Headaches and the cervical zygapophysial joints

According to the World Health Organization, patients with severe headaches or migraine suffer the same degree of disability as a patient with quadriplegia or dementia. Population-based studies confirm that the impact of severe headaches on the quality of life is substantially burdensome. Severe and persistent pain is often associated with profound personal suffering and the increased risk of suicide is not uncommon. ln the Australian context, headaches generate some two million consultations (13%) annually at a cost of greater than $700 million per annum.