You’ve tried over-the-counter pain relievers, adjusted your screen time, and changed your pillow, but those persistent headaches keep returning. What if the real problem isn’t in your head at all, but in your neck or upper back? Many people don’t realize that chronic headaches often originate from spinal issues.
Understanding the Connection Between Back Pain and Headaches
Back pain that causes headaches is more common than many realize, especially when pain originates in the upper cervical spine. These headaches, called cervicogenic headaches, develop when problems in your neck joints, discs, or muscles send pain signals that radiate to your head. Headache disorders affect millions of Americans, with many cases linked to spinal issues.
Conditions like cervical facet joint syndrome, herniated discs, whiplash injuries, and degenerative disc disease can trigger referred pain you feel as a headache. The C2-3 vertebrae are particularly involved in head pain since nerves at this level relay signals through the trigeminocervical nucleus, which processes both neck and head pain. Understanding this neck-related headache connection is essential for effective treatment.
Common Signs Your Neck Is Causing Your Headaches
Cervicogenic headaches have distinct characteristics:
- Pain starting at the base of your skull, radiating forward to your forehead or temples
- Pain worsening with certain neck positions or movements
- Reduced neck range of motion accompanying the headache
- One-sided head pain (typically doesn’t switch sides, though bilateral pain can occur)
- Pain triggered by pressure on specific neck points
- Headaches following neck injuries, whiplash, or poor posture habits
If you experience several of these symptoms regularly, your headaches may originate from cervical spine issues.
How We Diagnose and Treat Cervicogenic Headaches
At our Oklahoma City pain clinic, we diagnose back pain causing headaches through a comprehensive evaluation. Our physicians perform a thorough examination of your cervical spine, checking for tenderness, reduced range of motion, and trigger points that reproduce your head pain. Advanced imaging, like MRI or CT scans, helps visualize disc problems, facet joint arthritis, or structural issues.
Diagnostic nerve blocks help confirm whether your spine is the source of the headache by temporarily numbing specific cervical nerves or facet joints to pinpoint pain-causing structures.
Our Oklahoma pain management doctors offer targeted treatment options, including cervical epidural steroid injections, facet joint injections, radiofrequency ablation for long-term relief, trigger point injections, occipital nerve blocks, and medication management. Because we perform procedures in our state-of-the-art, on-site procedure rooms, treatment is convenient and cost-effective without hospital visits.
Find Real Relief from Chronic Headaches
Don’t let chronic headaches control your life. Our board-certified pain management physicians can identify the source of your pain and create a targeted treatment plan.
Contact us to schedule your evaluation at Oklahoma City’s premier pain management center and start your journey toward lasting headache relief.
Serving Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, and communities throughout central Oklahoma.
Comprehensive Spine and Pain – Oklahoma City