Neck related migraines

I'm curious....

For about 20 or so years now I've had a huge problem with doing anything that involves me looking up....even for a few seconds. Its an instant migraine trigger for me.

I have to ask my partner to clean anything that is above eye level (shame! ) and going to air shows is impossible because looking up at the sky for that period of time would give me the migraine from hell.

I also have problems with sitting and chatting to people with my head turned slightly (i have to sit looking directly square on at them) or watching tv, again I have to be careful to sit with my neck completely straight.

Does anyone else experience this trigger? I've had it for so long that I've kinda got used to adjusting my seating position on the bus ect so I can talk to people without being in pain. I carry a lot of tension in my neck all the time.

Also I've just been diagnosed with TMJ, and am having a nightguard fitted, my dentist told me that tooth grinders put a lot of unnecassary stress on their jaw and neck muscles which can then trigger the neck related headaches.

Hi,

It certainly seems like the neck plays a huge part in your headaches. I have an odd neck and have always had a head forward position. Basically, instead of my head being aligned with the spine, it stits forward of it. The major things that have helped with this are nerve blocks. I have had bilateral radiofrequency done to C2, C3. I went into my first perios of remission after the nerve blocks. I now have an occipital nerve stimulator implanted and it does helpp.

I am sure you have tried physical therapy- some of the neck excercises did help, others were horrible for my head, but they did loosen up some muscles and provide some relief.

I would definitely mention this to your doctors. It took a while before I could get someone to consider the fact that the neck might have an impact on the head, but it does.

I hope this helps.

Pain free days,
sailingm

Jul said:

I also have problems with sitting and chatting to people with my head turned slightly (i have to sit looking directly square on at them) or watching tv, again I have to be careful to sit with my neck completely straight.

Yes, that is also my problem, but in my case it is not as bad as it used to be. Regular physical therapy did not help. What has helped, has been Myofascial Release (John Barnes type). The therapist has been working on fascia restrictions that have contributed to the neck restrictions.

A lot of the problem with me, has been the chest scar from a by-pass surgery that I had about twenty years ago and a frozen shoulder (almost gone now) problem that I've had. I believe those two problems created a lot of the fascia restrictions.

Muscle relaxants and a lot of stretching have also helped. Acupuncture did help with the stiff neck, but to me it did not deal with the source of the problem; the fascia restrictions.

Anyway, that is how I am pursuing the problem.

Martin

thanks for the replies

I haven't had much luck with neck stretching excercises they usually make it worse but my doctor prescriped me a muscle relaxant to take when I am in 'migraine mode' and although I've only taken one it did really seem to help.

I've also just been told I have TMJ which can badly effect the neck and shoulder muscles so maybe the two problems are linked.

Would be nice if the treatment for TMJ is am starting soon also loosens my neck eventually!

Hi Jul

Sorry to hear your neck is giving you troubles.
My Migraines are also neck triggered. You might also have Tendonitis. I got tendonitis on top of my normal neck issues (mostly with my bones) and it was agony. I couldn't turn my head at all. I have read that it can indeed last for years.


What helped me the most was going to the Chriopractor. I go about once a month now and believe me, I can feel when it's time to go. My tendonitis is now gone, and he is helping to manage my neck related migraines. I know a lady who also had sever jaw issues and was told she needed surgery. She went to my chiro instead and with her first visit she had immediate relief. Months of treatment, and she no longer has the issue and won't need surgery.

If you haven't already, I would make an appointment with a Chiropractor. Preferrably one who does X-rays first.

also have problems with sitting and chatting to people with my head turned slightly (i have to sit looking directly square on at them) or watching tv, again I have to be careful to sit with my neck completely straight.

Oh my goodness, yes! I got more migraines from having to turn my head at a conference table. People learned to always put me at the end of the table, it was such a problem. Physical therapy
was such a nightmare for me. They always triggered a major migraine because they would move my neck around. I found chiropractic and massage helpful for relieving pain, but neither really made the problem go away.

It's not nearly so bad now. I don't know if that is because my Neck got better somehow, or because of the supplements I'm taking that made the headaches so much less frequent. I really think its the supplements because the neck and shoulder pain pretty much disappeared after I started taking them. It only happens now if I do something really stupid, spend too much time at the computer craning my head forward into the screen, or from bad airplane seats that hit me at just the wrong place (I really hate airplane seats!)