Rochester Hills, MI Chiropractic Beats Massage for Cervicogenic Headaches

We see a large number of individuals with headaches in our Rochester Hills, MI office, and Dr. Ronda Dalton has been able to provide relief for many of them. Furthermore, the World Health Organization (WHO) states that one half of all adults have difficulties with some type of headache problems, so this actually isn’t surprising. One of the most frequent sorts of headaches which our patients have problems with is cervicogenic headache which, luckily, chiropractic can commonly help.

What is a Cervicogenic Headache?

A cervicogenic headache is one that originates from issues in the cervical spine. It can be caused by an issue with either the spine itself (specifically, the vertebrae, joints, or discs), or it may be triggered by a problem in the muscles and tendons of your neck. This problem in your spine creates compaction or aggravation of the spinal nerves, which can contribute to headache pain.

How can you recognize if the headache you are feeling is a cervicogenic headache? Apart from obtaining a diagnosis from a healthcare expert, a typical symptom of cervicogenic headaches is tenderness or discomfort in your neck. This is sometimes followed by pain in the back of your head or between your shoulder blades.

Headache Relief with Chiropractic

Because cervicogenic headaches will not go away until whatever issue is triggering them is remedied, it is crucial to get treatment instead of just trying to "wait it out." Chiropractic care is an excellent approach, and one that offers a considerable amount of pain relief.

In one study printed in Chiropractic & Osteopathy, experts looked at 80 people who had recurring cervicogenic headaches. Half of them 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 delivered the best results.

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

To find out what Dr. Ronda Dalton can do for you and your headache pain, call us 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/