Neck pain, and the headaches that start there.

How they fit together

Mechanical neck pain is pain that changes with posture, movement or load, without a serious medical cause. It is common. It can sit in the neck itself, across the shoulder, or refer toward the head.

When headache is referred from the neck, clinicians call it cervicogenic headache. It often begins in the neck, prefers one side, and is provoked by sustained postures or particular movements. Tension-type headache is a tight, pressing pain that can travel with neck and shoulder muscle strain. The two can overlap.

Migraine is a neurological condition. Neck stiffness often accompanies it, especially during an attack. Treating the neck may ease associated musculoskeletal symptoms. It is not a cure for migraine, and we will not present it as one.

What a chiropractor looks for

• Where the pain starts, where it travels, and what turns it up or down.
• Red flags that belong in medical or emergency care, not on a treatment table.
• How the neck and upper back move, and how the related muscles behave.
• Arm symptoms, dizziness, or neurological signs that change the plan.
• Work, sleep, screens and training loads that keep the problem going.

Imaging is not routine for uncomplicated neck pain. If a scan would change the decision, we say so and arrange the referral. Bringing scans you already have is useful. Ordering new ones “just in case” usually is not.

How care may help

For some mechanical neck pain, and for cervicogenic headache, clinical guidelines support advice, exercise and manual therapy. Manual therapy can include spinal manipulation, joint mobilisation, and soft-tissue treatment. Spinal manipulation has evidence of benefit for some people with neck-related pain and cervicogenic headache.

A plan at this clinic, when treatment is appropriate, is built from those pieces rather than from a single technique. You will know what is being proposed, why, and what a fair trial looks like. You can decline any part of it.