Frequent Headaches

One out of every one hundred people experiences a headache that is called an exertional headache. This type of headache is caused by increased blood pressure. The increase in the blood pressure increases the pressure in the blood vessels in the brain when you exercise, which can cause a headache. Usually this is a headache that comes on quickly and is an intense throbbing pain. An exertional headache usually lasts for about six hours, and usually it goes down in intensity. Using over the counter pain medications can help to control this type of a headache.

Cervicogenic Headache

Another type of headache that seems to be linked to exercise is the cervicogenic headache. The symptoms of this headache can include having blurry vision, and they are usually caused by a disorder of the cervical spine. In order to prevent these headaches from occurring, getting your neck problems treated is important.

Some headaches that occur while you are exercising can actually be a sign that you have another dangerous condition, although this is rare. The following are a few symptoms that will let you know that seeing your doctor is imperative.

• Recent head injury
• Tingling or feeling numb in a part of your body
• Headaches that continue to get worse over a couple days
• Waking up with pain, either in the morning or at night
• A headache worse than any other you have experienced
• A headache that starts from out of the blue
• A headache that comes with symptoms you have never had before
• A stiff neck with your headache
• Bad pain on one side of your head that is constant

If you suffer from cervicogenic headaches, you probably know the frustration of doctors that had no idea how to diagnose your problem and once they did by using diagnostic blockers, have no idea how to provide treatment. There are some treatments that can help to alleviate the pain and reduce the frequency of your headaches. Choose the right cervicogenic headache treatment is very important to ensuring that you can fully recover.

Chiropractic Care: Since a chiropractor is a specialist in the spine and has a very intimate understanding of how the spine affects our overall health, they can be instrumental in the treatment of cervicogenic headaches, which are caused by spine and neck trauma and stress. A chiropractor can assist with proper spine realignment, relieve pinched nerves in the neck and provide relieve from head and neck pain.

Physical Therapist Care: Physical therapy can be very helpful for headaches that originate in the muscles or joints of the neck. Therapy includes a combination of joint mobility, soft tissue massage, muscle strengthening, and improving endurance to reduce headache frequency. Regular visits to a physical therapist should be an integral part of treatment for anyone that suffers from cervicogenic headaches.

Manual Therapy: Also known as muscle energy techniques or manipulation without thrust, manual therapy can be very beneficial if you suffer from cervicogenic headaches. When performed correctly, manual therapy is a safe and holistic treatment that uses thrust manipulation to realign and relieve pressure that causes the headaches.

Trigger Point Injections: Helpful when there is pain that is coming from a trigger point in the upper neck and shoulders that is sending pain to the head and causing cervicogenic headaches. There are 2 techniques used. The first technique involves the use of dry needling, where nothing is actually injected. The needle is inserted to break up abnormal knots of tissue at the trigger point. The second technique is injection therapy which uses local anesthetic or steroids to block the pain at the trigger point sites.

Cervical Traction: This treatment means that traction is applied to stretch out the affected muscles and tissues of the cervical spine. For many people, cervical traction provides great relief by promoting space between the vertebrae and elongating the impaired muscle groups.

For those who have severe and debilitating headaches, more serious cervicogenic headache treatment options are available that may include surgery such as surgical fusion of the joints at the juncture of the head and neck. However, this is usually only required in patients with arthritis producing cervicogenic headache. Other options include chemical therapy such as regular medication that regulates the pain and reduces the inability for the sufferer to cope on a daily basis.

It is important to note that treating cervicogenic headaches first requires proper diagnosis and a thorough body examination which should include a complete exam, posture assessment and a musculoskeletal evaluation. It is thought that one single treatment will not completely alleviate the pain and tension associated with cervicogenic headaches and that several complementary treatments are needed for most people.

Cervicogenic headaches are often the result of a neck injury. Unlike many common forms of headaches, such as migraine, and cluster headaches, they often do not respond well to over the counter medications such as analgesics, and common pain medications such as Panadol.

Although the Cervicogenic headache sufferer will note some relief from the symptoms of pain experienced when taking a pain relieving medication, once the preparation has worn off, the symptoms, and pain will return. In order to gain relief from Cervicogenic headaches, treating the symptoms simply isn’t enough, a more holistic approach must be taken for long-term relief.

One of the most effective ways of relieving Cervicogenic pain is with Chiropractic treatment. A chiropractor manipulates the bones, and muscles in the neck areas that have moved out of alignment to assist the body to bring fresh blood into the area to create a healing environment. This type of treatment has been around for hundreds of years, although up until recently, it has never been widely accepted by medical professionals.

Chiropractic manipulation, often known as Subluxation, has been documented as early as the ancient Egyptians, and is the concept of applying a precise adjustment through pressure on the afflicted area, as opposed to the generalized maneuvers that were used earlier by osteopaths.

Chiropractors emphasize the importance of a healthy lifestyle, and therefore do not prescribe medication to their patients, nor do they operate, or perform surgery on their subjects. It is suggested that this may be among many of the reasons why health conscious people seek chiropractic treatments to cure their ailments.

Evidence To Suggest The Effectiveness Of Chiropractic Treatments

According to recent studies published in the Journal of Manipulative, And Physiological Therapeutics, the results indicated that spinal manipulation had a significant positive effect in cases of Cervicogenic headache. During the course of the study, 53 participants who were sufferers of Cervicogenic headaches were studied closely. Half of the subjects were given chiropractic manipulation as treatment, while the other half of the subjects received deep friction, and low laser massage.

The study lasted over the course of a three-week period. While the two groups of sufferers did notice improvement with the care given to them, the group that were involved in the soft tissue treatments noted only a significant decrease in the hours per day that they were experiencing headache. The manipulation group showed improvement in all three of the measurement criterion being studied.

Those who received chiropractic treatment in the study noticed a 36% decrease in their pain medication usage, their headache hours were decreased by 69%, and their headache intensity had also decreased by 36%

Criteria For Cervicogenic Headache

Cervicogenic headaches are often categorized by pain in the neck area, which may increase to include the forehead, temples, and the ears. The condition is often aggravated by certain neck movements, or sustained neck posture. The patient may experience limited movement, or stiffness, and moderate to severe pain while making passive neck movements. Additionally, the muscles surrounding the area may become tender, or painful to the touch.

While chiropractic treatment is an effective treatment for Cervicogenic headaches, those suffering severe headache symptoms should consult a doctor, or health care professional to rule out more severe underlying causes of their headaches before proceeding with chiropractic treatment.

Especially in the breakneck speed of life today, most of us suffer from headaches at one time or another. For some of us, headaches are minor and infrequent, generally caused by stress or fatigue. For others, they are chronic and debilitating such as migraine headaches. However, there is another form of headache that many people may be unaware of – Cervicogenic headaches, which are headaches caused by the cervical spine.

Headaches due to whiplash injury, intervertebral disc disease, progressive joint arthritis and chronic tension can all be classified as Cervicogenic headaches. This means that the major contributing factor to the headache is the cervical spine.

Regular patterns of pain that relate to the muscular trigger points in the neck and shoulder region, as well as pain in the upper spine area are considered Cervicogenic headaches. As a matter of fact, some headaches that present with pain the forehead or behind the eyes can actually be pain zones that are triggered by a Cervicogenic headache.

In layman’s terms, there are many conditions that can contribute to or be the primary cause of a Cervicogenic headache. Injury, disc misalignment, joint degeneration, muscular stress, previous neck surgery and fatigue are all contributors. Did you know that the joints which connect the top levels of the spine to the base of the skull are responsible for more than 50% of the motion of the entire head and neck region; absorbing continual amounts of repetitive stress and strain and ultimately bearing the major load of the weight of the head? It is not wonder that this region of our bodies would account for pain and headaches. People with Cervicogenic headaches often exhibit distorted or abnormal neck posture or have restricted range of neck and head motion. These abnormalities are often overcompensation by the body to reduce pain. Headaches can be triggered by neck movement, passive neck positioning, especially when extended towards the side that is prone to pain.

It is common with Cervicogenic headaches for muscular trigger points to be in the suboccipital cervical region, and in the shoulder muscles; points that can also send shooting pain to the head when they are manually or physically manipulated.

It seems that for the most part Cervicogenic headaches have been discredited or ignored by professionals because doctors have a difficult time making a diagnosis and determining proper treatment. Although Cervicogenic headaches can be caused by whiplash or injury in the upper neck, this cannot be diagnosed by clinical examination, cannot be seen with an x-ray or MRI scan. However, Cervicogenic headaches can be diagnosed via the use of diagnostic block, which is a clinical procedure that uses needles to apply local anesthetic to any joint suspected of being the source of pain. The consensus is that if a joint is the source of the headache, the anesthetic should immediately relieve the pain.

If your head hurts on a regular basis, and you suffer from headaches continually, especially if the pain seems to radiate from your spine or upper shoulder area, this may be a sign of Cervicogenic headaches. This is especially true is you have suffered trauma to your spine or neck such as whiplash or injury.

Cervicogenic headaches, where the major contributing factor to the headache is the cervical spine, and where the pain originates in the spine, neck and upper shoulder areas are often due to whiplash, neck injury, and related stress traumas.

If you are one of the thousands of people who suffer from daily Cervicogenic headaches that are the result of whiplash or injury, you may certainly benefit from neck treatments. This is especially true if you are not looking for extreme solutions such as trigger injections, heavy medication or fusion surgery.

Most especially when some type of injury or trauma is present, the critical key to treating cervicogenic headaches is neck treatments which will concentrate on alleviating and reducing pain and the frequency of your headaches.

The devastating pain of Cervicogenic headaches can lead to difficulty in other aspects in your life, and make it hard to function at work and at home while coping with cervicogenic headaches. Although neurologists are actively searching for a cure, treatment at this time is limited to chiropractor and physical therapist care, unless you want to resort to medication, block therapy or surgery.

Neck treatments performed by physical therapists include a progressive plan of joint mobility, soft tissue massage, muscle strengthening, endurance improvement to lessen headache frequency and diminish levels of pain associated with each episode of cervicogenic headache.

You may also want to seek out a qualified chiropractor who has experience treating patients with cervicogenic headaches. A chiropractor can be instrumental in the treatment of your chronic headaches by properly aligning your spine, relieving any pinched nerves in the neck and providing overall relief from your pain.

It cannot be stressed enough that visits to a therapist must be done on a regular basis and not just periodically when the pain is unmanageable. When pain management through neck treatment therapy is maintained, you will see a significant decrease in the number of cervicogenic headaches you experience, and you will also notice a decrease in the level of pain that comes with each headache.

If you get Cervicogenic headaches, then you know the frustration of not being able to find ultimate and permanent relief, never mind an all-out cure. Since there are treatments that are known to help, you owe it to yourself and your overall health and happiness to utilize those treatments and services on a regular and frequent basis.

If you suffer from debilitating Cervicogenic headaches, you know that part of the ongoing frustration is finding the right medical professional or physician who can help you with your symptoms and provide solutions to alleviate your pain. This is not an easy task but if you look in the right places, you may just find the answers you have been long searching for.

1. Decide on Your Path – First you must decide if you want to seek the help of a medical doctor or a homeopathic doctor such as a chiropractor. As both courses of treatment will be radically different, you need to decide what will work best for you.

2. Choose a Qualified Medical Professional – Whichever path you take, make sure you choose a doctor that has experience dealing with patients that have cervicogenic headaches.

3. Ask for Diagnosis Methods – It is important to talk to your physician about what methods he or she will use to diagnose your cervicogenic headaches. As you may know, this type of headache can only be diagnosed through the use of diagnostic blocks to determine the point of origin of your headaches. If your doctor is going to use x-rays, find another doctor as this method will not spot cervicogenic headaches.

4. Choose a Doctor that Believes – There are a portion of the medical community that don’t believe in the validity of cervicogenic headaches. These physicians are close-minded and ultimately, are not able to help you if you suffer from these types of headaches. You need to find a professional that believes in your pain and suffering and will work with you to find pain management techniques, solutions and ultimately a cure.

5. Select a Physician that Educates as Well as Treats – A big part of dealing with your illness is gaining a full understanding of what it is, how it works and what will work to fix it. When you choose a doctor that is willing to educate you about your cervicogenic headaches, you are in a much better place where you can help yourself.

6. Look for References Online – There are many chat rooms and support groups available on the Internet for people like you who suffer from cervicogenic headaches. These people have been through what you are going through and can assist in determining what is important when you are looking for a doctor.

7. Talk to your Therapist – The medical and healing communities are closely links. Many times, your physical therapist or massage therapist may know of doctors that actively treat patients with cervicogenic headaches. This may be an excellent referral source to find a suitable qualified and open minded doctor to see about your headaches.

8. Consider Personality – Headaches are actually a very personal experience and in many cases, a lot of emotional issues accompany the symptoms and the pain. As such, you should make sure that you choose a doctor that you are comfortable talking to on a very personal level and one who is open to discuss your progress and regression with you.

Headaches where the pain originates in the cervical spine, neck and upper shoulders are often referred to as a cervicogenic headache. Many times, these headaches can be a byproduct of whiplash, neck injury or muscle trauma due to poor prolonged posture or severe stress.

One of the most common ailments in modern society, more than 42 million Americans suffers from headaches each year. Usually these are minor stress or tension related headaches, and in some people are more severe migraine headaches. Unfortunately, one type of headache that is often overlooked and misdiagnosed is the cervicogenic headache.

This headache, which is clinically defined as pain that is present in the head, but which originates in the cervical spine.

Cervicogenic headaches, like other types of headaches are different for different people; some are more severe, some present in the head while others have pain behind the eyes.

If we first look at the commonalities between migraines and cervicogenic headache symptoms, we can then discuss the unique symptoms. Both types of headaches affect a largely female population and are unilateral in nature. Both migraines and cervicogenic headache sufferers complain of severe pain, head throbbing, nausea, phonophobia (sensitivity to sound) and photophobia (severe sensitivity to light). However, these symptoms are reported far more frequently in migraine sufferers. This is primarily where the similarities end as migraine headaches have no association with the cervical spine and do not originate in the neck region.

Symptoms that are specific to cervicogenic headaches include a marked decrease or lowering of the pain threshold, meaning a decreasing intolerance to accept or manage the pain that comes with the cervicogenic headaches. If this is a concern, your pain threshold can be measured by an algometric instrument and must be done by a professional.

Additionally, pain that begins in the occipital region, meaning near the base of your neck in the cervical spine and then progressively spreads upwards into the head is a classic symptom of cervicogenic headache.

For those that suffer from these types of headaches, it should be said that although the intensity of pain will fluctuate from mild to moderate to severe, cervicogenic headache symptoms occur daily.

There are two symptoms that are generally exclusive to those with cervicogenic headaches. The first is that the headache can be made worse or actually onset by head or neck movement. The second is that there is marked tenderness in the suboccipital region.

It is obvious that when it comes to cervicogenic headache symptoms, the neck plays a significant role in diagnosing and assessing symptoms. Some may experience symptoms that are not covered here and still be suffering from cervicogenic headaches. It goes without saying that as a unique individual; you should be diagnosed and treated as such.

Next article: Cure Your Cervicogenic Headache