“I have headaches, but I don’t think they have anything to do with my neck.”
I hear that more often than you might think.
And sometimes they’re right.
There are a lot of reasons people get headaches, and I certainly don’t think every headache is coming from the neck.
But sometimes the neck is involved.
One type is actually called a cervicogenic headache—which is basically a fancy way of saying that the headache is being referred from structures in the neck.
And there are a few things that make me start paying attention.
Maybe the headache seems to start around the base of your skull and work its way upward.
Maybe you notice that your neck feels stiff at the same time.
Maybe turning your head or holding your head in a certain position seems to make the headache worse.
Or maybe you’ve noticed that the headache tends to show up after you’ve spent hours at the computer, looking down at your phone, driving, or doing something else that keeps your neck in one position for a long time.
None of those things automatically means, “Aha! It’s your neck.”
But they’re clues.
Your neck and your head aren’t strangers
Sometimes we talk about the body as if every part lives in its own little department.
Headache? That’s the head department.
Neck pain? Neck department.
Back pain? Down the hall, third door on the left.
Your nervous system doesn’t work that way.
The upper part of your neck and some of the nerves involved in sensation around your head have overlapping pathways. Because of that, a problem originating in the neck can sometimes be experienced as pain in the head.
That’s called referred pain.
You feel the problem in one place even though at least part of what’s contributing to it may be somewhere else.
Here’s something you can pay attention to
The next time you have one of your usual headaches, don’t immediately try to diagnose yourself.
Just notice a few things.
Is your neck stiff?
Does turning your head change the headache?
Have you been sitting in the same position for hours?
Does the discomfort seem to begin around your neck or the base of your skull?
And does getting up, moving around, or gently moving your neck seem to change anything?
Those observations can be useful.
And sometimes a headache is NOT something to mess around with
Most headaches aren’t emergencies.
But a headache that’s sudden and extremely severe, follows a significant head injury, or comes with symptoms such as weakness, numbness, confusion, fainting, trouble speaking, vision changes, fever with a stiff neck, or other unusual neurological symptoms deserves prompt medical attention.
And if you’re suddenly developing a new or very different pattern of headaches, particularly if they’re persistent or getting worse, that’s worth getting evaluated too.
That’s not the time to assume it’s just a tight neck.
Try this this week
If you spend a lot of time sitting, driving, or looking at a screen, occasionally interrupt the position.
Stand up.
Walk around.
Look somewhere other than six inches in front of your face.
Move your shoulders.
Gently turn your head from side to side within a comfortable range.
It doesn’t have to become an exercise routine.
Sometimes your body just needs to be reminded that it has more than one position available.
A little trivia
Your head weighs roughly 10–12 pounds in an average adult.
That’s about the weight of a bowling ball.
Fortunately, your neck is much better designed for carrying a head than it is for carrying a bowling ball.
So please don’t test that.
And because we can’t be serious all the time...
Patient: “Doc, it hurts when I do this.”
Doctor: “Then don’t do that.”
Years of education right there.
— Dr. Dan
