Dealing With Headaches & Migraines?
A significant portion of people suffering from headaches do so because of problems in the neck and are classified as "cervicogenic headaches." In most cases, the triggering effect of a cervicogenic headache is limited movement of the joints in your upper cervical spine. Normally, each of the joints in your neck moves freely and independently.
There may be constraints in the upper cervical spine that cause a painful period of stiffness, muscle tightness, and joint inflammation in some people. This may cause increased irritation and sensitivity in the nerves leading from your neck into the back of your head.
Pain usually begins at the base of your skull and progresses to the top of your head, even over your eyes. In rare cases, the pain can radiate through your arm.
These headache episodes can last anywhere from hours to days. The pain is ongoing but fluctuating and is often described as "deep." You may also be subject to chronic neck tenderness and stiffness.
Patients who have recently suffered trauma, such as a car accident or a previous concussion, are more likely to develop the disorder.
The condition often affects middle-aged adults and is significantly more common in women by a rate of four to one. Cervicogenic headaches are on occasion brought on by poor posture, including a "slouched" or "forward head" posture.
If you experience a sudden onset of a serious headache, a new or unfamiliar headache, or noticeable neck pain, rash, numbness or tingling on your face, light-headedness, dizziness, loss of consciousness, trouble breathing, difficulty swallowing, difficulty walking, nausea, numbness radiating through your arms or leg, please contact us right away.
Make sure that you are drinking 6-8 glasses of water each day, more in hot weather or when you've been sweating. Since cervicogenic headaches are caused by a mechanical issue, medications are often ineffective. Fortunately, our office has several tools to help solve this problem.
