Cervicogenic Headache – When the Neck Is the Culprit

Many people experience headaches that start in the back of the head or upper neck, often radiating over the skull or behind the eyes. Unlike migraines or tension-type headaches, these are usually provoked by neck movement, poor posture, or prolonged positions—making it clear that the neck itself is the primary driver. This is what we refer to as a cervicogenic headache.

The upper cervical spine is densely packed with sensitive joints, nerves, and muscles that share pathways with the nerves supplying the head and face. When this region becomes irritated—through strain, sustained postures, or even low-level inflammation—it can create referred pain that’s felt as a headache. But that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong or damaged in the structure itself.

Our job is first to rule out any sinister causes of headache (such as vascular or neurological issues), and once those are excluded, we can confidently treat what’s usually a problem of sensitivity, not structural failure. Most cases involve protective muscle tension, joint irritation, or sensitised neural pathways that keep firing even though there’s no ongoing injury.

Treatment typically involves hands-on techniques to reduce stiffness or muscular guarding in the upper cervical joints, followed by simple movement strategies that restore normal motion and reduce overactivity. Breathing patterns, sleep habits, and stress levels often need to be addressed as well, since they play a large role in keeping the system “on edge.”

Improvement is often noticeable within a few sessions, especially once the pattern is identified and patients begin to move with more confidence. Recovery timelines can vary, but most people experience a marked reduction in headache frequency and intensity within 2–6 weeks.

To prevent recurrence, we work on restoring balance through the neck and upper back, strengthening support muscles, and reducing habits that keep the neck in a braced or overloaded state. With the right guidance, cervicogenic headaches often become far less frequent—and far less worrying.

TMJ (Jaw) Problems – More Than Just a Click

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) issues often begin subtly—perhaps a dull ache while chewing or a noticeable click when yawning. Over time, the discomfort can become more persistent, sometimes radiating to the ear, face, or neck, and even leading to headaches. People are often concerned that something is out of place or damaged in the jaw, but this is rarely the case.

The TMJ is a highly mobile joint, influenced not only by the jaw muscles but also by the neck, posture, emotional state, and even breathing patterns. When problems arise, it’s usually not due to a defect in the joint itself but rather an overactive protective response from the body—tight muscles, altered movement patterns, or hypersensitive pain pathways.

Effective treatment doesn’t revolve around trying to reposition the jaw or apply aggressive manual techniques. Instead, we start by ruling out serious pathology or joint damage (which is uncommon), and then shift the focus to helping the body feel safe enough to reduce its protective response. This might include targeted exercises for the neck and jaw, breathing retraining, postural advice, and strategies to calm irritated muscles and nerves.

Recovery typically occurs over several weeks, though the timeline depends on how long symptoms have been present and how entrenched habits like clenching or bracing may be. The key is not to chase the “perfect bite” but to restore confidence in the joint’s function and desensitise the surrounding system.

Long-term relief is best supported by learning how to manage stress, improving neck function, and addressing habits like nocturnal clenching or overuse of the jaw during the day. With the right approach, TMJ issues usually become a thing of the past—not through fixing something broken, but by settling down a system that's simply on high alert.

Core Stability

The concept of “core” strength and it’s role in back pain and rehabilitative exercise programs emerged from research carried out in the early 1990s. The popularity of core stability training soared as this research made its way into the practice patterns of clinicians and trainers throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s. The message that has long since been propagated is two fold:

1. that a weak core predisposes one to lower back injury and pain

2. that the resolution of back pain is contingent upon strengthening of the core

We now know that there is more to back pain than what is implied by these two propositions… things just aren’t that black and white. The utility of the core stability concept is also hampered by inconsistencies in the operational definitions of the “core” across and within health and fitness professions. Some will define “the core” as it was initially described in the research by Paul Hodges. That being the canister formed by the diaphragm, transversus abdominus and the pelvic floor. Others will describe “the core” as including all the trunk muscles, hip and buttocks muscles.

We can’t really say that a “weak core” causes back problems, or that we need to “work on the core” to fix back problems, because we can’t even agree on what we mean when we talk about “the core”. And even if we could agree on a definition, back pain is a really complex phenomenon. Reaching agreement on what constitutes a “weak” versus a “strong” core, and then linking that to one’s back pain in a cause / effect manner is very challenging.

So where to from here? 

The one thing we can be pretty sure about is that exercise helps people with back pain. So I think it makes sense for back pain sufferers to engage in an exercise program of some sort. The specific type of exercise one chooses to engage in really boils down to personal preference. The research is generally equivocal when it comes to asking the question “which type of exercise is the best for back pain?”

I guess we could say that “core exercises” are a type of exercise for back pain. However, since there are varied definitions of what constitutes “the core”, we see different types of programs emerging in the exercise rehabilitation scene. The different types of exercise programs sit on a spectrum ranging from very specific, targeted transversus abdmominus training, to more global trunk, hips and buttocks training.

Specific training of the transversus abdominus

The exercise programs that have been developed to train the transversus abdominus (and other groups such as lumbar multifidus, horizontal fibres of internal oblique) in isolation, perhaps with the assistance of real time ultrasound, provide patients with a novel perspective for understanding the role of motor output in their back pain. I think there is value in the process of learning how to be more aware of what it feels like to contract some groups of muscles near the spine, but not others. People with lower back pain are often very sensitive and reactive to movement or loading of the spine. I suspect that the gentle, small amplitude, low effort movements that characterise specific transversus abdominus training sharpen one’s awareness of movement in the lower back and help restore normal sensitivity to movement in the lower back.

I tend to prescribe this type of exercise to back pain patients who are still in an acute or perhaps just into subacute phase following a recent episode of low back pain. I think it’s important to reiterate though, that I don’t think the benefit lies within “strengthening” of any particular muscle group. Rather, I argue that when this type of thoughtful movement helps with symptoms, it has helped because the movement brought about a reduction in protective tensioning of the trunk musculature. Very often, my focus for the acutely painful lower back patient, is gentle, very low load active movement of the spinal segments in multiple planes, without any particular attention to which muscle is “on” or which is “off”.

As a patient becomes less symptomatic with a course of treatment, or with the natural course of recovery following injury, I like to progress the extent to which we load the spine while a patient attempts to control movement in the lower back or limbs. Again, early in the process, this is more about normalizing the sensitivity of the nerve pathways in and around the lower back than it is with any specific strength gains. It is quite normal for a patient to reports “feeling stronger” from these exercises, but I attribute this experience of “feeling stronger” to a shift out of a “protective” holding pattern.

Higher load and Higher Intensity Exercises

Typically, when a trainer defines “the core” as including all the trunk, hip and buttocks muscles, their “core” workouts tend to be more intense and involve bigger movements and greater loading than the more specific transversus abdominus protocols. Some examples of exercise that spring to mind include, “planks” or “bridges”. There really aren’t many limitations on a “core exercise” when the definition of the core is so broadly framed… under such a broad definition, one could argue that running is a core exercise.

I think these types of higher load, higher intensity exercises are useful for patients who have moved beyond the subacute phase of an episode of back pain. Once a patient is at this point in their rehabilitation, I think we are able to load the system enough to see some measurable changes in “strength” and functional measures that relate specifically to the patients goals, occupation or recreational activities. Putting in place a plan to systematically increase the intensity, frequency or duration of load on a patient’s lower back is a good idea in my books. The key is to make sure that the load parameters are appropriate for the specific patient.

The Core of the problem

Whether or not all these exercises should be described as “core” exercises is really a matter of semantics. I tend to suspect that those who argue very strongly for a very narrow, or a very broad definition of what constitutes “the core”, usually have a vested interest in having it defined in a particular way. I tend to take a view that the terms core stability, core strength, weak core, etc etc have been so loosely defined and reinvented so broadly and so often, for so long that none of them mean anything in particular.

So I tend to steer away from describing any exercises I prescribe as being specifically directed at “the core”. It doesn’t make sense to propagate confusion and misunderstanding among my patients. It makes far more sense to me to frame any prescribed exercises in terms of the patient’s activity limitations, and the mechanism by which the prescribed exercise is thought to assist that limitation.

Whiplash Injury & Whiplash Associated Disorder

Whiplash is the term used to broadly classify injuries resulting from a sudden acceleration / deceleration of the head and neck. The common example is the whiplash motion of the head in motor vehicle accident. Other common scenarios that involve a whiplash motion of the head and neck include a heavy fall onto one’s buttocks or back, resulting in sudden jerking back motion of the head. Similarly, sports involving high force body collisions can create whiplash scenarios.

If you have suffered a whiplash injury, particularly a high force injury such as a car crash, it is important to have the injury assessed by a doctor or physio. We can assess your condition to determine whether or not it is necessary for you to have diagnostic imaging such as an x-ray carried out. The purpose of the x-ray would be to rule out the presence of a suspected fracture to one of your neck bones. In the event that a fracture is present, you will likely be admitted to hospital for monitoring and treatment. Depending on the severity of the fracture, you could require surgery.

When the assessment reveals that there is no fracture, or no clinical signs of a fracture or other serious structural pathology, conservative (meaning non invasive, non surgical) management is indicated. This is where our role as physios is really important. If you’ve had a whiplash, and we know that there is no structural damage that has occurred to your neck, it is really important to commence a guided and graded return to your normal occupational and recreational activities sooner rather than later.

For most whiplash patients, the early days and weeks are very difficult. Typically the neck is very stiff and painful. There may also be associated symptoms such as pins and needles in your arms. Or you may have a headache, dizziness, nausea, a feeling of fatigue, cloudiness or vagueness. If the whiplash injury was a traumatic event like a car crash, you may also be dealing with flashbacks, anxiety or other changes to your emotional stability. Your sleep may be affected by any of these factors.

In short, whiplash injuries are difficult to recover from. The best way to ensure that your whiplash injury is painful and disabling for only a few months rather than years or decades, is to commence treatment early. An early assessment leads to more timely referrals to appropriate services. In addition to Physio, it’s not uncommon for your GP to include psychologists, social workers and other specialists in the management of a whiplash injury. Early assessment allows for more effective education with respect to the pathophysiology of a whiplash injury and your prognosis. Having an understanding of what is going on, and what is likely to happen at the next step, and the next step really helps whiplash patients get through the acute and subacute phases of the rehabilitation with less risk of developing chronic symptoms.

Generally, the early phases of whiplash management involve lots of education, reassurance, manual therapy and gentle exercise. Following that is a steady progression away from passive treatments such as manual therapy, towards active movement and exercise programs.

If you’re a Coogee or Eastern suburbs local and have had a whiplash injury, why not call us to discuss your treatment options on 9665 9667. You can speak directly with Pat our clinic owner to work out the best course of action for your scenario. Alternatively, feel free to complete the form below and we will get in touch with you to answer any questions you may have.