New Carrollton Chiropractic Effective for Cervicogenic Headache

We see a great number of folks with headaches in our New Carrollton office, and Dr. Heusler has been able to help many of them. For that matter, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that one half of all adults have a problem with some sort of headache condition, so this really isn’t shocking. One of the most prevalent types of headaches which our patients experience is cervicogenic headache which, thankfully, chiropractic can commonly help.

Cervicogenic Headaches Defined

A cervicogenic headache is one that arises from problems in the cervical spine. It could be because of an issue with either the spine itself (particularly, the vertebrae, joints, or discs), or it could be because of a problem in the muscles and tendons of your neck. This dysfunction in your spine results in constriction or aggravation of the spinal nerves, which can bring about headache pain.

How do you identify if the headache you are being affected by is a cervicogenic headache? Besides receiving 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.

Chiropractic to the Rescue

Seeing that cervicogenic headaches will not subside until whatever issue is causing them is corrected, it is essential to get treatment instead of just trying to "wait it out." Chiropractic care is an effective approach, and one that provides a considerable amount of relief.

In one study printed in Chiropractic & Osteopathy, researchers studied 80 people who had recurrent cervicogenic headaches. One-half received chiropractic care and the other 50% underwent light massage therapy. Each participant was evaluated 12 and 24 weeks after the procedures and it was discovered that chiropractic delivered the optimum effects.

In particular, this study noted that chiropractic adjustments provided patients enhanced pain relief and lowered the frequency of headaches that occurred. Moreover, it also mitigated the disability that resulted from these painful headaches.

To find out what Dr. Heusler can do for you and your headache pain, call our office today. We'll do our best to get you the pain relief you deserve!

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/