Chiropractic and Cervicogenic Headache

We see a great number of men and women with headaches in our Cary office, and Swiss Spine Clinic has been able to support many of them. For that matter, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 50 percent of all adults struggle with some sort of headache problems, so this actually isn't surprising. One of the most typical types of headaches that our patients deal with is cervicogenic headache which, thankfully, chiropractic adjustments can often help.

Cervicogenic Headaches Explained

A cervicogenic headache is one that arises from a problem in the cervical spine. It could be thanks to a problem with either the spine itself (in particular, the vertebrae, joints, or discs), or it can be attributed to a problem in the muscles and tendons of your neck. This dysfunction in your spine creates compression or irritation of the spinal nerves, which can generate headache issues.

How can you distinguish if the headache you are going through is a cervicogenic headache? Besides receiving a diagnosis from a healthcare expert, a common symptom of cervicogenic headaches is tenderness or discomfort in your neck. This is occasionally coupled with pain in the back of your head or between your shoulder blades.

Chiropractic to the Rescue

Since cervicogenic headaches will not go away until whatever problem is generating them is remedied, it is vital to get treatment instead of just trying to "wait it out." Chiropractic care is an effective solution, and one that provides a great deal of headache pain relief.

In one study printed in Chiropractic & Osteopathy, researchers followed 80 people who had repeated cervicogenic headaches. Half received chiropractic care and the other fifty percent engaged in light massage therapy. Each participant was examined 12 and 24 weeks after the treatment and it was discovered that chiropractic provided the optimum effects.

Specifically, this study uncovered that chiropractic adjustments offered patients enhanced pain relief and lowered the frequency of headaches that occurred. In addition, it also reduced the disability that resulted from these painful headaches.

To find out what Swiss Spine Clinic can do for you and your headache pain, call us today. We'll do our best to get you the pain relief you deserve!

References

• Haas M, Schneider M, Vavrek D. Illustrating risk difference and number needed to treat from a randomized controlled trial of spinal manipulation for cervicogenic headache. Chiropractic & Osteopathy 2010 18(9).
• World Health Organization. (2012, October). Headache disorders. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs277/en/