Chesapeake Chiropractic Beats Massage for Cervicogenic Headaches

We see a large number of people with headaches in our Chesapeake office, and Dr. David N. Block Family Chiropractic has been able to assist many of them. For that matter, the World Health Organization (WHO) states that half of all adults have a problem with some manner of headache condition, so this really isn’t surprising. One of the most common kinds of headaches that our patients are afflicted by is cervicogenic headache which, thankfully, chiropractic can usually help.

Cervicogenic Headaches Explained

A cervicogenic headache is one that starts from issues in the cervical spine. It can be generated by a problem with either the spine itself (particularly, the vertebrae, joints, or discs), or it can be attributable to a problem in the muscles and tendons of your neck. This dysfunction in your spine results in compression or aggravation of the spinal nerves, which can contribute to headache pain.

How do you tell if the headache you are going through is a cervicogenic headache? Aside from getting a diagnosis from a healthcare expert, a typical symptom of cervicogenic headaches is tenderness or pain in your neck. This is sometimes coupled with pain in the back of your head or between your shoulder blades.

Headache Relief with Chiropractic

Seeing that cervicogenic headaches will not subside until whatever issue is initiating them is remedied, it is vital to receive treatment rather than just trying to "wait it out." Chiropractic care is an excellent solution, and one that can provide a great deal of headache pain relief.

In one study reported in Chiropractic & Osteopathy, experts studied 80 people who had repeated cervicogenic headaches. One-half received chiropractic care and the other 50% engaged in light massage therapy. Each participant was evaluated 12 and 24 weeks after the treatment and it was found that chiropractic offered the best effects.

Specifically, this study uncovered that chiropractic adjustments gave patients more pain relief and decreased the number of headaches that occurred. On top of that, it also lessened the disability that resulted from these painful headaches.

To find out what Dr. David N. Block Family Chiropractic 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/