Why You Should Care About How Blood Drains From Your Head and Neck
💡 You’ve had your blood pressure checked — but have you ever had your blood drainage checked?
Every time you visit a doctor, they check your blood pressure.
That tells us how well blood is moving through your arteries.
But there’s another part of circulation that almost no one talks about:
How well your blood is draining back out of your head and neck.
🧠 Your brain has to drain — and it does that through veins.
Once your brain uses oxygen-rich blood, it needs to send that blood back down toward your heart.
That drainage happens mostly through a vein in your neck called the internal jugular vein.
But if that flow is restricted — even a little — you can feel it.
🔄 What happens when drainage slows down?
You might notice:
• Headaches that feel like pressure
• Brain fog or a “cloudy” head
• Tiredness that doesn’t improve with rest
• Neck tightness or fullness
• Tinnitus (ringing or whooshing in your ears)
• Feeling worse when you lie flat
These symptoms are real — and they often get dismissed or misunderstood.
🚫 Why doesn’t anyone check this?
Most blood flow tests focus on your legs, not your neck or head.
Doctors only check neck veins if something is severely wrong, like a blood clot or stroke.
That means many people walk around with poor blood drainage from their head — and no one ever looks into it.
🩺 So how do you get your drainage checked?
Right now, venous drainage from the head and neck isn’t part of a regular check-up — but it can be looked at with a few simple tools if symptoms point in that direction:
✅ Here are some ways doctors or specialists can check:
• Neck Ultrasound (Doppler Ultrasound):
A non-invasive scan that shows how fast and smoothly blood is flowing through the jugular veins.
• MRV (Magnetic Resonance Venography):
An MRI-style scan that looks at venous flow in the brain and neck. Usually used for more complex or chronic symptoms.
• Jugular Vein Pressure Exam (JVP):
A quick visual test some doctors do while you’re reclined. It gives clues about how full or backed-up the jugular vein is.
• Manual Assessment by Trained Therapists:
Certain therapists (like in our clinic) are trained to look for signs of congestion, tension, or drainage issues using palpation, posture, and response to touch and breathing.
While these tests aren’t part of standard visits yet, they exist — and they work.
So if your symptoms match, it’s worth asking about them or exploring options through a specialist who understands this part of circulation.
✅ The good news? There are ways to help.
In our sessions, we focus on:
• Releasing tension around the neck and collarbone
• Improving diaphragm and breathing patterns
• Helping your body drain fluids and blood more efficiently
• Teaching you movement habits that support circulation from head to toe
This work may not seem like a big deal — but when you improve drainage, you improve:
• How you think
• How you feel
• And how your body handles stress, posture, and recovery
🧩 It’s all connected.
The more we understand how blood flows in and out of the brain,
the better we can treat pain, pressure, and fatigue that most people have simply gotten used to.
You don’t need a crisis to start caring about your circulation —
especially the parts above the heart.
If you found this helpful, be sure to check out our Instagram and Facebook pages, where we’ve shared visuals and quick breakdowns that go along with this blog:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/neuromuscleworks?mibextid=LQQJ4d
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neuromuscleworks?igsh=aHkzcm0zY3F3b3hw&utm_source=qr
