Saint Paul Chiropractic Beats Massage for Cervicogenic Headaches

We see a large number of people with headaches in our Saint Paul office, and Dr. Slater has been able to support many of them. Actually, the World Health Organization (WHO) states that one half of all adults deal with some type of headache condition, so this really isn’t unexpected. One of the most frequent sorts of headaches which our patients endure is cervicogenic headache which, luckily, chiropractic can usually help.

What is a Cervicogenic Headache?

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

How do you identify if the headache you are struggling with is a cervicogenic headache? Aside from obtaining a diagnosis from a healthcare professional, a common symptom of cervicogenic headaches is tenderness or discomfort in your neck. This is occasionally combined with 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 initiating them is corrected, it is critical to receive treatment instead of just trying to "wait it out." Chiropractic care is an excellent solution, and one that offers a considerable amount of headache pain relief.

In one study published in Chiropractic & Osteopathy, specialists evaluated 80 people who had recurrent cervicogenic headaches. Half got chiropractic care and the other fifty percent engaged in light massage therapy. Each participant was evaluated 12 and 24 weeks after the procedures and it was found that chiropractic provided the best outcomes.

In particular, this study uncovered that chiropractic adjustments offered patients greater pain relief and reduced the frequency of headaches that occurred. On top of that, it also diminished the disability that resulted from these painful headaches.

To find out what Dr. Slater 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/