I’ve devoted my practice to exploring the most effective and reproducible ways of restoring balance to the neck and nervous system to solve the combination of neck pain and headache.
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Check out this post I made on What Causes Headaches and What to Do
The Key to Solving the Combination of Neck Pain and Headaches
There are really good reasons why headaches often accompany chronic neck pain. In my experience the neck is a factor in causing, perpetuating, or aggravating the vast majority of chronic headaches.
Why is the neck so involved in headaches and what causes the neck pain. The answer is the same. Let’s look:
- Your head weighs about 11 lbs. Every inch that your ear moves in front of the center of your shoulder adds another 11 lbs. of stress to the small muscles of your neck.
- In the upper neck are 3 pairs of the nerves, the Suboccipital Nerves, that go into the back of the head, forehead, and temples. Irritation of these nerves cause what are referred to as Cervicogenic Headaches. But, the neck is responsible for much more headaches.
- The brainstem is found at the very top of the neck. This is home to the critical Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). Irritation here causes a suppression of the Vagus Nerve and overactivation of the Sympathetic ‘Fight-or-Flight’ Nervous System (SNS). The SNS overactivity drives up neck and shoulder muscle tension, spasm, and pain.
I Know from Experience!
My motivation in solving the puzzle of chronic neck and headache pain is personal. When I was 18 I was in a head on car collision that left me with chronic neck pain and headaches. Medication offered temporary relief and physical therapy was of no help.
It wasn’t until I visited a chiropractor a year after the accident that I found relief. That set me on an exploration over the last 38 years searching for the most effective ways to correct the underlying causes of chronic neck and headache pain.
The 5 Keys to the Chronic Neck and Headache Puzzle
There are two related components involved in causing, aggravating and perpetuating chronic neck and headache pain.
1. Improper Mechanics: when you lose proper alignment and motion of the neck it results in a massive increase in the stress, tension and spasm of the neck. The small muscles of the neck have to balance the 11 pound weight called your head. As these muscles are chronically overworked it results in further tightening and spasm which results in fatigue, pain, and headaches.
2. Neurology: both altered mechanics and other factors put tension on the delicate nerves of the cervical spine. This tension causes a self-perpetuating cycle. Nerve tension and irritation causes pain and muscle spasm. The muscle spasm further irritates the nerves causing more spasm and the cycle continues.
A primary focus must be on removing tension and interference from the nervous system. If this is not done all other efforts will only yield partial or temporary results.
3. Posture and Movement: I’ve discovered that many of the strategies we often adopt to provide relief of neck pain and tightness actually result in increased tension over time. With the popularity of laptops, tablets, and phones most of us spend a lot of time looking down. All of this puts tremendous stress on the joints, nerves and muscles of the neck. Even the most effective therapeutic correction can be derailed by poor posture.
4. Sleep: First, the position you sleep in and the pillow you use can either provide your neck with a period of rest and recovery or it can contribute to neck tension and pain. You cannot use the same pillow for sleeping on your side and on your back. If you sleep on your stomach, stop now. Sleeping on your stomach requires your neck to be turned in one direction for extended periods of time. This puts the neck under significant stress.
The duration and quality of your sleep is also critical to solving chronic neck pain and headaches. Poor sleep drives inflammation, SNS activity, poor recovery, increased tension, and pain. This becomes an ever-worsening cycle over time.
5. Vagus Nerve: The Vagus Nerve is the key to decreasing muscle tension and pain, promoting quality sleep. The Vagus has been referred to as the highway to wellness. It helps promote all the functions that support health, well-being, rest, recovery, and healing.
Trauma and stress tend to activate the SNS which impairs the activity of the Vagus Nerve. Over time people begin to function in a state of Sympathetic Dominance. This continues to drive the inflammation, muscle spasm, and pain responsible for neck and headache pain.
The solution to this puzzle is less about turning down the SNS and much more about raising the tone or activity of the Vagus Nerve. I do this with a combination of:
- Specific balancing chiropractic adjustments with a focus on the upper cervical spine and pelvis.
- Proper breathing mechanics
- Conscious Breathwork practices
The importance of solving chronic neck and headache pain has multiple reasons. Chronic pain and headaches is a sign of imbalance that will cause accelerated breakdown or degeneration of the spinal joints of the neck.
We call this degenerative arthritis or DJD (degenerative joint disease). This is irreversible and will result in permanent loss of function and some degree of chronic pain.
The imbalance in the cervical spine causes irritation to the ANS and the brain stem that has profound effects on the health of the entire body. An imbalance of the ANS is the reason why 90% of all illness and disease is stress related. And, you just want your neck pain and headaches gone!
Modern life has us adopting movements and positions that put significant stress on the delicate neck. Add in the inevitable micro and macro trauma and the result is an epidemic of chronic neck and headache pain. The solution is not found in medications that offer temporary relief. Outside of the dangers of even over the counter pain medication, simply relieving pain results in a continued worsening of the underlying developing arthritis.
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