What are cervical headaches?
A cervicogenic headache, also known as a cervical headache, can happen for a variety of reasons. When you feel pain in a different area of your body other than the source of the problem, you are most likely dealing with a cervical headache.
Headaches can happen for a variety of reasons, but if it’s related to a problem in your neck, there’s a chance it’s a cervical headache. This can be caused from problems with the bones in your neck, joints, or neck muscles that happen over time. It can also occur from a fall, sports injury, whiplash, or arthritis. Common symptoms include:
- Pain on one side of your face.
- Steady pain that doesn’t throb.
- Head pain when you cough, sneeze, or take a deep breath.
- An attack of pain that can last for hours or days.
- Stiff neck
What causes cervical headaches?
Cervical headaches can be caused from problems with the bones in your neck, joints, or neck muscles that happen over time. It can also occur from a fall, sports injury, or:
- Whiplash
- Arthritis in the neck.
- Neck fractures.
- Pinched nerves.
- Slipped disks.
- Strained or sprained neck muscles.
What are symptoms of cervical headaches?
It is possible to have a cervical headache without accompanying neck pain. Although the frequency and duration of pain may vary each time, common symptoms can include:
- Dull, moderate to severe intensity pain.
- Reduced flexibility of the neck.
- Pain in multiple areas.
- Blurred vision in one eye.
- Pain beneath the neck.
Less common symptoms of cervical headaches can include:
- Nausea
- Increased sensitivity to excessive light or sound.
- Dizziness
- Swelling around the eye of the affected side.
- Difficulty swallowing.
- Headache and neck pain affecting both sides of the head and neck.
How are cervical headaches diagnosed?
Because there are so many types of headaches that share common symptoms, it can be hard to tell for sure if you have cervical headaches. Your provider will ask you a series of questions to understand where the pain comes from and what you do during the pain. To learn more about your headaches, your provider may take a closer look with an X-ray, CT scan, or MRI scan.
How are cervical headaches treated?
Your provider may also suggest a nerve block – an injection that puts numbing medicine into certain nerves in the back of your head. If the pain goes away with the nerve block, they may conclude that your headache is caused by a problem with nerves in your neck.
Pain management is an integrated approach to making pain tolerable by learning physical, emotional, intellectual, and social skills. This may include exercise, physical therapy, medication, holistic therapies, and counseling. With these methods, we can help you stay in control of your health.
There are many different treatment options for cervical headaches. If you have cervical headaches, there are several ways to lessen or rid of the pain:
- Medication – anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxers, and other pain relievers can help to ease pain.
- Nerve blocks – injections to “block” pain signals from traveling to the brain, reducing pain.
- Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) – stimulating the sensory nerves can help reduce the feeling of pain.
- Physical therapy – stretches and exercises for the neck can help to reduce pain.
- Spinal manipulation – a combination of physical therapy, massage and joint movement can be helpful in reducing cervical headaches.
In rare cases, your provider may recommend a surgical approach to treating your cervical headache if other nonsurgical treatment options have not provided long-term pain relief. Your provider will talk with you to determine the best approach.
How can I prevent cervical headaches?
Although not all cervical headaches are preventable, there are certain things you can do to prevent symptoms from starting or getting worse:
- Maintain good posture while sitting or driving and avoid postures or movements that provoke the pain.
- Use a neck brace as needed.
- Practice proper sleep techniques.