Is Your Neck Causing Your Headaches? | Springfield IL Chiropractor

You’ve had the headaches for years. Maybe they’re daily. Maybe they come in clusters, or always hit the same side, or start at the base of your skull and work their way forward. You’ve tried the medications — triptans, NSAIDs, preventives. Some of them help for a while. None of them have made the headaches stop.

At some point, most chronic headache sufferers start wondering whether something is being missed. Whether there’s a root cause that the medications aren’t touching. Whether the headache itself is a symptom of something — not the problem itself.

In a significant number of cases, the answer is yes. And the something being missed is the cervical spine.

The Neck-Headache Connection Most People Don’t Know About

Your neck and your head share a neurological neighborhood in ways that most headache treatment doesn’t account for.

The upper three cervical nerve roots — C1, C2, and C3 — converge with the trigeminal nerve (the primary sensory nerve of the head and face) in a region of the brainstem called the trigeminal cervical nucleus. This convergence means that pain signals originating in the upper cervical spine can be perceived as pain in the head — in the forehead, behind the eyes, at the temples, across the top of the skull, or anywhere in the trigeminal distribution.

In plain language: your brain can’t always tell the difference between a signal coming from your neck and a signal coming from your head. It processes them through the same neurological pathway. And when the upper cervical spine is generating chronic irritation — because of misalignment, muscular tension, restricted movement, or nerve compression — that irritation can manifest as a headache every single time.

This is the neurological basis of cervicogenic headache. It’s not a new concept — it’s been documented in the medical literature for decades. But it’s still systematically underdiagnosed in clinical practice, because the standard headache workup focuses on the head: neurological exams, brain imaging, and pharmaceutical management. The neck is rarely evaluated with the precision needed to identify cervicogenic involvement.

What Is a Cervicogenic Headache?

A cervicogenic headache is a headache that originates from structures in the cervical spine — joints, muscles, discs, or nerves — but is felt in the head. The International Headache Society defines it as a secondary headache disorder, meaning it’s caused by an identifiable structural problem in the neck rather than originating in the brain or cranial structures themselves.

Cervicogenic headaches have several characteristic features that distinguish them from primary headache disorders like migraine and tension-type headache:

Pain typically begins in the neck or base of the skull and radiates forward
One-sided pain that doesn’t shift sides
Headache triggered or worsened by specific neck movements or sustained postures
Reduced range of motion in the cervical spine
Tenderness over the upper cervical joints and muscles
History of neck trauma — even minor, even years ago

The challenge is that cervicogenic headaches frequently coexist with migraine and tension-type headache — meaning a patient can have all three simultaneously, with the cervicogenic component amplifying the frequency and severity of the other two. Treating the migraine pharmacologically without addressing the cervicogenic driver is like treating smoke without the fire.

The Types of Headaches Most Likely to Have a Cervical Component

Cervicogenic Headaches

By definition, these originate in the cervical spine. The most common source is the C1-C2-C3 joint complex and the suboccipital musculature — the structures immediately beneath the skull. Misalignment at the atlas and axis is a primary driver. Pain typically starts at the base of the skull or in the upper neck and spreads to the forehead, eye, or temple. It’s often provoked by turning the head, looking up, or sustained positions like reading or computer work.

Occipital Neuralgia

A specific pain syndrome involving irritation or compression of the greater or lesser occipital nerves — nerves that originate at C2 and C3 and run up through the suboccipital musculature into the scalp. The pain is often described as sharp, shooting, or electric — traveling from the base of the skull up and over the top of the head. Occipital neuralgia is frequently misdiagnosed as migraine and is often driven by upper cervical misalignment compressing or irritating the occipital nerve roots.

Migraines With a Cervical Trigger

Not all migraines have a cervical component. But a significant proportion of migraine sufferers have identifiable cervical triggers — neck tension or stiffness that reliably precedes or accompanies migraine onset. In these patients, the migraine threshold is lowered by chronic cervical irritation. Addressing the cervical component doesn’t eliminate the migraine predisposition, but it often reduces the frequency and severity of attacks by removing a consistent trigger.

Tension-Type Headaches

The most common headache type — often described as a band of pressure around the head. While tension-type headaches have multiple contributors, upper cervical dysfunction is a frequently overlooked one. Chronic muscle tension in the suboccipital and upper cervical region creates persistent mechanical irritation that can sustain tension-type headaches even when other triggers are managed.

Post-Concussion Headaches

Headaches are the most common and persistent symptom following a concussion. They frequently have a significant cervicogenic component — because head injuries almost always involve upper cervical trauma, even when imaging appears normal. Post-concussion headaches that haven’t resolved with standard care often improve dramatically when the cervical component is identified and treated precisely.

Whiplash-Associated Headaches

Headaches following whiplash injuries are extremely common and notoriously difficult to treat through conventional means. The mechanism is structural: whiplash disrupts the upper cervical joints and ligaments, creating chronic instability that generates persistent cervicogenic pain referred into the head. Without correcting the underlying structural problem, the headaches will continue regardless of how much medication is taken.

Why Standard Headache Treatment Often Misses This

The pharmaceutical approach to headache management is built around the assumption that headaches are primarily a neurological or vascular event — triggered by cortical spreading depression in migraine, by central sensitization in chronic daily headache, or by muscular contraction in tension-type headache. Medications work by modifying those mechanisms: triptans constrict blood vessels, CGRP antagonists block the inflammatory peptide implicated in migraine, preventive medications raise the threshold for headache onset.

None of these mechanisms address the cervical spine.

When a headache has a significant cervicogenic component, medication can reduce the perceived severity of pain but it cannot correct the structural problem generating the signal in the first place. The C2 nerve root is still being irritated by the misaligned atlas. The suboccipital muscles are still under chronic tension from the restricted upper cervical joints. The trigeminal cervical nucleus is still receiving pain input from the neck. As long as that input continues, the headaches will continue — at whatever frequency and severity the medication allows.

This is why many chronic headache patients feel like they’re managing their condition rather than resolving it. Because they are. And the thing that would actually resolve it — identifying and correcting the structural cervical component — is rarely part of the conversation.

What Assessment Actually Looks Like for Cervicogenic Headaches

Identifying cervicogenic headache requires assessing the cervical spine with enough precision to find structural problems that standard imaging and examination often miss. At Keystone Chiropractic, that assessment includes several tools that most headache workups don’t use.

CBCT Cone Beam CT Imaging

Standard X-rays show bone in two dimensions. They can miss the subtle rotational and translational misalignments at the atlas and axis that generate cervicogenic headache. CBCT cone beam CT imaging produces a three-dimensional model of the upper cervical spine — revealing the precise position and orientation of C1 and C2 in a way that no flat X-ray can replicate.

At Keystone Chiropractic, no correction is made without this imaging. For headache patients specifically, the CBCT findings frequently show atlas misalignment patterns that explain the lateralization of their headache — why it always hits on the left, or why rotation to one side reliably triggers it. Seeing that correspondence between the structural finding and the symptom pattern is often the clinical moment that makes everything make sense.

Infrared Thermography

Thermographic scanning measures asymmetrical heat patterns along the spine — an objective indicator of nerve irritation and neurological stress. In headache patients, upper cervical thermographic asymmetry is common and correlates with the side and pattern of pain. It provides objective evidence of neurological imbalance that supports the clinical picture and tracks improvement throughout care.

The NeckCare System

The NeckCare System adds a functional dimension to the assessment that imaging alone doesn’t provide. Three tests are particularly relevant for headache patients:

Cervical Range of Motion — restrictions in specific directions of neck movement, particularly rotation and extension, are strongly associated with cervicogenic headache. The NeckCare device measures these restrictions in precise degrees rather than visual estimation, often revealing asymmetries between sides that correlate directly with the headache pattern.

The Joint Position Error Test — measuring proprioceptive accuracy of the upper cervical spine. Proprioceptive dysfunction in the cervical spine is a documented feature of cervicogenic headache and contributes to the chronic muscle tension patterns that sustain it. Many headache patients show elevated error scores on this test — objective evidence of sensory dysfunction that no standard headache evaluation measures.

The Butterfly Test® — evaluating sensorimotor coordination between the neck, eyes, and nervous system. For headache patients who also experience visual disturbances, light sensitivity, or the sense that their head and eyes aren’t working together smoothly, this test frequently shows the integration deficits that explain those symptoms.

Together these assessments give Dr. Schurger a complete picture of how the cervical spine is contributing to the headache pattern — before any correction is made.

How Blair Upper Cervical Care Addresses Cervicogenic Headaches

The correction at Keystone Chiropractic is performed using the Blair Upper Cervical Technique — a precise, gentle, low-force adjustment to the atlas and axis calculated specifically from the patient’s CBCT imaging findings. No twisting. No cracking. No forceful manipulation of the neck.

When the atlas correction is made and the spine holds it, several things change for headache patients:

The mechanical irritation at the C1-C2-C3 joint complex is reduced. The suboccipital musculature — which has been chronically contracted in response to the misalignment — begins to release. The convergence of cervical and trigeminal pain signals at the trigeminal cervical nucleus receives less input from the neck. The proprioceptive signaling from the upper cervical spine begins to normalize.

The result, for patients with significant cervicogenic involvement, is typically a reduction in headache frequency first — fewer triggers, longer headache-free periods — followed by a reduction in severity as the nervous system adapts to the corrected alignment.

Progress is tracked objectively throughout care. Repeat NeckCare assessments show range of motion expanding, proprioceptive error decreasing, and sensorimotor coordination improving. Thermographic reassessment shows the neurological stress patterns normalizing. For patients who have spent years measuring their progress by how many headache days they have this month versus last — seeing those functional numbers change is a different kind of confirmation that something real is happening.

Signs Your Headaches May Have a Cervical Component

Not every headache is cervicogenic. But these features, present individually or in combination, suggest the cervical spine deserves a thorough evaluation:

Headaches that consistently start at the base of the skull or in the upper neck
Headaches that are always worse on the same side
Headaches triggered by specific neck movements — turning, looking up, sustained postures
Headaches that worsen after prolonged screen time, driving, or desk work
Neck stiffness or soreness that precedes or accompanies headaches
A history of neck trauma — whiplash, sports injury, fall — before chronic headaches began
Post-concussion headaches that haven’t fully resolved
Headaches that don’t fully respond to migraine medication
Headaches accompanied by dizziness or vertigo
Headaches accompanied by jaw pain or TMJ symptoms

If several of these apply, the upper cervical spine is almost certainly part of your headache picture. And it’s worth finding out with a thorough evaluation — not just another prescription.

A Note on Dr. Schurger’s Training

Cervicogenic headache sits at the intersection of neurology, upper cervical anatomy, and chiropractic technique — which is exactly the territory that Dr. Schurger’s post-doctoral training covers in depth.

As a Diplomate in Chiropractic Craniocervical Junction Procedures (DCCJP), Dr. Schurger completed a three-year program involving approximately 300 hours of advanced coursework in craniocervical junction anatomy, neuroscience, and upper cervical procedures. He is a Blair Upper Cervical Advanced Instructor and has taught neurology and upper cervical anatomy at Logan University College of Chiropractic and to practitioners in the Gonstead organization.

For a patient dealing with a complex headache disorder that may have a cervicogenic component, that depth of training in the anatomy and neurology of the craniocervical junction is exactly what the evaluation requires.

What to Expect at Your First Visit

Your first appointment at Keystone Chiropractic is a thorough evaluation — not an adjustment visit. Dr. Schurger takes a detailed headache history: onset, pattern, triggers, what you’ve tried, and whether there’s been any head or neck trauma in your past. The evaluation then includes thermographic assessment, postural and neurological testing, CBCT cone beam CT imaging, and the NeckCare System assessment.

Every finding is reviewed with you before any recommendation is made. If the evaluation shows that upper cervical misalignment is contributing to your headaches, Dr. Schurger will explain exactly what was found, what it means, and what care looks like from there. If the evaluation doesn’t show a clear cervicogenic component, he’ll tell you that — and help you think through what might be a better next step.

No pressure. No contracts. No guesswork.

The Question Worth Asking

If you’ve been dealing with chronic headaches for months or years — and you’ve been through medications, neurologist appointments, and other forms of care without lasting relief — the question worth asking is this:

Has anyone evaluated my upper cervical spine with the precision needed to find out whether it’s driving my headaches?

Not a basic X-ray. Not a manual examination. A thorough structural and functional assessment of the craniocervical junction — CBCT imaging, thermography, range of motion, proprioceptive accuracy — that can tell you definitively whether your neck is part of the problem.

For many chronic headache patients, that evaluation is the first step toward a different kind of answer.

Schedule your headache evaluation at Keystone Chiropractic →

Or call us directly: (217) 698-7900

Keystone Chiropractic | 450 S Durkin Drive, Ste B, Springfield, IL 62704 | (217) 698-7900
Dr. Frederick Schurger, DC, DCCJP — Blair Upper Cervical Chiropractor serving Springfield and Central Illinois since 2007.

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