Cervicogenic headaches start in the neck and wrap around to the head. If you have a stiff neck, limited head turning, and headaches that worsen with neck movement, this may be your pattern.
The upper cervical spine shares nerve pathways with the head. When the small facet joints in the upper neck are arthritic or irritated, pain signals travel up into the skull and present as headache.
Patients often try migraine medications without much relief, because the source is not in the head. Targeting the neck joints and nerves that refer pain upward is usually what finally works.
Cervicogenic headaches have a distinct pattern. Identifying them correctly is half the battle.
The plan targets the neck joints and nerves actually driving the headache, in a stepped approach.
A diagnostic and therapeutic injection that numbs the small nerves supplying the upper neck joints. Relief after the block confirms the source and guides next steps.
Controlled heat to those same nerves quiets the pain signal for six months or longer. Reserved for patients who respond well to diagnostic blocks.
A quick injection at the base of the skull. Useful when the occipital nerves are carrying the pain from the neck into the head.
Targeted injections into tight neck and shoulder muscles that add tension to the upper spine and feed the headache pattern.
Call us if headaches come on suddenly and severely, if you develop neurological symptoms, or if pain follows a recent injury. These need prompt evaluation.
A few clues: pain that starts in the neck and spreads to the head, headaches worsened by neck movement or posture, and relief when the upper neck joints are numbed. A diagnostic medial branch block can confirm the source.
Most patients get six to twelve months of relief. Treatment can be repeated when pain returns, and some patients stay comfortable for years with routine ablations.
It helps, but for many patients the pain cycle has been running too long for therapy alone to break it. Pairing targeted injections with PT usually gets the best long-term results.