Arlington Chiropractic Effective for Cervicogenic Headache

Arlington Chiropractic Effective for Cervicogenic Headache

We see a lot of people with headaches in our Arlington office, and Dr. Ernst has been able to provide relief for many of them. Actually, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 50 percent of all adults have difficulties with some type of headache condition, so this certainly isn’t surprising. One of the most typical kinds of headaches that our patients have problems with is cervicogenic headache which, luckily for us, chiropractic can commonly help.

Cervicogenic Headaches Defined

A cervicogenic headache is one that starts from a problem in the cervical spine. It can easily be due to a condition with either the spine itself (particularly, the vertebrae, joints, or discs), or it may be a result of a problem in the muscles and tendons of your neck. This dysfunction in your spine creates compaction or irritation of the spinal nerves, which can bring on headache pain.

How can you identify if the headache you are enduring 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 occasionally accompanied by pain in the back of your head or between your shoulder blades.

How Chiropractic Helps with Cervicogenic Headaches

Considering cervicogenic headaches will not go away until whatever problem is inducing them is corrected, it is critical to get treatment instead of just trying to "wait it out." Chiropractic care is an excellent approach, and one that provides a great deal of headache pain relief.

In one study printed in Chiropractic & Osteopathy, specialists evaluated 80 people who had regular cervicogenic headaches. Half of them got chiropractic care and the other fifty percent underwent 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 revealed that chiropractic adjustments gave patients greater pain relief and decreased the number of headaches that occurred. Furthermore, it also mitigated the disability that resulted from these painful headaches.

To find out what Dr. Ernst 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/