Arlington, WA Chiropractic Effective for Cervicogenic Headache

We see a great number of folks with headaches in our Arlington, WA office, and Dr. Ernst has been able to support many of them. Of course, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 50 percent of all adults have difficulty with some manner of headache problems, so this really isn’t surprising. One of the most common sorts of headaches that our patients struggle with is cervicogenic headache which, luckily, chiropractic can often help.

What is a Cervicogenic Headache?

A cervicogenic headache is one that comes from a problem in the cervical spine. It could be as a result of a problem with either the spine itself (in particular, the vertebrae, joints, or discs), or it may be triggered by a problem in the muscles and tendons of your neck. This dysfunction in your spine brings about constriction or aggravation of the spinal nerves, which can generate headache pain.

How do you determine if the headache you are going through is a cervicogenic headache? Besides obtaining a diagnosis from a healthcare professional, a typical symptom of cervicogenic headaches is tenderness or pain in your neck. This is sometimes associated with pain in the back of your head or between your shoulder blades.

Chiropractic to the Rescue

Seeing that cervicogenic headaches will not go away until whatever problem is inducing them is remedied, it is essential to receive treatment instead of just trying to "wait it out." Chiropractic care is an excellent solution, and one that offers a great deal of headache pain relief.

In one study printed in Chiropractic & Osteopathy, specialists followed 80 people who had recurring cervicogenic headaches. One-half received 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 offered the optimum effects.

In particular, this study found that chiropractic adjustments offered patients enhanced pain relief and decreased the frequency of headaches that occurred. What's more, it also lessened 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/