Cervicogenic Headache:
The True Pain in the Neck

This section is compiled by Frank M. Painter, D.C.
Send all comments or additions to:    Frankp@chiro.org

Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research
Issue 137
Cervicogenic Headache: The True Pain in the Neck
For decades, Doctors of Chiropractic have successfully treated headaches.  Success was so quick and profound in some instances that chiropractors theorized that some headaches are caused by dysfunction in the neck and cervical spine.  This theory was largely over-looked by the scientific community as they knew of no biological or physiological link.  But the chiropractors were right!  In 1995, a team of researchers at the University of Maryland in Baltimore were intricately dissecting cadavers and discovered the biological link—a connective tissue bridge from a muscle in the head (the rectus capitis posterior minor muscle) to the membrane covering the brain and the spinal cord (the dura mater).1  By showing the biological link, this important discovery essentially cemented the theory that neck dysfunction can cause headache.  The “Illustrated HealthWays” in this issue shows a diagram of this connection.  The theory that some headaches were caused by neck problems, and now the scientific basis for how that happens, meant that the headache type had to be named to distinguish it from... (More copy follows in this 4-color, 4-page newsletter)
Illustrated HealthWays
In 1995, a team of researchers at the University of Maryland in Baltimore discovered a connective tissue bridge (A) from a muscle in the head (C) to the membrane covering the brain and the spinal cord (B). This bridge provides a biological answer to the question of how neck problems cause headaches.

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