Headaches a common painful condition could be caused by neck pain, according to researchers at the University Hospitals of Ulm and Rechts der Isar in Munich, Germany. To reach this conclusion, they conducted a study whose results were presented at the annual conference of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.
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The study
Trapezius Muscles
In the study, the team wanted to study the involvement of the trapezius muscles in primary headaches, i.e. tension headaches and migraines. For the study, the authors recruited 50 people, mostly women, between 20 and 31 years old. Of the participants, 16 suffered from tension headaches, and 12 from tension headaches accompanied by migraine attacks. The rest of the cohort were in good health.
All adults underwent a 3D turbo spin echo MRI. Bilateral trapezius muscles were manually segmented and then extracted. Associations between muscle values and the presence of neck pain, number of days of headache, and number of days of myofascial pain were analyzed. The researchers also took into account patients’ age, gender, and body mass index.
The results
According to the results, the group with tension headaches and migraines had the highest muscle values. Increased muscle values can be interpreted as a surrogate of inflammation originating in the nervous system and increased sensitivity of nerve fibers in myofascial tissues. “Quantified inflammatory changes in neck muscles correlated significantly with the number of days of headache and the presence of subjectively perceived neck pain,” study author Dr. Nico Sollmann explained in a press release.
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According to the team, neck muscle mapping could be used to identify patients suffering from primary headaches and to monitor the potential effects of treatments. “Our results confirm the role of neck muscles in the pathophysiology of primary headache. Treatments targeting the neck muscles could therefore lead to simultaneous relief of neck pain and headache.” Dr. Nico Sollmann said non-invasive treatment options that directly target the site of neck muscle pain could be highly effective and safer than systemic drugs.
Final Thoughts
By Identifying the link between neck pain and headaches this study offers new hope. It opens doors to treatments that directly address the source of pain, potentially reducing the need for systemic headache drugs and shifting the treatment goal to relieving neck inflammation instead, possibly through rehabilitation and holistic lifestyle changes.
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References
RSNA Media Relations. (2023, November 29). Common Headaches Tied to Neck Inflammation. Retrieved December 3, 2023, from https://press.rsna.org/timssnet/media/pressreleases/14_pr_target.cfm?ID=2475
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