CERVICOGENIC HEADACHE

CERVICOGENIC HEADACHE - Neck pain and cervical muscle tenderness are common and prominent symptoms of primary headache disorders. Less commonly, head pain may actually arise from bony structures or soft tissues of the neck, a condition known as cervicogenic headache. Cervicogenic headache is a syndrome characterized by chronic hemicranial pain that is referred to the head from either bony structures or soft tissues of the neck. The trigeminocervical nucleus is a region of the upper cervical spinal cord where sensory nerve fibers in the decreasing tract of the trigeminal nerve are believed to interact with sensory fibers from the upper cervical roots. This functional convergence of upper cervical and trigeminal sensory pathways allows the bidirectional referral of painful sensations between the neck and trigeminal sensory receptive fields of the face and head. A functional convergence of sensorimotor fibers in the spinal accessory nerve and upper cervical nerve roots ultimately converge with the descending tract of the trigeminal nerve and might also be responsible for the referral of cervical pain to the head. Neck pain and cervical muscle tenderness are common and prominent symptoms of primary headache disorders. Less commonly, head pain may actually arise from bony structures or soft tissues of the neck, a condition known as cervicogenic headache.

Cervicogenic headaches typically cause pain at the back of the head. This pain may spread to the top of the skull and sometimes to the forehead or temple. It may also be associated with pain or discomfort behind the eye.

Cervicogenic headache usually presents as a constant dull ache, normally situated at the back of the head, although sometimes behind the eyes or temple region, and less commonly, on top of the head, forehead or ear region. Pain is usually felt on one side, but occasionally, both sides of the head and face may be affected.