Weeks 1–2
Pain
Calm the pain down.
Hands-on techniques ease the irritated joints and muscles at the base of your skull, taking the edge off your headaches starting your very first visit.
What We Treat
Neck pain and headache treatment in Cupertino.
The headache that builds all afternoon at your desk. The neck that won’t turn all the way to check your blind spot. It’s fixable, and it starts with a cause-first evaluation, not a guess.
Sound Familiar?
Does this sound like you?
- Turning your whole body instead of your neck to check your blind spot
- A headache that clocks in at the base of your skull by 2pm, right on schedule
- Cracking your neck between every meeting just to feel normal again
- Waking up with your neck stuck one direction until you work it loose
- Rubbing the same spot at your temple during every video call
- Skipping the back row at the movies because tilting your head that long isn’t worth it
Two or more? Keep reading.
Why It Happens
Headaches aren’t random. Something in your neck triggers them.
You’re the one who pushes through the headache because the meeting can’t wait. Powering through was never weakness, it was just what the day demanded. But a headache that shows up at the same time every afternoon isn’t random. It’s usually referred pain, and your head is just where you feel it.
The real driver is often higher up: stiff joints at the top of your neck, tight muscles at the base of your skull, and hours of forward head posture loading all of it. Ice, ibuprofen, and a heating pad never touch that source. A cause-first evaluation finds which joints and muscles are actually driving your headaches, and the fix gets built from there.
The Honest Truth
Waiting on a headache doesn’t make it wait on you.
If you keep waiting
- Headaches stop being a Friday thing and start showing up three times a week
- Your shoulders and jaw start guarding too, so everything up top feels tight
- You reach for ibuprofen before every long call, and it works a little less each time
If you start this week
- You know the actual cause of your headaches by the end of visit one
- Hands-on relief starts before you leave the building
- You get a plan with an endpoint: a real one, not an open tab of visits
Nobody regrets starting too early. Every week, someone in our clinic says they regret waiting.
How We Fix It
The same four phases. Built for your neck.
Every plan has an endpoint. Here’s what the four phases look like for neck pain and headaches.
Weeks 2–6
Prime
Get your motion back.
Targeted mobility work restores rotation, so checking your blind spot stops requiring your whole body.
Weeks 6–10
Perform
Make it strong enough to trust.
Progressive neck and upper back strengthening builds the endurance to sit through a full workday without the ache creeping back in.
Weeks 10+
Prevent
Return better than before.
Posture and desk setup get tested under real workdays before you’re cleared to go all-in: that’s the endpoint, not just another appointment.
Neck pain and headaches often share the same root cause. I build a plan around what’s actually driving your pain and stiffness, with exercises you can keep up at home.
Dr. Stacy Alvares · Neck Pain & Headaches
Questions, Answered
What people ask before booking for neck pain and headaches.
Usually not, and it’s rarely the first step. Most tension and cervicogenic headaches come from stiff joints and tight muscles in the neck, and imaging often shows “wear and tear” on people who have zero pain at all, so a scan doesn’t always point to the real cause. We start with a hands-on, cause-first evaluation to find what’s actually driving your headaches, and if imaging ever becomes genuinely necessary, we’ll help you get it. You don’t have to wait on a scan to start feeling better.
Yes, in most cases, with a few smart adjustments. Quitting your desk job isn’t the fix, and total rest tends to make a stiff neck stiffer. The key is dosing the right movement and setup for your specific neck, which is exactly what a Doctor of PT sorts out at your evaluation, then progresses safely as your headaches ease.
Most patients feel meaningful change within 4–6 visits. A full plan for neck pain and headaches runs through all four phases, Pain, Prime, Perform, and Prevent, typically over 8–10 weeks, depending on how long you’ve been dealing with it. Either way, you get a plan with an endpoint: you’ll always know which phase you’re in and what’s left, not an open-ended string of appointments.
Book Your Visit
Ready when you are.
Request a time and a real person calls you back, usually within two business hours. No phone tree. No ‘someone will reach out.’ Just a plan.
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Hours
Mon - Fri: 8:00am - 5:00pm
Sat - Sun: Closed - (408) 873-8188 Prefer to talk now? Call us.
- Same-week appointments available
4.8 · 115+ Google reviews
Typical response: under 2 business hours
Step 1 of 5
Request sent.
That’s the hard part done. We’ll call during business hours to lock in your time. Most people are on the schedule same week.
Visit Us
Care this good, this close.
Cupertino Physical Therapy
- 1054 S De Anza Blvd, #120, San Jose, CA 95129 (opens in a new tab)
- (408) 873-8188
- Fax: (408) 873-8138
- cpt95129@gmail.com
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Mon - Fri: 8:00am - 5:00pm
Sat - Sun: Closed