Medically known as cervicogenic headache, a neck headache is felt at the base of your skull or top of your neck. About 24% of all headache cases attended by doctors are neck headaches. It is categorized as a secondary headache disorder because it results from an illness or issue outside of the head – which is in this case is your neck. Neck headaches are rarely life-threatening and can be relieved by correcting the problem with the neck.
The Cause of Neck Headaches
Neck headaches are a disorder of the upper cervical spine and its bones, discs, muscles and other tissue components. It starts in several musculoskeletal or neurovascular structures in your upper neck. This consists of the topmost three vertebrae – the C1, C2 and C3, spinal cord coverings and neck muscles. Once an issue in this area happens, it sends incorrect pain signals that transmit through the brainstem. The information is then sent to your brain and translated as a headache.
When your neck joints are too stiff, have moved too much or locked in an abnormal position, your neck joints can cause a neck headache. It may also bring facial pain.
How Your Neck Muscles Play a Role
You can experience neck pain if your neck muscles or shoulder muscles are overworked, spasming, or knotted. Your neck muscles become overworked from repeated actions, poor posture, accidents, or when they must protect injured neck joints. Some neck muscles weaken from not being used, putting more work on your other muscles and resulting in fatigue. Maintaining the normal resting tension of you neck muscles helps them work optimally.
The Function of Occipital and Cervical Nerves
The nerves in your upper neck can be strained or irritated by bony growths due to soreness, arthritis, or disc bulges. This relays a pain message along the nerve pathways and results in a headache. You can picture it this way: your neck serves as the switch, your nerves are the electrical wires, and your headache begins as the light turns on.
Symptoms of a Neck Headaches
Neck headaches are often mistaken as migraines as they are both felt in the same area and share similar symptoms. However, migraines are much more severe than neck headaches. Some of the symptoms of neck headaches are as follows:
Exercises to Improve Your Posture and Ease Neck Headache
One of the first steps to cure your neck headache is to improve your posture. There is a strong relation between bad posture and neck headaches. Your posture can affect the curve of your spine, and poor posture may result in neck pain over time. The way you sit and stand can impact the frequency and severity of your neck headaches.
Here are some tips to help you work on your posture. Before you start, ask someone to take a picture of you from the front, back, and side. After looking at the picture and standing in front of a full-length mirror, make sure your head and neck are positioned over your body. Your forehead should not stick out in front of your chest. Do not extend your backside too much. Notice whether your hands hang evenly and if your hips are at the same level. Consult with your doctor or chiropractor before performing any exercise routine.
Relying on a Specialist to Cure Your Neck Headache
Turning to an upper cervical chiropractor may help you treat and get rid of your neck headache. Chiropractors − such as our team here at Upper Cervical Cedar Falls in Cedar Falls, Iowa − are trained medical specialists who use gentle methods to relieve pain in the neck, spine, and other areas of the body.
Our chiropractors focus on the top bones of the spine, particularly the C1 and C2 vertebrae. A misalignment in this location can cause the issues that bring on neck headaches and other conditions. We perform gentle adjustments that do not involve forceful twisting or the popping and cracking sound that is common in regular chiropractic neck adjustments. Our gentle technique encourages the bones to return to place naturally. Our adjustments are longer-lasting than other treatments, which enables the body to maintain its restorative healing process as it recovers from any misalignments and health conditions caused by the misalignments. Our patients report numerous positive results and improvement in their conditions after receiving our care. If you’re looking for relief from your headaches, give us a call today.
The Cause of Neck Headaches
Neck headaches are a disorder of the upper cervical spine and its bones, discs, muscles and other tissue components. It starts in several musculoskeletal or neurovascular structures in your upper neck. This consists of the topmost three vertebrae – the C1, C2 and C3, spinal cord coverings and neck muscles. Once an issue in this area happens, it sends incorrect pain signals that transmit through the brainstem. The information is then sent to your brain and translated as a headache.
When your neck joints are too stiff, have moved too much or locked in an abnormal position, your neck joints can cause a neck headache. It may also bring facial pain.
How Your Neck Muscles Play a Role
You can experience neck pain if your neck muscles or shoulder muscles are overworked, spasming, or knotted. Your neck muscles become overworked from repeated actions, poor posture, accidents, or when they must protect injured neck joints. Some neck muscles weaken from not being used, putting more work on your other muscles and resulting in fatigue. Maintaining the normal resting tension of you neck muscles helps them work optimally.
The Function of Occipital and Cervical Nerves
The nerves in your upper neck can be strained or irritated by bony growths due to soreness, arthritis, or disc bulges. This relays a pain message along the nerve pathways and results in a headache. You can picture it this way: your neck serves as the switch, your nerves are the electrical wires, and your headache begins as the light turns on.
Symptoms of a Neck Headaches
Neck headaches are often mistaken as migraines as they are both felt in the same area and share similar symptoms. However, migraines are much more severe than neck headaches. Some of the symptoms of neck headaches are as follows:
- Neck stiffness or mild loss of motion in the neck
- Exhaustion at the top of the neck and base of the skull
- Headache that radiates from the back to the front of head
- Headache that worsens on one side of the head and consistently aches on the same side
- Headache that hits or is made better by a movement of neck
- Headache that seems to be relieved by applying pressure or massaging the neck or the base of the skull
Exercises to Improve Your Posture and Ease Neck Headache
One of the first steps to cure your neck headache is to improve your posture. There is a strong relation between bad posture and neck headaches. Your posture can affect the curve of your spine, and poor posture may result in neck pain over time. The way you sit and stand can impact the frequency and severity of your neck headaches.
Here are some tips to help you work on your posture. Before you start, ask someone to take a picture of you from the front, back, and side. After looking at the picture and standing in front of a full-length mirror, make sure your head and neck are positioned over your body. Your forehead should not stick out in front of your chest. Do not extend your backside too much. Notice whether your hands hang evenly and if your hips are at the same level. Consult with your doctor or chiropractor before performing any exercise routine.
- Alignment: Stand up against the wall with your heels touching it. Step forward about the length of your foot. Now, lean back until your buttocks and back touch the wall. Push your head back without tilting your chin up and until it touches the wall. If your head cannot touch the wall, just push it back as far as you can and keep it straight. Hold for 20 seconds. This is good for your core muscles and trains them to help with your posture.
- Alignment in movement: Use large inflatable gym balls. Sit on one with your knees at a 90-degree angle and use your best, stable posture. Keep your knees, torso, and head still, and use your pelvis to slowly move the ball in little circles. Three circles left, then three circles right. This exercise will help you determine the parts where you have abandoned muscles in your core.
- Balance: Stand in a doorway using good posture. Raise one leg, bending your knee, so your thigh is parallel with the floor. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat with the other leg. Do not twist or flail your arms to keep your balance. Reach out for the wall to steady you. This routine helps with the balance and symmetry of muscle control.
Relying on a Specialist to Cure Your Neck Headache
Turning to an upper cervical chiropractor may help you treat and get rid of your neck headache. Chiropractors − such as our team here at Upper Cervical Cedar Falls in Cedar Falls, Iowa − are trained medical specialists who use gentle methods to relieve pain in the neck, spine, and other areas of the body.
Our chiropractors focus on the top bones of the spine, particularly the C1 and C2 vertebrae. A misalignment in this location can cause the issues that bring on neck headaches and other conditions. We perform gentle adjustments that do not involve forceful twisting or the popping and cracking sound that is common in regular chiropractic neck adjustments. Our gentle technique encourages the bones to return to place naturally. Our adjustments are longer-lasting than other treatments, which enables the body to maintain its restorative healing process as it recovers from any misalignments and health conditions caused by the misalignments. Our patients report numerous positive results and improvement in their conditions after receiving our care. If you’re looking for relief from your headaches, give us a call today.
