We see a lot of folks with headaches in our Otown office, and TJ Delorie has been able to aid many of them. For that matter, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that half of all adults struggle with some kind of headache disorder, so this certainly isn’t surprising. One of the most common kinds of headaches that our patients are afflicted with is cervicogenic headache which, luckily, chiropractic can usually help.
Cervicogenic Headaches Explained
A cervicogenic headache is one that originates from issues in the cervical spine. It might be generated by a condition with either the spine itself (in particular, the vertebrae, joints, or discs), or it might be attributed to a problem in the muscles and tendons of your neck. This dysfunction in your spine leads to constriction or irritation of the spinal nerves, which can give you headache pain.
How do you find out if the headache you are struggling with is a cervicogenic headache? Apart from getting a diagnosis from a healthcare expert, a common symptom of cervicogenic headaches is tenderness or discomfort in your neck. This is occasionally followed by pain in the back of your head or between your shoulder blades.
How Chiropractic Helps
Seeing that cervicogenic headaches will not go away until whatever problem is triggering them is corrected, it is crucial to get treatment rather than just trying to "wait it out." Chiropractic care is an excellent solution, and one that provides a considerable amount of pain relief.
In one study printed in Chiropractic & Osteopathy, specialists studied 80 people who had repeated cervicogenic headaches. One-half got 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 best results.
In particular, this study found that chiropractic adjustments provided patients better pain relief and lessened the frequency of headaches that occurred. What's more, it also reduced the disability that resulted from these painful headaches.
To find out what TJ Delorie can do for you and your headache pain, 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/