What is the link between headaches and neck pain?
Right now, you’re probably watching this as you have a headache or experiencing neck pain or researching for a friend or family member who is in trouble. You're on your phone or computer, your chin may be propped up on your hand as you sit at the table, or your head is lolling to the side as you lie in bed. Or you're slumping forward on the couch because sitting up tall is just too much effort. It might seem like too much effort now, but the truth is how you sit now could save you a lot of pain down the track.
In this short 2-minute video we're here to answer a common question we get asked; 'What is the link between headaches and neck pain?'
A Headache and Neck Pain Relationship. Is there one?
The answer is relatively simple.
The curve of your neck is what we call the ‘arc of life’. If you have a healthy neck curve, your ear should naturally sit over your shoulder and there is a much higher chance that you won’t experience neck pain OR headaches.
In fact, so many ‘everyday kind of headaches’ can result from the lack of curve in your neck.
Why does your chance of experiencing a headache increase if you lose your neck curve?
A forward head posture puts more pressure on the vertebrae in your neck, often deteriorating the neck bones, the cervical vertebrae, making it more difficult for the messages to get through from your brain to the peripheral nerves and to the rest of your body.
The muscles around your neck, shoulders and back will get sore from holding your head in this position. The tension that this creates is what might cause headaches or neck pain.
The good news is, most people don’t magically lose their neck curve, their arc of life. It’s usually a combination of trauma, bad habits or both.
The biggest neck curve killer is mobile phones and computers. As much as we love you watching our videos… get off your phone. Actually, we're not kidding, you really do need to take regular breaks from these devices to take the pressure off your neck, muscles and nerves and stop you from turning into a hunched little old lady or man.
If you see the right chiropractor, they should be able to set you on the right track. Firstly, to find out if your neck curve is actually the problem and then secondly go about restoring your Arc of Life and getting you back doing what you love without pesky headaches and neck pain.
We hope you have found this useful. If you have, it would be great if you could like and share this video and even comment below. You can find us in Albury, at House of Chiropractic, or call us on 02 6009 0999 if you'd like to see if we can help you.
Have a great day :-)
