Migraine Neck Pain :What causes it?

Headache neck pain may be due to several structures in the neck that are not working properly. Literally millions of people have neck-related headaches.

Out of fourteen to eighteen percent of headache sufferers two and a half percent have something wrong in their neck that gives them a headache. That's why we have pages on pillows. Necks benefit by sleepimg on the right pillow.

Many people that have migraines have neck related problems, and respond to the appropriate treatment.

First you have to put the puzzle together on migraine neck pain. And it takes time. Doctors that don't treat the right cause of your headaches, will miss giving you the help that you need.

The head is quite heavy, and if something is irritated or pulled , you're going to have pain. And if the injury comes from the c2/3 and c3/4disc you may have migraine neck pain.

Disc, facet joints, and injuries to your muscle, and ligaments can cause headaches.

The joints, and muscles in your neck can be damaged by car accidents, falls, or just an accident that wasn't supposed to happen.

The most common injury is to the discs, or facet joints.

Your upper, and middle neck may have muscle spasms that also add to the pain but it's hardly ever the primary problem.

What is a disc injury?

The outer layer of the disc is the annulus, which has a very "rich" nerve supply. If the annulus develops a tear or crack in it, the nerves can be stimulated.

This, like I said, can be caused by a car accident or even poor posture.

The weight of your head puts more pressure on the annulus than it can stand. And if the injury is between the two joints that I mention above, you can have migraines.

The facet joints can also give you headaches

My better half had these nerves separated by heat several years ago. The facet joints can easily be injured, and cause migraine neck pain.

Work your fingers, and look at them.

Facet joints look, and act like them. Ever pop your knuckles? Then you've heard your neck pop sometimes, same thing. It doesn't hurt you though, if your neck pops.

Although they bear a smaller portion of the weight than the disc do, the facet joints also contain cartilage, joint lining, and a great number of nerve endings.

Muscle, and ligament injury can also give you migraine neck pain.

They can wear down, become inflamed, and start hurting. These can also give you a migraine from the neck pain. My wife could barely turn her neck.

Other joints that may bother you are the Atlanto occipital, and Atlanto aerial. This is where the skull, and neck meet.

Neither of these joints have discs or facets, but either one can become inflamed and cause pain. These are the two joints that are so susceptible to injury when you get whiplash. About two thirds of the people that have recurring headaches, have muscle stiffness, or spasms, but that may not be the main cause of your pain, for the neck muscles are above the facet joints.

So if you press on your neck muscles you may get pain in your facet, and not know the difference.

But the good news is, if you pull your muscles, or ligaments, your headache should be better in one to three weeks. Muscle strains heal quickly.

But if you injure a disc or facet joint, that can cause overlying muscles to go into spasm adding to the overall pain.

Treatments that may help migraine neck pain

If your neck doesn't quit hurting, find a good pain management clinic, they can give you injections of steroids, or like my wife had, burn the nerves.

Or you can go to an acupuncturist, or chiropractor, they are both great for this, and they are reasonable on their charges.

Our next page is about 65% of migraine sufferers that have this. It's called the prodrome. Do you know what phase of a migraine this is?

If you have migraine neck pain, we hope you have found something in here that explained what can be done to find migraine relief from your neck causing/triggering your migraines.

All the best

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