Neck
Headaches from the neck
A one-sided headache that starts at the base of the skull after long desk hours.
Photograph: kaboompics.com, Pexels
In one paragraph
A cervicogenic headache starts in the neck and is felt in the head, usually one-sided, from the base of the skull to the temple or behind the eye, worse after long desk hours or a poor night. It is often mistaken for migraine. Physiotherapy examines the upper neck joints and muscles that refer pain to the head.
What you may notice
- 01
The headache is always on the same side and starts at the back.
- 02
It builds through a day at the desk or after driving.
- 03
Pressing the top of the neck reproduces it; the neck feels stiff first thing.
- 04
Painkillers dull it but never stop it coming back.
The first visit
What is looked at
The assessment moves the upper neck joints one by one, tests the deep neck flexors, and checks posture, jaw and shoulder-blade control; the pattern usually shows whether the neck is the source.
Treatment
What is done
Mobilisation of the upper cervical joints, release of the sub-occipital muscles, retraining the deep neck flexors, and workstation changes; the number of headache days is the measure that matters.
See a doctor first if
A sudden, worst-ever headache, a headache with fever and stiff neck, weakness, speech or vision changes, or a new headache after 50 needs a doctor first, not a physiotherapist.
The range in question
The textbook full range for a healthy joint, the figure the assessment measures you against.
A patient wrote
5 years back, I had mostly sedentary job and I used to get constant headache on side of head. I visited two very good and top neurologist in Gurgaon and both said I have migraine. Then someone suggested me to visit Dr. Brijesh.
Questions
How is it different from migraine?
Migraine tends to throb, comes with nausea or light sensitivity and switches sides; a neck headache is steady, one-sided and can be brought on by neck movement or pressure.
Has this clinic seen headaches like this?
A patient wrote on Google that two neurologists had called her constant one-sided headache a migraine before she was sent to Dr. Brijesh; the review is quoted in full on the reviews page.
Also treated
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