What’s Causing Vertebrogenic Headaches

What’s Causing
Vertebrogenic
Headaches?
The Denver Integrated Spine Center
7535 E. Hampden Avenue, Suite 405, Denver, CO 80231
(303) 758-9000

People usually write off a headache that involves a side of the head and pain when
moving the neck to migraine or “stiff neck”, but they may actually be experiencing a
vertebrogenic headache. It is one of two headache types that start in the neck, with the
other type being the myogenic headache.
A vertebrogenic headache is from irritated or dysfunctional vertebrae, while a myogenic
headache is from irritated muscles in the neck.
What’s Causing Vertebrogenic Headaches?
Extended periods of poor posture could usually make an individual more vulnerable to
vertebrogenic headaches. Because of this, individuals who typically hold positions that
lead to regular changes in posture, like auto mechanics, truck drivers, and majority of
office workers have increased chances of developing these headaches.
Bad posture usually leads to neck issues, which, in turn, could affect the cervical spine’s
function, resulting in misaligned or stuck joints, also called subluxations, as well as a
dysfunctional spine. Prior injuries to the neck and/or head, like in individuals who have
gone through bad vehicle accidents or athletes who participate in rough sports, could
likewise cause vertebrogenic headaches.

How Do Vetebrogenic Headaches Feel?
According to people suffering from this type of headache, they feel a constant, dull ache
on only one side of the head and tenderness and pain in the neck area. This ache
typically originates from the neck and then radiates to the back of the eyes, sometimes
up to the side or top of the head and ears. These headaches could last for several hours
or several weeks, and the duration will vary from one episode to the next.
Is There a Solution to Vertebrogenic Headaches?
Chiropractors specialize in looking for the actual cause of headaches, not only the
vetebrogenic type, and alleviating urgent pain. They are capable of determining
whether the pain is from a structural or physical issue and resolving it. Normally, they
perform a series of adjustments to a patient’s spine to restore irritated vertebrae to
their right positions and alleviate unwarranted pressure on the nerve roots. They could
likewise recommend appropriate lifestyle changes and exercises to prevent future
headaches.

Headaches are, invariably, far from normal and that recurring headaches even more
so, as they are the body’s way of indicating that something is amiss. Ibuprofen,
paracetamol, and other pain relievers could provide temporary relief, but will likely not
solve the actual problem.
Sources:
http://denver-chiropractic.com/
http://www.trigenics.com/trigenics/conditions/head1.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2484908/