Millions of Australians are affected by neck pain at some stage of their life and now researchers are aiming to find a link between the condition and debilitating headaches.

Researchers think common aches and pains like a sore neck or a twinge in your shoulder could be giving you a headache as well.

University of Queensland researcher Zhiqi Liang said migraine and neck pain are within the top 10 leading causes of disability worldwide.

She is among a small group of researchers looking for a link between the two - using techniques like virtual reality to see how the neck responds to a variety of movements and whether compressed nerves or strained muscles could be causing migraines.

“Currently some people with migraines seek treatment for their neck for their migraines but unfortunately so far there is no strong evidence to indicate that such treatment can do anything for the migraine,” she said.

Zhiqi Liang. (9News)

Sufferers like Zach O'Brien would welcome any relief. He experiences attacks as often as 20 times a month.

“Three days having to be lying down in a dark room,” Mr O’Brien said.

“If I try to read something I feel like I'm going to vomit.”

It's thought one of the biggest contributors to neck pain and strain is poor posture that causes the head to tilt forward.

Sitting can also be a factor and experts recommend getting up from our chairs on a regular basis.

For the migraine study, the university is looking for 175 participants - those who suffer migraines, with and without neck pain, and those with neck pain but no migraines - as well as people completely unaffected by either.

“Hopefully this will have implications on how we manage different people with migraines,” Ms Liang said.

“I hope that research can find more sort of causes or causal links and will be able to provide treatments,” Mr O’Brien said.