion or tenderness in the neck. These patients often present with a loss of strength in the neck flexors in the front of the neck due to over-activation of the upper trapezius, SCM and suboccipitals.

It is important to find a practitioner that addresses your pain & headaches but also gives you strengthening exercises to keep the headaches from returning in the future.