Cervicogenic Headaches (Part 1): Literally A Pain In Your Neck... (Causing Your Headaches)

Cervicogenic headaches are headaches that are caused by your neck. That’s right, neck pain can literally cause a headache! A headache of this type follows or is made worse with specific neck movements and sustained postures. It typically starts the the base of your skull at the back of your head and can travel (radiate) to your forehead, eye region (behind your eyes), temples and even ears!

Demographics:
- It is estimated that at any one point in time, about 18% of adults are experiencing a cervicogenic headache
- It is more common for females to experience headaches caused by neck pain compared to males

Risk Factors/Potential Causes:
- Previous neck injury or neck pain
- Repetitive neck and shoulder movements 
- Prolonged neck postures (such as painting the ceiling, washing the floors, scrolling on your phone or tablet, having your laptop/computer screen placed off-centre, etc)
- Pain referred from your upper neck anatomy (Spoiler: There's a lot going on at the base of your skull including muscles, ligaments, joints and joint capsules, vertebral discs, etc)