Head, neck and back problems

Question:

Recently, I have been experiencing severe head, neck and back problems. I have headaches whenever I try to stand up from a sitting position, or when I wake up in the morning. Sometimes, I also feel that my neck becomes ‘loose’ when I somehow lose control of my neck (my head tends to fall sometimes – all of a sudden, even when I’m wide awake and not dozing off).

In addition, I have also been experiencing backaches. I wonder if these problems are somehow linked. What are the possible causes of these and is there any solution to cure me of my aches?

Answer:

You have been having headaches for many years which may be due to tension headaches or migraine. The headaches, however, may arise from the neck structures. Tension headaches are very common, affecting as many as 40% of teenagers and adults. They tend to start at the back of your head and move forward, involving your neck, scalp, and head (for example, the temporal regions on either side of your forehead and the occiput, which is at the base of your head just above the neck). The pain, which is due to contraction (tightness) of the neck and scalp muscles, can ultimately cover your entire head. Such muscle contraction is commonly caused by stress – thus, the name “tension”.

Migraine is a headache caused by the swelling of the blood vessels and a chemical release which surrounds these blood vessels. This kind of headache is usually throbbing and affects only half of the head and could also lead to head and neck pain.

Cervicogenic headache on the other hand usually starts within the neck structures. The pain is then felt in the neck and the head. The neck, one of the weaker parts of the body, can cause a brutal pain headache. Neck movements that go on for an extended period of time or sudden shifts/motion of the neck can result in a cervicogenic headache or a head and neck pain.

You mentioned that you sometimes lose control of your neck; this may be due to fatigue of the neck muscles from chronic muscle strain due to a poor posture. Poor posture can also lead to chronic and recurrent back pain. Another possible cause of neck and back pain may be from bulging discs due to a degenerative disc disease especially in young people with a positive family history of back pain. I would suggest you seek the opinion of a doctor before trying out other remedies.