The skull X-ray gives only limited information, e.g. it will show fractures, sinusitis, or inflammation of the bone. A tumour within the skull may show itself by thinning or thickening of the bone overlying it. Shadows of calcium can be seen in various areas within the skull cavity, e.g. a common place is the pineal gland; this is normal but, since this gland is central, a displacement signifies a growth pushing it to the other side. Calcium can also be seen when deposited in a slow-growing tumour, abscess, or blood vessel malformation. These alarming features are virtually never found in a patient with migraine. In fact, the skull X-ray of 100 people without headaches would show abnormalities about as often as those of 100 migraine sufferers. The X-ray is justified on the grounds that something may be discovered, albeit rarely.An X-ray of the chest is occasionally done as a screening measure in eliminating certain causes of headache, e.g. in tumour of the lung, which may spread to the head.Since headache may be due to neck trouble, an X-ray of the cervical spine is sometimes indicated. Although migraine is not usually caused by problems in the neck, wear and tear of the neck vertebrae can cause pain with consequent spasm of the neck muscles, which pull on the scalp to give tension (muscle contraction) headache; treatment of arthritic pain can often relieve these headaches. Pressure on the roots of the cervical nerves also causes pain, particularly over the back of the head.
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