Two thirds of the population suffer from headaches. Photo by Cpl Alisha Welch, Army newspaper

Pain in the neck from headaches

By Matt Freke
Headache is the most common pain syndrome. It is also the most frequent symptom in neurology, sometimes described as “the most common complaint of civilised man”.

Two thirds of the population suffers from headaches, and a fair proportion of these are caused by disorders of the neck.

In most cases the headaches can be successfully treated and recurrences prevented.

How does it happen?

The brain is often fooled into thinking it has a headache by the complex interconnection of nerves supplying the joints, muscles and ligaments of the upper part of the neck.

Brain tissue itself has no nerve endings and cannot feel pain.

Pain may arise from cranial sinuses, cerebral arteries, spinal cord coverings, cranial nerves, as well as upper cervical nerve roots.

Disorders in the upper neck can refer pain up into the head.

Neck pain referring to the head may arise from joints, ligaments, muscles or nerve tissue.

A common pattern in neck-headaches has tension and aching beginning at the top of the neck.

This pain may worsen and spread into the back of the head, temples, forehead and behind the eyes.

Dizziness and lightheadedness may also be present and made worse by head and neck movement.

Physiotherapists are experts on neck-headaches.

They can perform treatment as well as give valuable advice on prevention.

Treatment is aimed at the upper joints of the neck and may involve mobilisation, manipulation, massage, exercise and postural correction.

Teaching prevention is also important; posture, both at home and at work is very important, workplace assessments may need to be carried out.

The type of pillow you sleep with can also contribute to headaches.

It may be necessary for people who suffer from numerous headaches to keep up with a specific stretching and strengthening program for the joints and muscles of the neck.

Other brain facts:

• The average human brain weighs about 1400g (3lb).
• When the brain is removed from the skull, it looks a bit like a large pinkish-gray walnut.
• The brain can be divided down the middle lengthwise into two halves called the cerebral hemispheres.
• Each hemisphere contains over 7 billion nerve cells but the brain only requires 10 watts of electricity to run.
• The folding of the cerebral cortex increases the amount of cerebral cortex that can fit in the skull.
• The total surface area of the human cerebral cortex is about 2500cm2, about the size of two full pages of newspaper.
• In comparison with other animals we fare much better than a rat at 6 cm2 but worse than the Bottle-nosed dolphin at 3745cm2 or the African elephant at 6300cm2.

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