Neck Pain and Headache on Right Side: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment Options as Explained by a PT
Neck pain and headaches are one of the most frequent things our clients come to us for help with here at Empower Physio and Wellness.
But just because these things are common, does not mean that they have to be your norm. You don’t have to live like that.
Neck pain and headaches on one side may initially be concerning or confusing to you. But rest assured, one sided neck pain and headaches are very treatable with physical therapy care.
If you’re experiencing neck pain and headache on right side (or left for that matter!), understanding what is going on and how to most effectively address your neck pain and headaches can help you find lasting relief.
Here’s what we are going to talk about in this blog post:
Common causes of neck pain and headache on right side
Common symptoms to watch for
How physical therapy can help
Home remedies and prevention tips
Common causes of neck pain and headaches on right side
Neck pain and headaches on the right side are often a result of irritation of muscles, joints, nerves, or other soft tissues. As a physical therapist, I actually love when people come in with one sided symptoms because I immediately know I can help them!
Let’s break down the common causes:
Muscle tension
Tightness or tension in muscles of the head, neck, and shoulders are often the culprit of neck pain and headaches on right side. Not only do tense muscles cause localized pain, but they also refer pain to other parts of the body.
For example, the sternocleidomastoid muscle (or SCM for short) refers pain to the ear, eye, and forehead. It can also cause a sensation of ear fullness. When our clients come in with these symptoms, the SCM is always a muscle we assess.
Other muscles that can be a culprit in neck pain and headaches on right side include the upper trapezius, levator scapulae, suboccipitals, masseter, temporalis, and cervical paraspinals.
Poor posture
How you hold yourself throughout the day is important! Small postural deviations, compounded over time, can add up to a lot of pain.
Why does this happen?
The more you slouch or bring your head forward, the harder the muscles of the spine and neck have to work to hold you upright. For more detail on this topic, check out our blog post Posture, Neck Pain, and Headaches: How Physical Therapy Can Break the Cycle.
A forward head posture also increases strain in the muscles of the jaw.
This is because as your head comes forward, the teeth naturally want to separate. But no one hangs out all day with their mouth open. So the muscles that close the mouth and jaw have to work overtime to keep your mouth closed.
We don’t like demonizing one posture over another…no one position is inherently better than another.
What matters is the amount of time spent in a posture.
If you’re spending 8+ hours a day slouched or with a forward head posture, that is way too much time in that position. So sit up straight like your mama told ya and every hour or so be sure to get up and move.
Cervicogenic headache
Cervicogenic headache is a fancy name for a headache that is referred from the neck. This is an extremely common cause of neck pain and headache on right side, however very often missed in general medical assessments.
Cervicogenic headaches only affect one side of the body, and are very common on the right side. Pain usually starts in the neck and wraps up around the ear, side of the head, and temple.
It is imperative to treat the neck to fix cervicogenic headaches. Treatment to other parts of the body or medication will never resolve this issue for good.
Nerve irritation or “pinched nerve”
Nerve irritation is another cause of neck pain and headache on right side.
I really hate the term “pinched nerve” because it is inaccurate to what is actually going on in the body. In cases of nerve irritation there is often no structure physically pinching a nerve.
So what is happening then?
There is increased inflammation in the area around the nerve. And nerves hate inflammation.
So when their environment is inflamed, they respond by producing pain, numbness, tingling, itching, burning, or weakness. These sensations can be felt in the neck, down the arm, or up into the head.
To fix this problem, the inflammation must be addressed. This is accomplished through physical therapy care, and also optimizing lifestyle factors like nutrition, hydration, sleep, and productive stress processing. Spoiler alert- surgery does NOT do this, so stop right now the mind spiral that has you convinced you’ll be on the operating table.
Joint dysfunction
There are small joints in the spine that connect one vertebrae to the next. These joints are what allow you to look up and down and rotate your head.
They are just like any other joint in the body. So just like your hip or shoulder joint can get stiff, so can the joints of the neck.
Improving the mobility of these joints is very important for fixing headache and neck pain on right side.
The flip side is also true. You can have too much mobility in the neck joints. This is common in people who are “loosey goosey” or have a hypermobility condition like Ehlers Danlos Syndrome.
In this scenario, working on strength and motor control of the neck and shoulder muscles is very important to improve joint health.
Stress and muscle clenching
The head, neck, and jaw are one of the most emotional areas of the body. A common stress response is to hike the shoulders up and clench the jaw. Over time, this leads to chronic tension in this part of the body. Tension over time can lead to pain, headaches, and movement problems.
This is one of the most common underlying causes of neck pain and tension on right side…and the left side too.
In this scenario, awareness of your stress response is imperative. Once you are aware of how you respond to stress, you can begin to respond in a new way.
It’s not necessarily about reducing stress in your life…the presence of stressors throughout life is a given and not always in your control.
What is important is how you relate to stressors and how you process stress. More on this below.
Other
Other causes of neck pain and headache on right side include TMJ or jaw problems, sinus problems, or poor vision or eye strain.
Common symptoms to watch for
In addition to the pain you are likely feeling in the head and neck, here are some other symptoms you may notice as well:
Dull ache or tightness on one side of the neck. Sometimes the non-painful side can feel tighter than the painful side.
Pain that travels from the neck up to the head, often behind the eye or into the temple
Pain or pressure in the base of the head
Limited neck movement or stiffness
Headache that worsens with certain postures or movements
Possible numbness or tingling, especially into the shoulder or arm, if a nerve is involved
How physical therapy can help
The most important place to start is with a thorough physical therapy evaluation. The evaluation must be comprehensive enough for the physical therapist to accurately identify which of the causes listed above are contributing to your neck pain and headache. This is crucial for your treatment to be most efficient and effective.
While there are common treatments for neck pain and headaches, tailoring the treatment plan to you as an individual human is incredibly important.
Common things assessed for in a physical therapy evaluation include:
A timeline of your symptoms to identify activities, positions, or situations that trigger and relieve your neck pain and headaches
Lifestyle factors including exercise, sleep, and nutrition
How stress is processed
Range of motion of the neck and jaw
Mobility of the joints in the neck
Muscle tension and tenderness
Breathing mechanics and core activation
Posture
Based on the evaluation findings, physical therapy treatment for neck pain and headache can include:
Manual therapy
This involves hands-on techniques to improve mobility of the joints as well as to reduce tension in muscles. Manual therapy techniques include cupping, trigger point release, myofascial release, joint mobilizations, and spinal manipulation.
Dry needling
Dry needling is a very quick and efficient treatment for reducing pain, inflammation, and muscle tension. This allows the muscles to work better to hold up your head, move your neck, and support posture throughout the day. For more information, check out our dry needling guide.
Breath work
Dysfunctional breathing patterns are very common in people who experience neck pain and headaches.
The diaphragm is designed to be the primary breathing muscle. However, through compensations over time, the muscles of the neck can become the primary breathing muscles. They are NOT designed to help you breathe all day, every day. But when they are forced to do so, neck pain and tension occur.
Optimizing your breathing mechanics will not only help improve neck pain and headaches, but also help you improve your core strength.
Exercise
Specific exercises to improve strength of the neck, shoulders, and upper back are very important in taking strain off the neck. It will also help improve your posture.
General movement and exercise also helps to bring pain levels down. So go on a walk, ride your bike, hike, kayak…whatever activity feels good and you enjoy is a great place to start.
Posture and ergonomic education
Setting yourself up for success when it comes to posture and ergonomics is very important, especially for desk workers and people who do repetitive motions throughout the day.
Stress processing education
This one is super important! If stressors are a primary cause of your neck pain and headaches, you must change the way you relate to stressors in your life.
Here at Empower Physio and Wellness, we love to help you with this! We guide you through intentional breath work, stress response awareness, and productively processing stress. The results are truly transformational.
It’s not working…
Have you tried (or are currently trying) physical therapy for your neck pain or headaches, but didn’t get the outcome you hoped for? Many of our clients have tried traditional physical therapy in the past, yet didn’t find relief until they started working with us.
If you’re nodding your head yes, check out our blog post on When To Make A Move: Signs You’re Seeing The Wrong Physical Therapist.
Home remedies and prevention tips
There are several ways to start helping yourself TODAY. Some of these techniques are simple, but don’t underestimate their power.
Heat
The use of a heating pad, warm shower, or hot compress is a great way to promote muscle relaxation and blood flow. Remember that blood flow = healing! Apply heat to your neck for 10-15 minutes, several times per day or as needed.
Body check-ins
Check in with your body throughout the day to see where you may be holding tension that you’re not consciously aware of. Take 1-2 minutes to close your eyes and scan your body from head to toe. Wherever you notice tension, gently relax that part of your body.
Set a timer to do this every 1-2 hours, or correlate it with something you do frequently throughout the day like going to the bathroom or filling up your water bottle.
Breathwork
Breathwork is the quickest hack to calm the nervous system! We love this HeartMath™ technique called Quick Coherence™. When we implement this with our clients in-office, tension melts away in the neck very quickly.
Core breathing
We just talked about how breathing is important for nervous system regulation. It is also important for optimizing the way you move. If the neck muscles are driving breathing, as described above, you must retrain breathing to shift this job back to the diaphragm.
Check out this video for our favorite way to teach this to our clients.
Posture checks
If you are a desk worker or drive or sit a lot, be sure to check in with your posture. Have solid back support so you can sit up straight. Imagine a string attached to the top of your head pulling you upward. I also like the cue of “grow tall” to help sit or stand upright.
For more detail on how to optimize your posture, check out our blog post Posture, Neck Pain, and Headaches: How Physical Therapy Can Break the Cycle.
Remember, your best posture is your next posture. So keep changing positions every hour or so.
Find the right pillow
A great pillow is just as important as a great office chair. A great office chair supports you upright at work every day. A great pillow supports your head and neck every night.
Think about it. You spend 6-8 hours a night with your pillow. Having proper support from your pillow is incredibly important, especially for side sleepers.
If you’re like us and have a “pillow graveyard” of reject pillows from over the years, try the Groove Pillow. All of us here at Empower Physio and Wellness use it and love it! Use code P-EMPOWER for 10% off your purchase.
Where to find physical therapy for neck pain and headaches on right side
Have you tried these home remedies and prevention tips and want more individualized support?
If you are located in or near Westerville, Ohio we can help you with physical therapy to improve your neck pain and headache on right side!
You can get started right away by learning more about our physical therapy services or getting in contact with us.
If you have additional questions, we would love to talk with you, hear your story, answer all your questions, and see how we could help.
You can call or text us at (614) 423-9731 or schedule a free discovery call. You can also learn more about Empower Physio and Wellness + our team or check out other services we offer.