A herniated disc headache is one of the many symptoms often blamed on disc herniations in the cervical spine. While it is possible to experience headaches in conjunction with a cervical bulging disc, it is unlikely.
Headaches are the most well known mindbody pain condition and the most prevalent types, tension and migraine headaches, seem to be virtually universally sourced by regional ischemia.
In my experience, although many headaches are blamed on disc issues in the neck, most are simply oxygen deprivation syndromes which are at work, causing the head pain, neck pain and various neurological symptoms all being blamed on the innocent spinal disc. Of course, this is not a blanket statement, since some cervical herniations can actually affect the localized musculature, which may contribute to some varieties of tension headaches, particularly at the base of the skull, while others may affect particular neurological tracts inside the spinal cord itself.
This article will investigate possible links between headaches and herniations, but will also explore other possible causes and contributors to neck and head pain conditions.
Structural Herniated Disc Headache
Herniated discs which are having a significant mass effect on the actual spinal cord may be able to create headaches, dizziness, vertigo and other odd symptoms in the head, even though the herniation exists below the level of symptomatic activity. These scenarios have been documented, but are still not readily accepted by medical science and are quite rare.
A few years back, I was experiencing a variety of strange symptoms in my head, including those listed above, and was diagnosed with 6 herniated discs in the neck. Originally, these were discounted as the source of symptoms, but then reintroduced as a possibility. However, I found that these 6 herniations, like most, were likely to be coincidental or only contributory to the disconcerting symptoms, since the herniations remain, but the symptoms change often and some have resolved completely.
Herniated Disc Headache Scapegoat
Many careless doctors and chiropractors will blame every potential anatomical symptom on a herniated disc. I have seen this countless times and have experienced it myself, ad nauseum. No matter how illogical, symptoms somehow get related back to the known herniated disc. I used to experience terrible headaches which were, at the time, blamed on 2 herniated discs in my lower back. This is nonsense at its best, when the headaches turned out to be just another of the many symptomatic expressions of ischemia and completely resolved, along with the back pain, using the proven alternative medical techniques offered by knowledge therapy.
Even the best intentioned caregivers must be very careful how they blame spinal abnormalities for pain. Doing this can impart a serious nocebo effect to patients, making them unlikely to recover from their pain ever. Of course, it goes without saying that doctors and therapists who implicate structural issues mistakenly and on purpose, for the sake of profitable ongoing treatment, should be prosecuted for criminal fraud and will hopefully face a dire karmic price someday.
Are Your Headaches Caused by a Herniated Disc?
I know it is so easy to blame chronic headaches on a cervical herniated disc. In some cases, this may turn out to be the actual situation at hand. However, do not assume it is so. Instead, learn the facts about herniated discs and realize that those headaches may just be proof positive that the disc is not responsible for causing any pain or neurological symptoms at all.
In fact, the headaches may help diagnose an oxygen deprivation syndrome for what it really is, freeing you from the disappointing cycle of useless herniated disc treatments. After all, if the disc was the source, wouldn’t all those expensive therapies have cured it by now?
Herniated Disc > Herniated Disc Symptoms > Herniated Disc Headache
