Is It Neck Strain or a Tension Headache?

You’ve been experiencing pain in your neck, as well as around the back of your head, in your shoulders, and even down into your upper back, and you’re wondering what’s causing the discomfort. Well, there might be two conditions at play here — neck strain and tension headaches — and they can very much overlap.

Tension headaches are incredibly common and affect anywhere from 30% to 78% of the general population, according to studies. The general population is also familiar with neck strain, especially given that Americans spend an average of slightly more than 7 hours a day looking at screens.

If you want to get to the bottom of the nagging pain around the top part of your body, you've come to the right place. The team here at World Medical Group dbs Neuropathy & Pain centers of Texas specializes in headaches, as well as neck pain, and we understand that there can be considerable crossover between the two.

First up, tension headaches

There are more than 150 different types of headaches, but tension headaches are the most common.

As the name suggests, tension headaches feel like your head is in a vice-like grip, as if there’s a band around your head that’s tightening. In addition to this pain, you might also feel pain or tension in your neck and shoulders.

These headaches can come and go, but if you have more than 15 per month, and this has been going on for three months or more, we consider that to be chronic tension headaches.

We don’t know exactly what causes tension headaches, but we’ve uncovered links to:

Stress and anxiety
Neck strain
Computer use
Sleep disorders
Arthritis in your neck

These issues can trigger the muscles around your head, scalp, and face to contract, creating the tension headache.

What’s behind neck strain

Now, let’s turn our attention to neck strain, which is very common in today’s world of sitting at desks and staring at screens. When we refer to neck strain, we’re mostly talking about the muscles in your neck, but it can also involve your cervical spine — the vertebrae in your neck — and degeneration in your intervertebral discs, which can lead to neck pain.

The primary culprits behind neck strain include:

Looking down at screens
Poor sitting posture
Sleep position
Injury, such as whiplash

As for what a neck strain feels like, it’s exactly that – nagging pain in your neck, as well as stiffness.

Differentiating between tension headaches and neck strain

Unless you can point to an acute injury, it can be tough to differentiate between a neck strain and a tension headache. That said, if you only feel the discomfort in your neck and not around your head, and turning your neck is stiff and painful, the problem is likely neck strain.

If your pain is more generalized and it’s hard to tell where it begins and ends around the top of your body, it’s likely you’re dealing with a tension headache.

Or, you might be dealing with both issues.

Whatever the case, we can help relieve the pain through:

Managing your workspace is also key, as is managing your stress. Improving your posture and reducing your anxiety can go a long way toward remedying both tension headaches and neck strain.

For help with your neck strain, tension headaches, or both, please contact one of our locations in Waco, Arlington, Wichita Falls, and Fort Worth, Texas, today to schedule an appointment. Call or send us a message online.