Head and neck pain, whether, throbbing or stabbing, is known as headache.
Sometimes it is not only confined to the head but also includes pain from the neck that is why it was termed as head and neck pain.
There are three kinds of headaches: tension headache, migraine and cervigogenic headache.
These are categorized as primary headaches.
Tension headache is also considered as a muscular headache that can result to head and neck pain.
These are caused by muscles which stiffened or become taut especially those found in the neck or the face.
The pain though is not isolated in the head itself but it also affects the neck area.
Head and neck pain oftentimes begins in the area around the eye unto the neck and other muscle groups.
Recurring or chronic headaches or head and neck pain are felt by around for four percent of the population.
These are usually caused by a wide variety of reasons like having a less than healthy lifestyle like not getting enough sleep or skipping meals.
Head and neck pain can also be due to incorrect posture.
An awkward position also strains the muscles resulting to the cramping or tension which ultimately becomes a tension headache that could result to head and neck pain.
It also is caused by stress.
This type of head and neck pain is the most common of all.
Migraine is a headache whose cause is the swelling of the blood vessels and a chemical release which surrounds these blood vessels.
This kind of headache is usually throbbing and affects only half of the head that could also lead to head and neck pain.
Cervicogenic headache on the other hand usually starts within the neck structures.
The pain is then felt in the neck and the head.
The neck, which one of the weaker parts of the body, can cause a brutal pain headache.
Neck movements that go on for an extended period of time or sudden shift or motion of the neck can result to a cervicogenic headache or a head and neck pain.
The doctor has to make a thorough examination of the patient to determine if it is really a cervigogenic headache or a head and neck pain.
Just like the other types of head and neck pain, it is difficult to ascertain if it is indeed a cervigogenic headache or a head and neck pain.
It cannot be identified through x-rays.
Determining the cause of such head and neck pain is also hard and requires a meticulous examination by the doctor.
Its symptoms run to a gamut of manifestations like nausea, pain emanating from the back of or inside the eye or relentless pain from the neck up to the head.
The head and neck pain experienced can overwhelm the patient to an extent that it affects his daily life.
It can upset one's day to day existence.
The patient cannot accomplish much because of the throbbing or pulsating pain in the neck and head area.
It is not common for a patient to have a chronic cervigogenic headache though there are exceptional cases wherein one may experience frequent or repeated attacks.
Drug injections or physical therapy are employed to take care of the head and neck pain as well as the other symptoms of cervicogenic headache.
These treatments should be administered by a highly qualified medical practitioner with the use of an x-ray guide.
Due to the complexity of that part of the anatomy, a mistake in the injection can prove to be costly.