02 Mar Cervicogenic Headaches

Ever had a throbbing headache that throbs in the base of your skull and down your neck? Or how about a pain in your head, neck and between your shoulder blades that makes you feel nauseous and hypersensitive to noise and light? If you have experienced one or both of these, then you may have had a cervicogenic headache.

What are Cervicogenic headaches? 

The name itself essentially means headache arising from the cervical spine (your neck). These headaches are typically a dull achy sensation felt on one side of the face. This type of tension headache typically begins in the neck and radiates forward, mostly bringing headache pain to the forehead, temple and around the ear. 

So how does neck pain cause a cervicogenic headache? In simple terms, there are nerves that come out of your cervical spine and supply the skin, muscles and tissues of the head and face. Injury, inflammation or irritation to the cervical spine and nerves can result in neck pain being felt. The C1, C2 and C3 spinal nerves are typically the source of a cervicogenic headache.

The pain and discomfort start from excessive or consistent stress in the neck which can originate from damage or injury in the spine, a jolting ‘whiplash’ type movement or poor posture. Have you ever stared at your phone or computer screen for a long period only to realise your neck and head are now pounding? Yeh, even a seemingly harmless angle of your head and neck can have ramifications that lead to continuous cervicogenic headache pain.

Symptoms of a Cervicogenic Headache 

So what does a cervicogenic headache feel like?

1. Aching or dull constant tension headache pain (non-throbbing) 
2. Stiff neck or neck pain
3. Pain with movement of your neck 
4. Tension type headache pain in the temple, around the ear or forehead on one side of your head. 

Some people even experience migraine type or recurrent headache symptoms when having a cervicogenic headache even though these types of headaches are quite different. These symptoms may include:

1. Nausea 
2. Pain that extends to your shoulders or between your shoulder blades
3. Lastly, another symptom may include sensitivity to bright lights and loud noises. 

It is reported that some headache sufferers may be prone to having migraine headaches and a cervicogenic headache caused by the stress in their neck muscles, which can make it difficult to determine the symptoms of each.

What causes Cervicogenic Headaches? 

Basically, anything that can cause injury to the neck can result in a Cervicogenic Headache. This might be:

1. Stress – Our bodies’ natural reaction when we are stressed or anxious is to tense up. Long term stress can cause our bodies to hold excess tension in our neck and shoulder muscles. 
2. Prolonged poor posture – According to research cited by Spine-Health, for every inch the head is held forward with poor posture, an additional 10 pounds of weight is held on the cervical spine and increases both the likelihood and severity of the cervicogenic headache. So for us Aussies, that is just roughly 2.5cm will result in 4.5kg’s additional weight on your neck. The average head weighs around 5kg’s, so you are nearly doubling the weight and pressure on your upper cervical spine with just a thumbs width of poor head alignment.
3. Abnormal neck movement – Long periods of stillness in an awkward position can cause strain and tight muscles in the neck (long flights, looking over your shoulder to see the speaker in a meeting, spooning with your loved one). On the other end of the spectrum, excessive neck movement can cause you to overwork the neck muscles and cause head pain (head banging to your favourite song, sitting front row at the tennis with repetitive turning or twisting).
4. Heavy lifting – Lifting a load that is above your norm will require more effort and put more stress on your body, so it is normal to experience more muscle tightness, tension and discomfort for a few days after. When progressively overloading muscles with weights, it is recommended that you seek the guidance and support of a fitness professional to help you lift optimally and minimise the risk of unnecessary muscle, joint or nerve damage.
5. Whiplash – A 2022 study has revealed that on average us Australians spend 54 minutes a day commuting. That’s a long time to be stopping and starting on the Canning Highway or jolting back and forth on line 115 from Applecross to the City. Accidents and near misses are unfortunately bound to happen multiple times per week on our commutes increasing the likelihood of sudden stops and whiplash.
6. Sporting injuries – Whether you are a Dockers or an Eagles supporter, us Western Australians have sport flowing in our veins. From a young age, most of us are passionate about our sport and team of choice and dedicate countless hours to this. Much like the heavy lifting point from earlier, it is important that you have an experienced trainer, coach or support team in your corner if you are playing sports competitively or even just getting back into it after an extended hiatus. 
7. Arthritis – The increase of inflammation, stiffness and overall wear and tear from arthritis can lead to neck pain and a persistent headache.

How do you treat Cervicogenic Headache Symptoms? 

Physical therapy is one of the most common and effective treatments for cervicogenic headaches and pain in the cervical spine, this typically involves soft tissue therapy (similar to remedial massage), spinal manipulation (typically provided by your Beyond Health Chiropractor), physiotherapy treatment, stretching and exercises. 

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories can also be used to reduce the neck related headache symptoms and pain and in more serious cases, surgery may be indicated. 

Some other less manipulative therapy may also be meditation, breathwork, yoga and other stress-relieving activities. Less stress can lead to less tension and a reduction in tightness in your muscles, reducing the headache frequency and severity.

If Cervicogenic Headaches and neck pain are something you are suffering from, the Team at Beyond Health Chiropractic are here to help. 

Our team of chiropractors are university qualified to manage and treat conditions such as Cervicogenic Headaches . At Beyond Health we believe in treating the underlying problem, not just the symptoms and pain that you may present with. Our treatment is an evidence-based multimodal approach involving passive care such as:

1. Soft tissue therapy,
2. Neck and spine adjustments,
3. Mobilisations,
4. Dry needling,
5. Biomechanics blocking, and
6. Active care in the form of rehabilitative and corrective exercises. 

We believe the combination of both passive and active care is the most effective way to not only help improve symptoms fast but also treat underlying dysfunction to prevent future recurrence and injury getting you back to feeling and moving at your best! 

Start living pain free by seeing us at one of our 3 locations in Myaree, Applecross and Nollamara. 

Give us a call at 6311 7646 to see how we can help, or book now online