“Can back pain cause headaches?”
I am a 27 year old woman and I had a bad fall on my back last month. While the back pain has been a cause of concern ever since the fall, I am also suffering from severe headaches since then. Is there a relation between back pain and headaches?
9 Answers
Nope. Unrelated.
There usually is not direct correlation of the back pain with the headaches unless there was an associated head injury.
Often, back and neck problems cause muscle spasms that generalize into the head, causing headaches. If it is not improving, you should see a doctor for it.
There can be, and the work up include imaging the head and neck as well as the lumbosacral spine with MRI. If the headaches worsen when you get up from laying down, they are called postural and could be due to low pressure in the spinal canal. If the headaches are worse when you lay down and are associated with arm pain, they could be related to the cervical spine.
Usually, they are not associated.
You may have injured your neck as well. Cervicogenic headaches are very common. You might want to see a physiotherapist for treatment of your neck as well and see if they diminish.
It would be unusual to have a headache from back pain alone. Occasionally, when you strain the muscles along your spine and they go into spasm, they can cause the nerves in the back of your neck and scalp to be irritated, causing headache.
Back pain generally is not considered a direct cause of headache however if you’re experiencing stress and bodily pain, it may result in tension elsewhere in the body and result in headaches. I would recommend that you have your condition evaluated by your physician and to treat the underlying cause of your lower back pain and specifically consult with your physician regarding your headaches.
Jacob Januszewski
Neurosurgeon
I am not aware of it. Headaches can have a plethora of causes. Sometimes neck can cause neck muscle spasm and result in some occipital headaches, but usually not lower back.
