Diagnosis
For neck pain with headaches, the diagnosis is usually made on the basis of the findings of a targeted physical examination and the medical consultation. The physician asks the patient questions about the onset and trigger of the pain, exact localization, pain character and, if necessary, about improving or worsening circumstances. During the examination, the neck is scanned for possible palpable tension.
Body temperature is also frequently measured. During the examination, the physician pays particular attention to possible warning symptoms of a dangerous disease, such as high fever, which in the case of neck pain with headache can indicate meningitis. In most cases, however, the symptoms are not a threatening clinical picture and in most cases the diagnosis is a cervical spine syndrome. Sometimes the doctor will first initiate further diagnostic procedures such as laboratory blood tests.
TreatmentTherapy
How neck pain is treated with headaches depends on the cause of the complaints. In the rare cases in which an acute and possibly threatening disease is diagnosed, a targeted therapy is applied. For example, meningitis caused by bacteria must be treated as quickly as possible with an antibiotic given through the vein as part of an inpatient hospital stay.
In most cases, however, the cause of neck pain with headaches is harmless and the symptoms are caused by muscle tension and nerve irritation, for example. In these situations, treatment is carried out by means of general measures that help to alleviate the symptoms. Regular healthy exercise is of the utmost importance.
In addition, a short-term therapy with painkillers may be appropriate. Furthermore, heat treatments such as a visit to the sauna or irradiation with red light often provide relief. Passive measures such as massages can also contribute to an improvement of neck pain and headaches.
Exercise and sports as active measures should nevertheless always be part of the therapy. For acute complaints, back swimming or yoga are suitable, for example. In the case of neck pain with headaches, the decision whether cooling or warming is indicated should depend on the cause of the complaints.
Since in the majority of cases, tension in the neck muscles triggers the complaints, warming is usually better suited to relieve the symptoms. It makes no difference whether the patient is irradiated with red light or, for example, a heated cherry or spelt seed pillow is placed in the neck.In any case, care should be taken not to apply the heat for too long and not to let the neck get too hot, as otherwise burns of the skin may occur, which are additionally painful. By applying heat at an appropriate level such as three times a day for ten minutes of red light irradiation, blood circulation is stimulated and a loosening of the muscle fibers is encouraged.
However, if an inflammation or injury is the cause of neck pain with headache, the application of heat is not appropriate. If necessary, temporary cooling may provide relief. However, this should not delay going to the doctor, which is usually recommended for such pain causes.
There are a variety of possible exercises that can lead to improvement in neck pain with headaches, provided they are performed correctly and regularly. Two exercises are described here as examples. The first one is to stand upright, look straight ahead and slowly tilt your head to one side.
This position is held for ten seconds. Then slowly return the head to the normal position and repeat the exercise on the other side. There should be two passes each time.
When the head is tilted, the other shoulder can be lowered slightly if necessary. However, no movement beyond a slight pulling should be performed. In the second exercise, stand upright and slowly lower the child towards the chest as far as possible or until a slight pulling occurs in the neck.
This position is held for ten seconds. Then lift the head again, slowly tilt it back and look up. This position is also held for ten seconds and then the exercise is repeated.
In case of new strong pain, a previous accident, fever or dizziness, a doctor should be consulted instead of doing exercises. Taping with special elastic bands can be an effective method to achieve relief from neck pain with headaches. It is important that the taping is done professionally by a trained person.
Only through a precise knowledge of the anatomical course of the muscles and the function of the tapes, an effective application of the tapes can be achieved. The tapes are available in different degrees of flexibility and are applied on the right and left side of the spine in case of neck pain with headache, for example in the course of the hood muscle starting from the back of the head. Together with active movement, taping helps to release muscular tension.
As a rule, the tapes can be left in place until they are released, which is usually after a few days. They do not need to be covered up when showering. If you suffer from frequent or prolonged neck pain with headaches, you can try to relieve the symptoms by taking homeopathically effective medications to support the pain.
The choice of a suitable preparation should be based on the quality of the complaints as well as on triggering and alleviating factors. As an example, for knocking, hammering headaches, which occur particularly in the morning, improve when lying on the right side and are worsened by sunlight, the remedy with the ingredient Srium muriaticum C30 with the potency D12 is the right choice. Five globules should be taken three times a day. In the case of very pronounced complaints or if fever also occurs, a treatment with homeopathy alone is not indicated. Instead, a medical clarification of the cause of the neck pain with headache should be carried out first.
