Brent Osborn-Smith

Headaches can be due to a number of causes from the trivial to the life-threatening. They can range from the mildly irritating to the profoundly disabling. A migraine is a severe headache that often has a number of associated symptoms, such as nausea, increased sensitivity, and visual problems.

 

Tension headaches can be exacerbated by stress and are often linked with tight muscles over the neck and shoulders. Headaches are often the most stubborn condition to clear but are almost always very amenable to osteopathic or acupuncture intervention.

 

Neck problems are common complaints, more frequently seen in women than in men. Most people will experience pain in the neck at some point in their life. Many people are also likely to be a "pain in the neck" at one time or another and this expression gives a clue about how closely a person's mind and their body work together. Having "a weight on our shoulders" and "putting one's back" into a project are also apt phrases that hint at how common and intrusive pain in this area can be. Pain in the neck can also be due to a trapped nerve caused by a bulge in one of the discs between the vertebrae, or from a sudden crick or locking of the very fragile joints in the upper spine itself. Whiplash happens when a sudden movement or jolt causes damage to the ligaments, tendons and muscles in the neck.