Cervicogenic Headache Symptoms explained by Zinovy Meyler MD, Princeton Spine & Joint Center:

There are many different types of headaches that people can experience. When I see patients that are referred with a headache, usually it’s a headache that stems from the neck. It’s important to note that most headaches actually do not come from the neck. And it’s very important to rule out any other sources of the headache because it can be an indication of another source of the headache and sometimes a dangerous source of the headache that needs to be ruled out, that typically needs a very different approach when the headaches do come from the neck.

Most commonly I see patients that present with pain in the suboccipital area, which is an area where the neck meets the head and then that pain radiates into the back of the head. To visualize this, the easiest way to do that is to take the palm of your hand and place it on the back of your head. That’s the usual distribution of the headache. And even though that’s the most common distribution of the headache, it can radiate further. Sometimes I see patients with radiation towards the front of the head at times, even around the eye or behind the eye. So most commonly this headache is going to be on one side. Sometimes it can actually affect both sides, sometimes equally, sometimes asymmetrically.