Research associates common headaches with neck inflammation

Researchers have discovered empirical evidence of how the neck muscles are implicated in primary headaches. Presented at the annual conference of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), the study can lead to better treatments.
Nico Sollmann, M D, Ph D, said, “Our imaging approach provides first objective evidence for the very frequent involvement of the neck muscles in primary headaches, such as neck pain in migraine or tension-type headache, using the ability to quantify subtle inflammation within muscles.” Tension-type headaches affect two out of every three adults in the US. Such patients often feel a tightening in the head and mild to moderate dull pain on both sides of the head. While these headaches are typically associated with stress and muscle tension, their exact origin is not fully understood.
Primary headaches are frequently accompanied with neck pain. On the other hand, there are no objective biomarkers for
myofascial involvement. Inflammation or irritation of the muscle or the fascia, the connective tissue that envelops the muscle, is linked to myofascial pain.
Dr Sollman and associates sought to examine relationships between muscle T2 values and the frequency of headache and neck discomfort, as well as the role of the trapezius muscles in primary headache disorders using quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The muscular T2 values were highest in the group with tension-type headache combined migraine. There was a strong correlation found between muscle T2 and the amount of headache days and neck pain.