The neck and shoulders in our body are a collection of intricately intertwined muscles, nerves, and blood vessels. What Donguibogam describes as a pathway of qi and blood can be seen in modern medicine as representing the organic connectivity of these anatomical structures. In particular, the muscles around the back of the neck and shoulders play an important role in supporting and moving the head; when these muscles become excessively tense or injured, various problems arise.
The most representative examples are tension headache and cervicogenic headache. Tension headache mainly occurs when muscles around the back of the neck, shoulders, and head continuously contract due to stress, fatigue, and prolonged improper posture. It is characterized by a dull, pressing ache, as if a headband were tightly squeezing the head. This occurs because blood circulation within the muscle is impaired and algogens are secreted as waste products accumulate.
Cervicogenic headache, as the name implies, refers to a headache caused by problems in the neck, meaning the cervical vertebrae. Misalignment of the cervical spine, cervical disc herniation, or inflammation in ligaments and joints around the neck can be causes. In particular, the nerves from the first to the third cervical vertebrae are responsible for sensation in the occiput, face, and head, and when these nerves are compressed or irritated by neck muscle tension or joint issues, it often leads to headache. Shoulder muscles are directly connected to these cervical vertebrae, so chronic tension in the shoulder muscles can impede normal movement of the cervical spine, which in turn leads to nerve compression and creates a vicious cycle that induces cervicogenic headache.
In addition, myofascial pain syndrome is another important part of the shoulder-headache link. A trigger point developing in neck and shoulder muscles can radiate pain not only to the local area, but also to completely different regions. For instance, a trigger point in the upper trapezius muscle or the suboccipital muscles behind the neck can radiate pain to the temple, behind the eyes, or the crown of the head, sometimes making it feel like a migraine.
These complex mechanisms explain shoulder stiffness and headaches in modern people. Prolonged computer work, smartphone use, and poor sleeping posture place a continuous load on neck and shoulder muscles, causing micro-injuries and inflammation in muscle fibers, which can extend beyond pain to a hypersensitivity reaction of the nervous system and lower the pain threshold. Therefore, if it is a headache that goes beyond simple muscle pain, it is important to comprehensively examine and manage the structural problems around the shoulders and neck. The wisdom of our ancestors that no single part of the body hurts in isolation is being proven by modern science as well.
