Gò0dNews for Health & Fitness Is Your Headache Coming From Your Neck?
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by Brandon Burns
o you suffer from headaches? You are not alone.
With there being so many different types of headaches,
Roughly 47% of people around the globe suffer
there are also a wide variety of causes. This makes
from them. And while there are many different
diagnosis and treatment difficult for healthcare providers.
types of headaches, I want to talk specifically about
Getting down to the potential cause of the headache is
“cervicogenic” headaches. They are described as pain felt in
very important in selecting a treatment that will work.
the head, but actually develop in the neck. Research shows
Keep in mind that pain medications will only “mask” your
that 1 in 5 of all headaches are cervicogenic.
symptoms to make you feel better and not address the
So, why do these types of headaches occur? The cervical spine, commonly known as the neck, is not
actual problem. Because cervicogenic headaches are caused by a structural problem in the neck, physical therapist are valuable in their ability to assist in diagnosing and treating them. We can examine how your neck is functioning and determine your problem areas. The next step is your road to recovery. A physical therapist can provide a wide variety of treatments to get you back to normal. Manual or “hands-on” treatments provided by a physical therapist have proven to be more effective than pain medication for treating cervicogenic headaches. Manipulation and movement of the joints in the neck can be performed to treat stiff and painful areas. If your cause is tight muscles, we could provide massage or other soft-tissue movement techniques. We can demonstrate strengthening
working like it should. Usually this is the result of stiff
exercises to target weak postural muscles. Furthermore, we
joints in the neck, tight neck muscles, and/or weak postural
can teach muscle-specific stretching to improve neck motion
muscles. We all know that our posture is something we
and reduce the chance of future headaches. Other healing
need to work on. But, other things such as increased stress
treatments that we may use include: electrical stimulation,
and having the neck in awkward positions could also lead
heat, ice, dry needling, cupping, etc.
to these issues. Cervicogenic headaches typically feel like
If you think that your headaches may be coming from
a “throbbing” type pain in areas of the head and face,
your neck, please contact your local CORA physical therapy
depending on where in the neck they are coming from. In
to find the relief you have been searching for. Or, if you are
addition to throbbing pain, symptoms may include: pain
unsure, a free screening can be set up to determine if you
only on one side of the head/face, pain around the eyes,
need physical therapy.
untreated, cervicogenic headaches can become chronic and leave sufferers feeling helpless.
32 // April 2020
About The Author
and a stiffness in the neck felt with head movements. If left Brandon Burns is the clinic manager at CORA Physical Therapy in Cleveland. He is an alumni of UT Knoxville and TN State. He specializes in orthopedics, balance training, and sports medicine. For an appointment call 423-458-6298.
