Having neck pain at the base of your skull might seem bad enough, but the causes of this pain can lead to other painful issues, too. Pain in this area is often caused by overly tight suboccipital muscles, which are located at the base of the skull. The pain could also be related to pinching or irritation of the occipital nerves. These nerves run up from the top two neck vertebrae, and they run up into the scalp. Either of these causes of neck pain could lead to other issues.
- Tension headaches
Neck pain at the base of the skull can also morph into a tension headache. This is especially likely if your suboccipital muscles are too tense, and tension in these muscles is common in people who spend lots of time working on a computer or mobile device. From the initial pain in the neck, tension headaches can cause a feeling of tightness in the back, sides and front of the head. These headaches often last for hours. In many cases, finding ways to reduce the tension in the suboccipital muscles can help treat a tension headache. These treatments might include therapeutic stretching exercises or other types of physical therapy.
- Migraines
Migraines are another problem that can stem from neck pain at the base of the skull. The pain this issue leads to is typically stronger than that of a tension headache. In addition, migraines can cause several symptoms that tension headaches don’t. An example of one of these symptoms is nausea, and people with migraines can also experience blurred vision or sensitivity to light. It’s also common for migraine symptoms to get worse when you move around. As a result, physical therapy for this issue may have to wait until your symptoms subside.
Find help with neck pain at the base of the skull at Peak Performance
Peak Performance has six physical therapy clinics located in North Carolina, and we want to help you find out why there’s pain at the base of your skull. Pinpointing the cause of your pain can be done by coming in for a free screening. After we figure out the source of your pain, we’ll build you an individualized therapy plan to treat it. Our plans include multiple therapy techniques, and therapy techniques that could be included in your plan are:
- Therapeutic exercises
- Manual therapy
- Anodyne® therapy
- Ergonomic training
Contact us today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment to begin treating your neck pain.
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