Cervicogenic headache: an assessment of the evidence on clinical diagnosis, invasive tests, and treatment
original abstract†Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
Cervicogenic headache is characterised by pain referred to the head from the cervical spine. Although the International Headache Society recognises this type of headache as a distinct disorder, some clinicians remain sceptical. Laboratory and clinical studies have shown that pain from upper cervical joints and muscles can be referred to the head. Clinical diagnostic criteria have not proved valid, but a cervical source of pain can be established by use of fluoroscopically guided, controlled, diagnostic nerve blocks. In this Review, we outline the basic science and clinical evidence for cervicogenic headache and indicate how opposing approaches to its definition and diagnosis affect the evidence for its clinical management. We provide recommendations that enable a pragmatic approach to the diagnosis and management of probable cervicogenic headache, as well as a rigorous approach to the diagnosis and management of definite cervical headache.
related content
- “International Headache Society headache diagnostic patterns in pain facility patients,” D A Fishbain, R Cutler, B Cole, H L Rosomoff, and R S Rosomoff, The Clinical Journal of Pain, 2001.
- “Prevalence of cervicogenic headache: Vågå study of headache epidemiology,” O Sjaastad and L S Bakketeig, Acta Neurol Scand, 2008.
- “Cervicogenic headache: evidence that the neck is a pain generator,” Werner J Becker, Headache, 2010.
- “Cervicogenic headache: the neck is a generator: con,” Maurice B Vincent, Headache, 2010.
- “The neck and headaches,” Nikolai Bogduk, Neurol Clin, 2014.
These two articles on PainScience.com cite Bogduk 2009 as a source:
- PS Complete Guide to Headaches — Detailed, readable self-help for tension headaches and other common musculoskeletal headaches
- PS Save Yourself from Neck Pain! — A complete guide to chronic neck pain and the disturbing sensation of a “crick”
This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:
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