Headaches…What a Pain
Earlier this month, I shared a meme about figuring out the cause of a headache such is dehydration, caffeine withdrawal, lack of proper nutrition, ponytail, stress, lack of sleep, and so on. Headaches can be a big nuisance and disruption to your day and it seems like there are so many different types and causes of headaches. Today, we’re going to focus on cervicogenic headaches which means the source of the pain is coming from the neck.
Cervicogenic headaches can present in a few different ways, but ultimately treatment addressing the cervical spine can result in significant relief. Commonly, but not always, patients will report having pain at the base of the skull or upper 2-3 levels of the neck and it’s usually located on one side of the neck, but again it can occur bilateral. Another common characteristic is the pain will wrap around the head in a ram’s horn distribution to the forehead either over the top of head or the side.
Common location of pain based on cervical spine level
Ram’s horn distribution of headaches
Treatment for headaches mimics treatment of neck pain and successful treatment requires finding the underlying cause for the headache and effectively treating it. In my experience, cervicogenic headaches are usually due to restriction in the upper cervical spine resulting in limited motion or sustained postures like staring at a computer screen or our phones. Effective treatment should be all encompassing and include hands-on manual therapy if needed, dry needling or other modalities if indicated, postural education, strengthening of neck and upper back postural muscles, and home exercise program to maintain ROM and strength gains.
If you are interested in learning more or about treatment options, don’t hesitate to call/text 701-318-4731 or email alison@pinnalcetherapywellness.com to learn how we can help. Don’t forget to follow on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on the happenings at Pinnacle Therapy & Wellness.