Neck Pain Support Blog

How To Get Headache Relief...

What are the key factors when it comes to getting relief from your headache pain?

1. Know your surroundings.  What does that mean?  It means to know what’s going on around you, understand your environment.  This may hint to what the cause is, and if you know the cause of your headache, you can fix it.
2. Have an arsenal of headache remedies.  This post may help you with that… And, be prepared!  Let’s say you’re away from home on a trip and a bad headache strikes; what do you do.

 

An interesting fact!!

About 90% of headaches come from something going on in the neck…

 

Here are some steps to take to get rid of the head pain:

1. Start with gentle massage of the head and neck – in a circular motion with your fingers rub your temples, move down to the back of your cheeks, and then down the back of neck.  Also, massage the sub-occipital muscles with your thumbs.  [Put your hands over your ears, your thumbs land automatically on the occipital region.
2. Pressure points: next to eyes and bridge of the nose, between thumb and forefinger.  Take your thumbs or one thumb at a time and press and hold for 10-20 seconds.  Release and apply pressure again.  Repeat as many times as necessary.
3. Have someone traction your neck, if that opportunity isn’t usually available try a home traction unit.  Stretching out the neck opens up all the neural foramen give a release a pressure to the nerves of the neck.
4. If your headache is in a particular region then that may tell us something.  For example, maybe it feels like it’s a cross the lower forehead.  We know that we have sinuses that are located there.  Have your allergies been acting up?  Know your surroundings – it could be your usual allergy time of the year…
5. Use a neck pillow for sleeping.  Not only will this help neck alignment but it will help open up your sinuses as well.

What if you have a little more time…

1. See a chiropractor or osteopath
2. Close your eyes and lay down in a dark, quiet place
3. Get a massage.  Have them focus on the upper neck!

Additional Reading:

1. Acute neck pain and headaches

2. Headache Remedies

3. Here's what the Mayo Clinic says...

Doctor Talks About Neck Pain...

Here, Dr Kelty, Chiropractor, talks about neck pain and postural stresses.  I thought of this being even more important in today's day and age where we even have coined a term for everyone constantly using their phones to text, email, or surf the web..."tech neck".

 

Here he is talking about this on the news:

 

Can a Disc Wear Out, and Start Causing Pain?

Over time we will get degeneration in our spine no matter what.  Just from our job, daily activities, and life in general etc . . . your body will have some wear and tear.  However, that degeneration should be minimal and not cause major back pain. If we get degeneration to the point a disc is worn completely out however, there is a good chance there will be pain.

 

What usually happens is that an injury happens to part of your back (one of your discs may sustain an injury); then over the years, wear and tear and stress accumulates at that “weak spot”, so to speak.  

 

Often times then something irritates that disc enough to cause nerve pressure and pain. Often, we have some arthritis, misalignments, a bulged or protruded DISC, and inflammation, that clog up the area where the nerve, nerve root, or nerves travel.

 

When a disc ruptures it usually happen posterior-laterally, which is exactly where the neural foramen are (where the nerves branch off the cord and exit the spine).  Now a disc can herniated or bulge directly laterally, or maybe to the anterior (front), but it may not put direct pressure on a nerve and you may not have pain.

 

Here’s an example: Mike never had serious back pain before, but after a bunch of yard work one day he had pain that never left.  The next day he started to get pain down his right leg too.  If it wasn’t hurting or a pain feeling, he would often feel a tingling sensation. (By the way, it's analogous to the neck, meaning this could be an example of neck and arm pain...)

 

Mike was sent for an x-ray which didn’t show much, but since pain still persisted he was sent for an MRI.  That picture did reveal a lower back disc that was herniated off to the posterior and right. 

 

This makes sense because his pain is on the right.  The reason the x-ray didn’t show much is because you can only see the bones and not the disc, hence the reason for the MRI.

 

To go back to our title: that particular disc in back most likely was irritated, or slightly worn down, maybe from years of wear and tear, and then fully herniated or ruptured from doing a lot of physical work that stressed that area…

 

Additional Reading Resources:

1) Different types of neck problems

2) A Disc Can "Pinch" a Nerve

3) The ALS Ice Challange

Slow The Breakdown of Your Back!

Most arthritis we see is Degenerative Joint Disease or DJD. The most common area for cervical degenerative disc disease to occur is in the lower part cervical (neck) spine.  Not only are there changes to the bones themselves (for example, the appearance of spurs or deformed bone edges), but there can be a decrease in height of the discs as well as bulging.  The disc becomes like a much more flattened than it starts out as.  One in every five Amercan adults will be diagnosed with Arthitis.

 

What are the symptoms of the degeneration:

Joint Aches and Pains.

Possible joint swelling.

The feeling of stiffness first thing in the morning, and when one has been inactive for awhile.

Cold weather and other changes in barametric pressures can aggravate a person with arthritis.

Limited range of motion. For example you have a difficult time turning your head to the right or to the left (may feel stiff).

 

Is arthritis in the neck a normal process of aging and should we all expect it when we turn 65? This is a common fear and frequently asked question. The answer is NO. Why does he have arthritis and someone down the street of that same age has no arthritis to speak of?

It's all about genes, right?

Well, your genes are like a little yellow brick road laid out for you to follow, but you won't necessarily follow it. It's really diet and lifestyle.  For example, if you played pro hockey, this means you most likely played your whole life and have endured your fair share of injuries...

Here's four things you can do:

1. Maintain good posture of the spine. In the neck be careful of forward head posture. This puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the joints in the neck and upper back area, which can lead to faster degeneration in the spine.  More and more I see this posture as many of us have tablets, cell phones, and work all day on the computer.

2. Keep moving.  Motion is life they say.  Motion typically allow inflammation to release and helps keep the spine healthy.  Motion doesn't mean you have to play a contact sport but simple walking, moving, and stretching allows for better joint mobility.

3. Maintain Muscle Tone. The muscles and ligaments are attached to almost every bone in the body. Imagine on side of the body having totally conditioned muscles and the other, not so much.  This will cause major imbalances in the body and lead, more easily to wear and tear.

4. Eat Right! Not to intentionally throw out another one liner - but here it is.  You are what you eat!  Put good, healthy fruits into you diet and it will slow body breakdown too.  It's common sense, look at someone who smokes and drinks everday - more heath issues happen, and sooner.

 

Additional Reading Resources:

1. Do You Have Osteoarthitis or Rheumatoid Arthritis?

2. How to Deal With a Stiff Neck

3. A Great Neck Pillow For Arthitis