Tension Headache & Cervicogenic Headache Relief

Tension-type headaches and cervicogenic headaches are among the most common chronic pain conditions in adults, and among the most poorly managed because they are frequently treated symptomatically (with analgesia) rather than addressing the cervical spine and muscular drivers that generate them. A cervicogenic headache originates from the upper cervical spine: the joints, muscles, and nerve structures of C1, C2, and C3 that refer pain into the suboccipital region, the temples, and the forehead through the trigeminocervical nucleus. Tension headache has a similar cervical component, with the addition of pericranial muscle tenderness and the sustained contraction of the upper trapezius, levator scapulae, and suboccipital muscles that accumulates through long hours at a screen.

Physiotherapy for both headache types works through direct mobilisation of the upper cervical joints, dry needling of the suboccipital and cervical muscles, therapeutic exercise for the deep cervical flexors and rotators, and postural correction to address the sustained forward head position that drives ongoing cervical loading. Results are typically rapid (most patients see significant improvement within three to four sessions) and importantly, durable, because the treatment addresses the mechanical cause rather than masking the symptom.