We see a large number of men and women with headaches in our Noblesville office, and Dr. Dahlager has been able to help many of them. Actually, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 50 percent of all adults struggle with some manner of headache problems, so this really isn’t a surprise. One of the most frequent varieties of headaches that our patients are afflicted with is cervicogenic headache which, happily, chiropractic can often help.

Cervicogenic Headaches Explained

A cervicogenic headache is one that starts from a problem in the cervical spine. It could be a result of a condition with either the spine itself (specifically, the vertebrae, joints, or discs), or it may be because of a problem in the muscles and tendons of your neck. This problem in your spine brings about squeezing or aggravation of the spinal nerves, which can bring on headache pain.

How do you identify if the headache you are enduring is a cervicogenic headache? Aside from getting a diagnosis from a healthcare specialist, a frequent symptom of cervicogenic headaches is tenderness or pain in your neck. This is sometimes accompanied by pain in the back of your head or between your shoulder blades.

How Chiropractic Helps

Because cervicogenic headaches will not go away until whatever issue is generating them is corrected, it is essential to receive treatment instead of just trying to "wait it out." Chiropractic care is an excellent approach, and one that can provide a considerable amount of pain relief.

In one study printed in Chiropractic & Osteopathy, specialists looked at 80 people who had recurrent cervicogenic headaches. Half of them were given chiropractic care and the other fifty percent underwent light massage therapy. Each participant was assessed 12 and 24 weeks after the procedures and it was discovered that chiropractic delivered the optimum effects.

In particular, this study noted that chiropractic adjustments offered patients more pain relief and decreased the number of headaches that occurred. In addition, it also lessened the disability that resulted from these painful headaches.

To find out what Dr. Dahlager can do for you and your headaches, call us today. We'll do our best to get you the pain relief you need!

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/