Headaches · Gig Harbor

Headaches that start in the neck.

Many headaches start in the neck. Dr. Ahn knows this firsthand: chronic headaches are what chiropractic fixed for him at 16.

Sound familiar?

Tick the ones that fit.

Not a diagnosis. Just a quick way to see whether your pain has the pattern we treat every day.

It starts at the base of my skull and creeps forward.
It builds through a desk day and peaks in the evening.
My neck is stiff or tender on the days I have one.
It feels like a band or a pressure, not a pounding.
I catch myself with my head forward over a screen or phone.
It began after a car accident, a fall, or a bad sleep streak.

Tension-type and cervicogenic headaches come from tight muscles and restricted joints at the top of the spine. The pain is felt in the head, but the source is below it. Chiropractic care can reduce how often these headaches hit and how hard. Migraines are different, but they often have a neck component that we can treat alongside your physician’s care.

What it can feel like

A band-like pressure around the head
Pain that starts at the base of the skull and moves forward or behind one eye
Headaches that build through a desk day
Neck stiffness or tenderness that comes with the headache
Headaches since a car accident or fall

Common causes

Restricted joints at the top of the neck
Forward head posture from screens and phones
Jaw clenching and grinding
Eye strain, poor sleep and dehydration
Whiplash
Stress carried in the shoulders and neck

How we treat it

Care focuses on the upper neck and upper back: specific adjustments, soft-tissue release of the muscles under the skull, exercises for the deep neck muscles, and changes to your workstation and sleep setup. Most patients keep a simple headache log so we can both see the pattern change.

For migraines we treat the neck component and coordinate with your physician.

When to seek urgent care. Go to the emergency room for a sudden “worst headache of your life,” a headache with fever and stiff neck, a headache after a head injury, or one that comes with vision loss, weakness, confusion or trouble speaking.

How getting better usually goes

Four stops.

First visit

Answers.

You leave knowing what it is, what the plan is, how long it should take, and what it costs with your insurance.

Weeks 1–2

Relief.

Pain down, motion up. Visits are closer together while the joints learn to move again and the muscles stop guarding.

Weeks 3–6

Rebuild.

Physiotherapy makes it hold: the muscles that let you down get strong enough to carry you. The part most people skip, and the part that keeps it from coming back.

After

Your life back.

A short home routine, a check-in now and then, and the door open if it ever flares.