Why do you have a headache? maybe there's something wrong with your neck.
A sore neck leads to a headache, where nerves travel upward from the spinal cord to the head. If pathological changes occur in the muscles or bones of the neck, such as cervical degeneration, neck muscle trauma, and so on, these abnormal changes can lead to headaches. Although headaches give the brain a sense of explosion, the brain itself does not produce pain tissue, which means that headaches are peripheral tissue damage that sends pain signals to the brain. Except for headaches caused by brain tumors and strokes, headaches also need to pay attention to tissues and organs outside the brain. Cervicogenic headache is a syndrome caused by organic or functional lesions of cervical vertebrae or cervical soft tissue, with chronic and unilateral head pain as the main manifestation. The nature of pain is a kind of involved pain. Inflammatory stimulation in the spinal canal and / or mechanical compression of the intervertebral disc on the C1-C3 nerve root, causing neurogenic pain
A sore neck can lead to a headache, which must not be ignored. As we all know, most of the nerves in the head come from the neck. The nerve sends out from the spinal cord and walks upward to the head, passing through many bone gaps and muscles. If the neck muscle or bone lesions, such as cervical vertebra degeneration, neck muscle trauma, etc., the nerves passing through here will be affected, abnormal changes will occur, and these abnormal changes will lead to headaches.
Zheng Guangliang, director of Xiamen Guangming Orthopaedic Hospital, said that although the headache makes the brain feel like an explosion, the brain tissue itself does not produce pain tissue, which means that headache is peripheral tissue damage that transmits pain signals to the brain. Therefore, in addition to headaches caused by brain tumors and strokes, in most cases, headaches also need to pay attention to tissues and organs outside the brain.
Zheng Guangliang said that cervicogenic headache is a syndrome caused by organic or functional lesions of the cervical vertebra or neck soft tissue, with chronic, unilateral head pain as the main manifestation. The nature of pain is a kind of involved pain.
According to the different parts of the nerve root involved, cervicogenic headache is divided into two types: 1. Neuropathic pain. Inflammatory stimulation in the spinal canal and / or mechanical compression of the intervertebral disc on the C1-C3 nerve root cause neuropathic pain. Cervical myogenic pain. Cervical facet joint disorder, muscle spasm and / or inflammatory stimulation of ligament fascia or mechanical compression of C1-C3 nerve root branches outside the spinal canal cause myogenic pain.
The main symptoms of cervicogenic headache include: 1. Unilateral or bilateral headache, which is common on one side, is often misdiagnosed as migraine. The pain first occurs in the neck, and then spreads to the frontal, temporal and orbital regions of the affected side. The pain was blunt and non-pulsating, especially in the frontotemporal part; 4. Intermittent seizures, lasting from several hours to several days at a time, are sustainable in the later stage; 5. Headache attacks can be induced by neck movement, poor neck posture and pressing the structure dominated by the supraorbital nerve and the high cervical nerve. Neck stiffness, limited active and passive movement, may be accompanied by ipsilateral shoulder and upper limb pain; 7. Other related symptoms and signs, such as nausea, vomiting, photophobia, blurred vision, tears, voice fear, dizziness and so on.
How to prevent cervicogenic headache? First of all, we need to prevent trauma, try to keep the sleeping position correct, pillow appropriate, correct bad posture and habits; secondly, to prevent neck cold, strengthen neck muscle exercise, self-care, and maintain a good state of mind, avoid mental tension.
Zheng Guangliang said that headache is not only a symptom but also a disease. Cervical headache is a common symptom of cervical spondylosis, which is more common in clinic. This kind of headache must be paid attention to, because the causes of headache are many and very complex, so it is necessary to ask a specialist for diagnosis and differential diagnosis to prevent the occurrence of misdiagnosis and mistreatment.
(reporter Lan Yunsi)
Source: Xiamen Evening News