Neck pain: is it part of a migraine attack or a trigger before a migraine attack?

A migraine is a primary headache disorder characterized by recurrent headaches that are moderate to severe. Neck pain may actually be the most common migraine symptom despite the fact that it is rarely listed among usual symptoms such as nausea and light sensitivity. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between migraine and neck pain.

A total of 50 patients (41 females and 9 males) diagnosed with migraine were included in the study. 50 patients with migraine were asked about the occurrence of neck symptoms during different phases of their attacks. Patients of both sex, aged 12-61 years, diagnosed as having migraine according to the definition of the ICHD-3-β, and having neck pain any time during the attack phase, were included in the study. Migraine severity was measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS).

In our study, we compared the clinical and demographic characteristics of migraine patients. While 89.1% of the patients reported that their headache and neck pain started and ended concurrently, only 10.9% of them had neck pain starting at different times in comparison to migraine headache (30 min before headache, 2 h before or later than headache and 12 h later than headache).

As a result of our study, we have concluded that neck pain begins simultaneously with migraine attacks and concurrently, and may be part of migraine attacks accordingly.