Sometimes, headaches can be a real pain in the neck.
Find out the most common causes (and the best treatment) for headache and neck pain.
Here it comes: the tell-tale twinge of pain and pressure that indicates a headache is imminent. But if that wasn’t bad enough, your neck has started to tense up. Now you feel the ache almost down through your shoulders. It’s enough to make you wonder why they even call it a “head” ache.
Whether you feel neck pain at the onset of your headache, or throughout the entire episode, your primary concern is making it stop. But it’s just as important to understand why you’re feeling headache and neck pain in the first place—because the best treatment depends on the cause.
In this article, we’ll go over some of the most common causes of headache and neck pain, how they’re different, and how to treat the issue at the source when possible.
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What Is the Best Treatment for Headache and Neck Pain?
The “best treatment” for headache and neck pain isn’t one-size-fits-all—because not all headaches are coming from the same place.
Sometimes the primary issue is muscle tension (often at the base of the skull). Other times, the issue is joint-related and the pain is referred into the head. And in cases like migraines, the pain can be driven by what’s happening in the brain—where the neck pain may show up as a symptom, not the trigger.
That’s why focusing only on symptom control (like taking medication every time pain starts) can feel like playing whack-a-mole. Short-term relief can be helpful, but lasting improvement usually means identifying what’s driving the pattern in your specific case.
A practical next step is this:
- Identify the most likely type of headache you’re dealing with (below), and
- Choose a treatment plan that matches the underlying cause—muscle tension, joint irritation, nerve compression, or migraine symptoms.
How to Treat a Headache With Neck Pain
OTC painkillers may help in the short-term, but they can come with some unpleasant side effects. It’s best to focus on treating the underlying cause of the headache and neck pain. This is where a chiropractor can provide tremendous relief through adjustments and/or massage therapy—depending on what’s actually driving your symptoms.
Chiropractic adjustments work by restoring proper alignment to the vertebrae, relieving pressure on the nerves. And if tense muscles are to blame, a medical massage therapist can help loosen them and release any trigger points.
As with most things, preventing pain is a much better method than treating it. To help prevent headaches that show up with neck tension, you’ll want to build a few consistent habits into your day:
- Practice good posture (especially during screen time)
- Stretch frequently (especially your neck and upper back)
- Stay hydrated
- Get plenty of rest
- Get regular chiropractic adjustments to keep your joints in proper alignment
Changing up your workstation (especially if you’re working from home!) can also help relieve the strain on your suboccipital muscles.
Tension Headaches
Often called “stress headaches,” tension headaches are arguably the most common type of headache, affecting nearly 80% of the population at some point in their lives. Whether you suffer from chronic tension headaches (that is, 15 or more days out of the month) or only the occasional ache, you’ve probably wondered if there is something you can do to prevent them in the future.
Tension headaches are caused when the suboccipital muscles—located just under the base of the skull—become tight or tense, putting pressure on the surrounding nerves.
Tension headaches are often described as an ache or pressure around the head. They may even begin at the base of the skull before moving upward. Unlike migraines, tension headaches are felt on both sides of the head equally and do not usually cause nausea or blurred vision. However, you may feel a tightness in your jaw, neck, or shoulders.
There are a number of things that can cause the suboccipital muscles to tense up, including stress, poor posture, dehydration, trauma to the area, or even excessive tooth grinding.
Cervicogenic Headaches
Much like tension headaches, cervicogenic headaches are a result of referred pain. This is when an injury or other issue causes you to feel pain in another area. Unlike a tension headache, however, cervicogenic headaches are not caused by issues with the muscles, but with the vertebrae.
When joints are misaligned in your neck, spine, or anywhere else throughout your body, the nerves that run between and through them can become pinched. This sends pain along the path of the nerve. Thus, a pinched nerve in your lower back can cause you to feel the pain of sciatica down your hips, buttocks, or leg.
Also unlike tension headaches, your neck pain may be primarily on one side.
Occipital Neuralgia
Those who suffer from it are all too familiar with the distinctive pain of occipital neuralgia. Where a tension headache or migraine might feel like pressure or a throbbing ache, occipital neuralgia feels more like electric shocks in your neck, head, or behind your ears. It is common to feel tenderness in the scalp as well.
The tingling, piercing jolts are caused by a compression of the nerve in the upper neck, either by tense muscles or a misalignment of the vertebrae.
Migraines
While neck pain is a common symptom associated with migraines (often occurring before or during a headache), recent evidence suggests that neck pain is a symptom of your migraine, not a cause .
Unlike other types of headache, your brain is the source of a migraine, not your muscles or joints. If you experience frequent neck pain associated with migraines, that is because your brain is sending pain signals to your neck.
When to Get Evaluated for Headache and Neck Pain
Occasional tension happens. But if headache and neck pain is frequent, persistent, or keeps returning in a predictable pattern, it’s worth getting evaluated so you’re not stuck guessing.
An evaluation can help identify whether your pain pattern looks more like muscle tension (suboccipital tightness), a joint-related cervicogenic headache, nerve compression that may contribute to symptoms (like occipital neuralgia), or migraine symptoms that may need a different approach.
If you’re ever unsure about the severity of your symptoms or they feel unusual for you, getting the right medical guidance matters.
Fast Relief From Neck Pain and Headache
Headaches are bad enough, even without accompanying neck pain, but you don’t have to take headache and neck pain lying down. With regular chiropractic care, you can significantly decrease your discomfort without relying on drugs, surgical intervention, or lengthy physical therapy sessions.
At Oviedo Chiropractic, we have assembled a staff of chiropractors and massage therapists to give you a variety of modalities to treat your headache and neck pain. As always, we will take the time to educate you on any issues we discover and the best methods for treatment.
If you live in the Central Florida area and suffer from frequent or persistent headache and neck pain, schedule an appointment today or during our walk-in hours. Wellness is waiting for you!
