THE NECK AND HEADACHE
CONNECTION
April 2013
Hi Everybody Dr. Norris Here.
Patients with headaches also commonly complain of neck
pain. This relationship is the rule, not
the exception and therefore, treatment for headaches must include treatment of
the neck to achieve optimum results. The
term, “cervicogenic headaches” has been an accepted term because of the
intimate connection between the neck and head for many years. There are many anatomical reasons why neck
problems result in headaches. Some of
these include:
• The
first 3 nerves exiting the spine in the upper neck go directly into the
head. They penetrate the muscles at the
top of the neck near the attachments to the skull and therefore, any excess
pressure on these nerves by the muscles or spinal joints will result in
irritation and subsequent pain.
• A
nerve in the upper cervical region innervates sensation to the back of the head
up to the top. Therefore, problems
located in the upper neck will often result in pain radiating up from the base
of the skull over the top of the skull to the eyes and /or face.
• Another
nerve that innervates the upper shoulders and muscles in the front of the neck
arises from the top levels in the neck.
Injury anywhere in the neck can result in spasm and pain in these large
muscle groups.
• There
are other interconnections between the nerves of the neck and digestive
areas. These can affect taste, tongue
and throat movements, and stomach complaints such as nausea.
When patients seek treatment for their headaches, an
examination of the neck, upper back, and cranial nerves is routinely performed
for the above reasons. It is common to
find upper cervical movement and vertebral alignment problems present in
patients complaining of headaches. Tender points located between the shoulder
blades, along the upper shoulders, on the sides of the neck and particularly,
at the base of the skull are commonly found.
Pain often radiates from the tender point over the top of the skull when
pressure is applied in the upper neck/base of the skull area. Tenderness on the
sides of the head, in the temples, over the eyes, and near the jaw joint is
also common. Traction or pulling the head to stretch the neck is often quite
pain relieving and this is often performed as part of the chiropractic
visit. Chiropractic adjustments applied
to the fixated or misaligned vertebra in the upper neck often brings very
satisfying relief to the headache sufferer.
Exercises for the neck are also helpful in both reducing headache pain
and in preventing occurrences, especially with stress or tension
headaches.
So if you or someone you care about is suffering from
headaches have them contact me for a consultation... hopefully I can get them
out of pain.
“Because nobody has time for pain!”
Sincerely,
Dr. Michael Norris
A Special Thanks From
Dr. Norris...
To: My Patients
I heard something really interesting a few days ago and
wanted to pass it along. It was a speaker talking about how every day we have a
lot of negative things happen in our lives.
If you watch the news for only 5 minutes, you're probably going to be
depressed for a month!
And here's the really interesting observation this speaker
made: He said that we always seem to
react to all the bad stuff. Whenever
something goes wrong in our lives (or just seems to go wrong) we make sure
everyone knows about it. And we dwell on
it.
On the contrary... when something good happens... most of
the time we seem to not even acknowledge it.
And even worse, we ignore the people that do all the good things in our
lives while we are concentrating on all the negative things.
That's why I've written this... to comment on and
acknowledge something good.
I have no idea why, but recently, we have been experiencing
an unusual flood of new patients that have been referred in from patients like
you. It makes me feel great that so many
of my patients have the confidence in our office to send in their family and
friends.
So, if you have recently recommended my services to a friend
or loved one,
I would like to simply say thank you.
Sincerely,
Dr. Michael Norris
HEALTH UPDATE:
Chiropractic First?
Washington state workers with a back injury claim between
June 2002 and April 2004 were significantly more likely to receive spine
surgery within three years (42.7%) than workers whose first visit was to a
chiropractor (1.5%). Keeney BJ, Fulton-Kehoe D, Turner JA, et al. Early
predictors of lumbar spine surgery. Spine, Dec. 12, 2012.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH:
“America's health care
system is in crisis precisely because we systematically neglect wellness and
prevention.”
~ Senator To Harkin (D-Iowa), Chairman of the Senate Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
