When you get up in the morning with a stiff neck, it is tempting to crack your neck. But it can sometimes lead to a headache. Neck stiffness and headache are frequently cited simultaneously. There are various neck issues that can compress, strain, and irritate your neck nerves, which can cause headaches.
Generally, a stiff neck is caused due to overwork or poor posture. In many cases, it can be caused by medical conditions, such as herniated cervical disk and pinched nerve. Let us explore more about neck stiffness and headache through this article.
Various factors might contribute to neck discomfort, like strains, injuries, and specific medical conditions.
A few general causes of neck pain are:
A Tension-Type Headache may lead to a stiff neck, which might be caused by problems with specific nerves or muscles.
The root of a tension headache can cause the following conditions:
All these conditions might result in hardened muscles at the back of your neck and your skull’s base.
A tension headache also causes mild to modest pain that seems like a band tightening all over your head.
Migraine is generally characterized by modest to critical thumping pain in the neck or the head. It can cause neck stiffness and various symptoms, such as nausea and enhanced sensitivity to light or sound. A few of the most general triggers of migraine are:
Some headaches can be caused by specific neck issues, like chronic neck tension, inflammation, and injury.
These are contemplated secondary headaches, which means they are caused due to other neck-related problems.
Below are a few of the possible causes of CGH:
As cervical nerves pass on pain indications, these nerve-related issues can activate cervicogenic headaches, which cause blurred vision, nausea, pain, stiffness, and high sensitivity to sound or light.
This headache is specified by throbbing pain, which generally starts in your neck and then moves upwards. It might also cause pain in the backside of your head, forehead, scalp, and behind the eyes or ears. It is commonly caused due to inflammation, irritation, or injury in the occipital nerves, which are found on your scalp.
Occipital neuralgia could be due to:
A minor, short-lived headache and a stiff neck are nothing to worry about. But there are a few situations when seeing a doctor is necessary, for example:
Treating neck stiffness and headache can differ based on many aspects, such as severity, cause, and type of problem you are encountering.
Dr. Akhil Tiwari has been offering specialized treatments for spine problems.His motive is to help his patients to get back to their daily routine with the help of the most effective options for non-surgical treatment and, if needed, utilizing various technologies to carry out minimally invasive treatments for every age group.