Headache and neck pain care
Working out where your headaches start, and treating the joints and muscles that trigger them.
We start by working out whether your headaches are coming from your neck, then treat the joints and muscles involved with hands-on care and simple exercises. We also look at the desk, screen and sleep habits that feed the pattern, so the work carries on between visits.
Sound familiar?
- “headaches from my neck”
- “band around my head”
- “headache behind my eyes”
- “daily headaches at work”
- “stiff neck”
- “woke up with a sore neck”
What’s happening in your body
The top three joints in your neck sit directly under the base of your skull. The nerves that supply them run into the same relay point in the brainstem as the nerves that supply your forehead, your temples and the area behind your eyes. Because those signals arrive at the same place, the brain can read irritation in the neck as pain in the head. That is why a neck problem can feel like a headache and never feel like a neck problem at all.
The muscles matter too. Holding your head forward towards a screen asks the muscles at the base of the skull to hold on all day. Muscles that never let go get tender, and tender muscles refer pain into the head in their own patterns: a band around the head, an ache behind one eye, a tight line up the back of the skull.
None of that tells us your headaches are coming from your neck. It tells us why they can. Working out whether they are is what the first visit is for.
Headaches and neck pain we treat
Headaches and neck pain often arrive together, and the pattern usually matters more than the label. These are what we see most often, and what the first visit is built to sort out.
- Tension-type and neck-related (cervicogenic) headaches
- Migraine support alongside your GP's care
- Neck pain and stiffness
- Neck and shoulder tension from desk work
How we go about it
Headache assessment
Testing that works out whether your neck joints and muscles are part of the headache pattern, and what sets it off.
Hands-on neck care
Gentle joint and muscle techniques, applied to the areas the assessment points to.
Habit and posture coaching
Practical changes to the desk, screen and phone patterns that keep the cycle going.
What care looks like week to week
Early visits
The first job is to settle the pain you have now and confirm what is driving it. That usually means hands-on work on the neck joints and muscles the assessment pointed to, plus one or two things to do at home. At the next visit we check whether it changed anything. If nothing changed, that tells us something too, and we adjust.
Progressing
As the headaches ease, the balance shifts. Hands-on time comes down, and movement and habit changes take over: strength work through the neck and upper back, the height of your screen, how you hold your phone, how long you sit before you get up.
Tapering
Once things are steady, visits spread out. Some people finish here. Others check in through busy stretches at work. We tell you plainly what your case needs, and the plan follows it.
Everyone moves through this differently. Some people respond in a handful of visits, some take longer, so the plan is set at your first assessment and adjusted as your body responds, never read off a calendar.
Who we see for this
- Office workers with end-of-day headaches
- People with frequent tension-type headaches
- Anyone whose neck stiffness and headaches arrive together
- People managing migraine who want extra support
The red flags we screen for
Some headaches need a doctor before anyone else. Screening for them is the first thing every assessment here does.
Go straight to an emergency department if a headache comes on suddenly and severely, the worst you have had. Do the same if it arrives with fever, a stiff painful neck, confusion, weakness, slurred speech or a change in your vision.
Migraine diagnosis and migraine medication sit with your GP; our work on the neck runs alongside that care, and the two together often do more than either alone.
Common questions
How do I know if my headaches are coming from my neck?
You often cannot tell from the headache alone, which is why we assess rather than assume. Headaches that start at the base of the skull, sit mostly on one side, follow a stiff neck, or build through a desk day are worth checking. The examination looks at how your neck moves and whether the usual pain can be reproduced and eased.
Do you have to adjust my neck? I am nervous about it.
No. A neck adjustment is one option, not the only one, and it is never automatic. Gentle joint mobilisation, soft-tissue work and exercise can do the same job for many people. We explain what we are suggesting and why before anything happens, and you can decline any part of it without it being awkward.
Can chiropractic care treat my migraines?
Diagnosing migraine and prescribing for it belong with your GP. What we can do is assess and treat the neck joints and muscles that sometimes add to the load, alongside the care your doctor is already providing. The two work together, each doing what it does best.
How long before my headaches change?
We will not put a number on it, because it depends on how long the pattern has been there, what is feeding it, and what you can change day to day. Some people notice a difference early, others take longer, and some do not respond at all. We review it with you openly rather than booking ahead and hoping.
Is it worth keeping a headache diary?
Yes, and it does not need to be complicated. For a fortnight before your visit, note the day, roughly when it started, how long it lasted, where the pain sat, and what you were doing beforehand. Patterns show up in writing that nobody remembers accurately in a consultation.
Take the first step towards better movement.
Suite 1, Lower Ground Floor, 225 Macquarie Street, Sydney. No referral needed to book, and we confirm every appointment by email.