Conditions We Treat
Headaches
Not every headache starts in your head. A large share of recurring headaches are driven by the neck - and those respond well to treating the neck.
The Neck Connection
The nerves supplying the upper neck share pathways with the nerves supplying the head and face. When joints, muscles or other structures in the top of the neck are irritated, the brain can interpret those signals as pain in the head. This is called cervicogenic headache, and it is far more common than most people realise.
It also means that if your headaches are coming from your neck, no amount of medication aimed at your head will address the actual cause. Treating the neck can change the headache pattern - not by masking the pain, but by removing what is generating it.
What points toward a neck-driven headache
- Pain that starts at the base of the skull and travels forward
- Usually one-sided, and usually the same side each time
- Comes with neck stiffness or reduced rotation
- Provoked by sustained postures - a long drive, a long day at a desk
- Can often be reproduced or eased by pressure on specific neck structures
- Frequently worse late in the day rather than on waking
Common Contributing Factors
Workstation setup
A monitor too low, a laptop on a kitchen table, a chair with no support - all load the upper neck for hours at a time.
Upper-neck joint restriction
The top two segments of the cervical spine are heavily involved in headache referral. Restriction there is a frequent driver.
Jaw and clenching
Jaw tension and clenching load structures that share territory with headache pain, particularly overnight.
Old neck injury
Headaches that began after a collision or a fall often trace back to how the neck healed and how it moves now.
Sleep position
A pillow that pushes the head forward or lets it drop keeps the upper neck loaded for hours every night.
Deconditioning
When the deep neck and mid-back muscles are weak, the superficial ones take over and fatigue - and refer pain upward.
How We Approach It
Work out whether the neck is involved
We take a detailed headache history - where it starts, where it travels, what brings it on, how often, how long - and examine the cervical spine segment by segment. If we can reproduce or ease your familiar headache by loading specific neck structures, that is meaningful information.
Treat the driver
Where the neck is the source, care combines chiropractic adjustment of the restricted upper cervical segments with soft-tissue work for the muscles at the base of the skull and across the shoulders.
Remove the daily load
Most neck-driven headaches are sustained by something you do every day. We address the workstation, the screen height, the pillow and the postural habits keeping the tissue irritated.
Build the endurance
Deep neck flexor and scapular strength work reduces how much the pain-referring structures have to do. This is what makes the improvement hold.
What Progress Looks Like
With neck-driven headaches, the first change is usually frequency rather than intensity - the headaches come less often before they become less severe. Many people also notice their neck rotation improves before the headaches do, which is a good early indicator that the underlying restriction is responding.
Keeping a simple record of when headaches happen, how long they last and what preceded them is genuinely useful. It helps both of us see the pattern change, and it often reveals a trigger neither of us would have guessed.
Find Out Where Your Headaches Start
If your neck is driving them, that is something we can treat.
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