Question
I have started to experience a lot of neck and shoulder tension, resulting in headaches. I get a lot of pain tilting my head backwards. Painkillers are not effective at dealing with the tension and the headaches soon return.  I sometimes wake with a tension headache and neck stiffness.  Could this be the result of sit up exercises?. I have been doing these for some time and, whilst careful to support my neck and not pull on it, I wonder if the problem comes as a result of strain over time.  However one of my neck vertebrae also feels lumpier on one side and I am concerned that this is the root cause. Could this be calcification, a bone spur, and could this be the cause of the headaches?   I am having.an x-ray tomorrow.

Answer
Alison,

First:  No x-ray.   It will not tell you what the problem is or how to treat it.  If you are looking for a fracture or dislocation of a bone, then x-ray is appropriate.  Otherwise, the research and guidelines clearly reveals that the x-ray is useless for generic spine pain.   You need a good hands-on exam to find what is stiff, tight, stuck, adhered or irritated along your spine, and then get the manual treatment to work it out.  You should consider not doing ab' crunches because they will potentially strain your neck, and they have been shown to wear on lumbar intervertebral discs (6-pack ab's...worn out discs).   Joint stiffness and soft tissue adhesion, trigger points, and irritation cause neck symptoms and headaches.   Find a good chiropractor and physio.

'Hope this was helpful.

Dr. G