These headache syndromes are easy to trivialize; the real clinical task is to recognize the phenotype quickly while ruling out posterior fossa lesions, thunderclap causes, or cervical structural pathology.

Third occipital headache localizes to the occipital and suboccipital region after cervical pathology or trauma; Pain from the C2-C3 zygapophyseal joint can respond to third occipital nerve block; Neck-tongue syndrome reflects transient atlantoaxial dysfunction affecting C2 structures; Primary cough headache still requires exclusion of posterior fossa and thunderclap causes; Exertional and sexual headaches are diagnoses of exclusion before being called primary