Symptoms of headache caused by cervical spine

In today's society, cervical spondylosis is a popular disease trend. And most people will suffer from cervical spondylosis because nowadays people like to play with mobile phones and other electronic products. Frequently lowering your head or sitting in an incorrect posture can easily lead to cervical spondylosis. After cervical spondylosis occurs, it will also cause symptoms of other serious diseases. Such as headache, back pain, etc. So what are the symptoms of headaches caused by cervical spine?

1. Causes of cervicogenic headache

It is now believed that the cause of CEH is still not fully understood. Most scholars believe that it is nerve compression caused by intervertebral disc degeneration and the accompanying local aseptic inflammation. Nowadays, there is a relatively unified view that the C1-C3 nerve roots and/or the tissue structures they innervate are the anatomical basis for inducing cervicogenic pain.

2. Factors causing cervicogenic headache

(1) Inflammatory irritation within the spinal canal and/or mechanical compression of the C1-C3 nerve roots by the intervertebral disc;

(2) Extraspinal cervical facet joint disorder, muscle spasm and/or inflammatory stimulation of the ligament fascia or mechanical compression of the C1-C3 nerve root branches (mainly including: the suboccipital nerve arising from the posterior branch of the C1 nerve root, the greater occipital nerve arising from the posterior branches of the C2 and C3 nerve roots, the third occipital nerve arising from the posterior branch of the C3 nerve root, and the lesser occipital and greater auricular nerves arising from the anterior branches of the C2 and C3 nerve roots). Data show that 70% of cervicogenic headaches originate from C2-3 facet joint lesions. Therefore, pathological changes inside and outside the spinal canal can become potential causes of cervicogenic headache. Low-lying cervical nerve roots may also be a potential cause of cervicogenic headaches.

Differential diagnosis of cervicogenic headache

Today, the International CEH Research Group has determined the diagnostic criteria for CEH as follows: ① unilateral headache; ② restricted head and neck movements; ③ increased pain when the neck is in an unconventional position; ④ increased pain after weight bearing; ⑤ pain occurring in the shoulder and arm on the same side, and the nature of the pain is referred pain. It is worth emphasizing that diagnostic anesthetic block is one of the diagnostic criteria for CEH.

4. Examination of cervicogenic headache

Cervical vertebrae abnormalities found in cervical imaging or cerebral vasomotor dysfunction indicated by ultrasound blood flow imaging are important bases for diagnosing this disease. Functional plain radiographs are helpful in the clinical diagnosis of CEH, especially in patients with complex conditions and atypical symptoms. In addition, MRI showed that the frequency of morphological changes in the cervical attachment ligaments in CEH patients was significantly higher than that in migraine patients.