Chiropractic Beats Massage for Cervicogenic Headaches

We see a great number of individuals with headaches in our Buffalo office, and Buffalo Family Chiropractic Wellness, P. C. has been able to aid many of them. Additionally, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that half of all adults struggle with some kind of headache disorder, so this actually isn't surprising. One of the most typical types of headaches that our patients have problems with is cervicogenic headache which, happily, chiropractic treatment can often help.

Cervicogenic Headaches Defined

A cervicogenic headache is one that arises from a problem in the cervical spine. It can easily be thanks to a problem with either the spine itself (particularly, the vertebrae, joints, or discs), or it could be caused by 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 generate headache pain.

How can you recognize if the headache you are experiencing is a cervicogenic headache? Other than obtaining a diagnosis from a healthcare expert, a common 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.

How Chiropractic Helps with Cervicogenic Headaches

Because cervicogenic headaches will not go away until whatever problem is triggering them is corrected, it is critical to get treatment as opposed to just trying to "wait it out." Chiropractic care is an effective approach, and one that can provide a considerable amount of headache pain relief.

In one study circulated in Chiropractic & Osteopathy, experts followed 80 people who had frequent cervicogenic headaches. Half of them were given 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 offered the most beneficial results.

In particular, this study uncovered that chiropractic adjustments provided patients better pain relief and decreased the number of headaches that occurred. On top of that, it also minimized the disability that resulted from these painful headaches.

To find out what Buffalo Family Chiropractic Wellness, P. C. can do for you and your headaches, call our office 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/