Migraine and neck

Migraine and neck pain? The simple test I start with

Does your migraine start in your neck? It gets stiff, there's pressure at the back of your head, and then it creeps forward to your forehead or behind your eye.

Method perspective: Rune ÅbøTherapist and originator of the PainFreeU model.

Woman holding the back of her neck with eyes closed

You're not alone. Almost every day I have one or two people with migraine or headache on my table. And the first thing I do is nearly always the same: a simple neck test.

It shows you which muscle isn't doing its job. It takes two minutes, and all you need is you.

Rune Åbø, lymphatic therapist. 12 years and more than 25,000 treatments.

Short answer: can migraine come from the neck?

Neck pain is very common in migraine. Many people feel it before or during an attack. The way I see it, it's about fluid flow. Your body has to drain fluid and waste away from your head, down through the throat and neck. When a neck muscle gets tight and overused, it pumps poorly. The flow becomes uneven, and pressure builds.

That's my explanation, from many years of hands-on work. It isn't a diagnosis. Migraine has many sides, and your doctor should assess your headaches.

Stop first if you notice any of these

Go straight to a doctor or emergency care, and skip the exercises, if:

  • the headache is sudden and the worst you've ever had, or peaks within one minute
  • you get new weakness or numbness, a drooping face, trouble speaking, confusion, seizures or fainting
  • you have a fever with a stiff neck or a rash, or feel seriously ill
  • your vision changes
  • the pain gets worse fast or wakes you at night
  • you're losing weight without reason, sweating a lot at night, or have had cancer

If you take blood thinners like warfarin, have or have had lymphoma, or have strong pain that no one has examined, talk to your doctor before you press on anything.

Why the neck? Your lymphatic system has no pump

Your heart pumps your blood. But the lymphatic system, which drains extra fluid and waste from your tissues, has no pump of its own. Your muscles are the pump.

A muscle that works normally contracts and lets go. It pumps.

An overused muscle is always a little contracted. And a contracted muscle is a bad pump.

Picture yourself at a screen all day. Arms out in front of you. Shoulders a little high. Maybe some stress on top. The same muscles in your neck and around your shoulder blade are working all day long. You'd never train one muscle for eight hours at the gym. But these do, every single day.

The garden hose with a kink

I like to think of it as a garden hose.

When the hose is straight, the water flows fine. Put a kink in it and you lose pressure. The water still comes, but it doesn't flow normally. It builds up and pushes.

A tight neck muscle or a swollen lymph node is that kink. Maybe the muscle pumps at 70 percent instead of 100. Then fluid and pressure build up: in the forehead, behind the eye, or from the back of the head and forward.

That's why I always look for the smallest passage. And the smallest passage between your body and your head is the neck.

The neck test: two minutes

Take off your glasses. Sit or stand calmly. Move slowly, and only as far as feels OK. You're checking, not pushing.

1. Chin to shoulder. Turn your head slowly to the side. Normally your chin comes roughly in line with your shoulder. Does it stop short? Do you feel a pull on one side? Do the other side too.

2. Ear to shoulder. Tilt your head, ear down towards your shoulder. Where do you feel something holding back? Switch sides.

3. Look up at the sky. Do you feel it in your throat, or at the back of your head?

4. Chin to chest. Do you feel it at the back of your neck, or down between your shoulder blades?

5. Nose to armpit. Turn and bend your head down towards your armpit. Do you feel it at the back, between the shoulder blades? Switch sides.

Notice where you felt the most. That's the most overused muscle. It pumps the worst, and that's where we start.

If you feel it most at the side of your neck when you turn chin to shoulder, it's often the levator scapulae, the muscle that runs from your neck down to your shoulder blade. When it's tight, it lifts the shoulder and narrows the passage up to the head.

If you feel it at the back of your head when you look up, it's often a long muscle that runs from behind your ear down to your collarbone. Feel it with your fingers. If it's tender, it's overused.

The eyebrow pressure point

This is one of the points I check on almost everyone with headache around the forehead, temples or eyes.

1. Put a finger at the top of your nose and go straight up to where your eyebrow starts. Slightly inside it.

2. Press gently. Is it tender? Then the lymph node there is often bigger than it should be, and it can block drainage from your forehead and temples.

3. Use your thumb. Press in, then glide upwards.

4. Glide over the point three or four times. No more.

5. Check again. Is it less tender?

You should feel it, but keep it controlled. Stay at a maximum of 6–7 out of 10. If you reach 8 or more: release the pressure and don't repeat. If you feel anything new, sharp or unusual, stop no matter the number.

If the point isn't tender, the node is small. Then there's nothing to do there. Move on.

"Cake in the face": a quick pump drill

I teach this to almost everyone who comes to me with migraine.

Imagine someone's about to throw a cake in your face. What do you do? You pull your chin in and make a double chin.

1. Pull your chin straight back. Hold for two seconds.

2. Let go.

3. Do it ten times.

4. Rest for one minute. Do ten more.

When you use your neck muscles like this, they pump. Some people feel a rush towards the head, and some get a little dizzy.

If you've had whiplash or a neck injury: hold for just one second, or half a second. If it gets worse, stop the drill.

Why hard neck stretches can backfire

Lots of people stretch their neck when it's tight. It can feel good in the moment, and if it helps, it helps.

But a muscle that's already overused and contracted doesn't always like being pulled on. You pull and pull, and the muscle makes even more waste. That gives your lymphatic system even more to clear. Often it's the other end, or the muscles that compensate, that take the hit.

If stretching makes you worse, stop. Ask a different question: where's the kink in the hose, and how do I open it?

What the research says about lymphatic drainage and migraine

The research is small, but interesting. In a randomised trial from 2016, 64 people with migraine got either manual lymphatic drainage, massage or no treatment. Both treatment groups had fewer migraine attacks and days than the group with no treatment, and only the lymphatic drainage group used noticeably fewer painkillers (Happe et al., 2016, PubMed 27338942).

That's one study, and it doesn't prove that it works for everyone. But it fits with what I see on my table every week.

Common mistakes

  • Doing everything at once. Start with the test. Try one thing. Check how it feels.
  • Pressing harder and harder. Three or four glides over the point is enough.
  • Giving up after one try. This is a skill. Over time you'll feel the difference between a swollen node and one that has calmed down.
  • Forgetting to walk. If you have a headache, take a calm ten-minute walk. Your muscles pump when you walk.

FAQ

Can a stiff neck cause migraine?

Many people with migraine feel neck stiffness before or during an attack. In my experience, a tight, overused neck and poor fluid flow to the head often go together. What triggers your migraine is something your doctor should assess.

Where is the migraine pressure point on the eyebrow?

Where the eyebrow starts, slightly inside it. Go straight up from the top of your nose. If it's tender, press in and glide upwards with your thumb, three or four times.

Can I get migraine relief without medication?

I won't promise that. Some people need medication, and that's completely fine. What I show you here is something you can do yourself as well, and then you notice what helps you.

Is it safe to massage my neck during a migraine?

Gentle pressure within 6–7 out of 10 is fine for most people. If you notice any of the stop signs above, or you have a neck injury that hasn't been examined, see a doctor first.

Do neck stretches help migraine?

Sometimes. If they make you worse, stop and try to get the muscle pumping instead.

Is this the same as a cervicogenic headache?

Not quite. Headache that starts in the neck has its own article: "Headache from your neck?".

Want to see the whole workshop?

In this article you got the start: the test, the point and one drill.

In the Migraine Relief workshop I go through the whole way of thinking, calmly, on video. You'll see:

  • the full neck test, step by step
  • the two lymph nodes on the cheekbone and how I drain them
  • the ball against the wall, behind the shoulder blade
  • the jaw, and why it's connected to the neck
  • how to think when your head starts building up

Watch it whenever you like, as many times as you like.

Watch the Migraine Relief workshop →

Waiting for the Migraine Masterclass? The workshop is a good place to start.

Want to talk it through first? Open PFU Pocket →

Sources and further reading

Published 2026-09-25. Rune Åbø is the source of the method perspective.