There is a kind of headache, saying that it is not light, saying that it is not heavy, it is good to endure, but next time it will hurt.
It may begin with mild pain in the back of the occipital area, or in the back of the ear, and is often mistaken for falling off the pillow or getting a cold.
Generally presents with persistent headaches, intermittent attacks, that is, a pain for a few days, every once in a while, some people have a low frequency of attacks, and some people have a high frequency of attacks.
As the condition progresses, the frequency may increase gradually, and the scope of pain can gradually extend to the top of the head, temporal area, eye sockets, face, and even the entire head.
Because this headache will not worsen in a short period of time, the degree of pain is similar every time, so many people do not pay attention to it, often "good scars forget the pain", endure for many years before going to the hospital.
Director Liu Yanqing has encountered such a case, the 80-year-old woman endured pain for 60 years before going to the hospital for medical treatment. And this headache is actually caused by cervical spondylosis, that is, cervical headache.
The incidence of cervical headache is about 1%-18%, it is not as old-age disease as people think, on the contrary, cervical headache is more likely to occur in young and middle-aged people aged 20-40 years, the proportion of male and female disease is 1:4, and female patients are more common.
01 Cervical headache cannot be ignored
Cervical headaches can generally find significant tender spots near the cervical spine, and imaging can reveal cervical spine lesions.
Although cervical headaches do not worsen in a short period of time, they are not as harmless as people think.
Studies have found that in people with long-term chronic pain, the hippocampus in the brain gradually atrophises and develop anxiety, depression or more severe mental disorders.
Therefore, you must not ignore the treatment because the pain can be tolerated, otherwise only more serious harm awaits you.
Cervical headache, mostly due to cervical disc lesions, cervical joints disorders and other reasons, resulting in nearby nerves, blood vessels are compressed, muscle spasms, resulting in headaches, in various reasons caused by chronic headaches can account for 15% -20%.
In addition to cervical headaches, the factors that can cause headaches include intracranial hypertension, tension, trigeminal neuropathy, etc., each with its own characteristics, often need to be distinguished from cervical headache.
02 Differentiated from intracranial hypertensive headache
Tumors and other brain mass lesions will increase intracranial pressure, deep swelling and pain in the brain, pain will persist, progress rapidly, often accompanied by ejection vomiting, if the tumor compresses the nerves, it can also cause blindness, paralysis and so on.
03 Differentiated from tension headache
Tension headache, usually without tender spots around the cervical spine, imaging will not find cervical spine lesions.
In contrast, tension headaches are less painful and generally present with bilateral headaches. Cervicogenic headache, on the other hand, can occur unilaterally or bilaterally.
04 Differentiated from trigeminal neuralgia
Trigeminal neuralgia can also manifest as a headache, with episodes that often follow the nerves, with lightning-like, pinprick-like pain, paroxysmal attacks that disappear within minutes.
The site of onset is mainly concentrated on the face, such as the orbit, infraorbital, nasal side, upper and lower lips, and lower jaw.
Cervical headaches, often lasting for several days, intermittent attacks, pain sites in addition to the face, but also to the top of the head, temporal parts, behind the ears, occipital and so on.
If headache symptoms are found, the cause of the headache should be determined and then targeted treatment should be carried out, so that it can be done more with less.
05 Most cervical headaches can be relieved or even cured
So, how to treat headaches caused by cervical spine problems?
In general, for mild disease, conservative treatment is mainly used, both pharmacological and non-pharmacological.
/ Medication /
Two combinations of drugs are generally selected, that is, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory analgesics with muscle relaxants. Treatment of mild cervical headache in the early stage has a good effect.
If some neurogenic pain is combined, some drugs that regulate the nerves can also be used, such as nerve repair agents and drugs to relieve spasms.
If the patient is depressed due to the atrophy of the hippocampus due to long-term chronic pain, antidepressants need to be added for comprehensive treatment.
It should be noted that anti-inflammatory analgesics should not be used for more than 3 months to avoid serious side effects with long-term use.
/ Non-pharmacological treatments /
Including electrotherapy, light therapy, magnetic therapy, and even local nerve stimulation and other physical therapy methods, mostly used to improve local muscle spasms, promote inflammation absorption, improve blood circulation, can also be carried out Chinese medicine acupuncture treatment.
If the conservative treatment effect is not good, the patient still has pain, further minimally invasive interventional therapy is needed, and there are four key technologies: neural intervention, neural regulation, spinal intervention, and spinal endoscopy.
After treatment, most cervical headaches can be relieved or even cured, so if you find yourself with long-term chronic headache symptoms, be sure to go to the pain department of the hospital for examination and treatment!
References: Medical Microvision official website - Liu Yanqing Chief Physician "Cervical Headache"