Alpharetta Chiropractic Beats Massage for Cervicogenic Headaches

We see a considerable number of men and women with headaches in our Alpharetta office, and Dr. Berklich has been able to help many of them. Additionally, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that half of all adults have a problem with some sort of headache problems, so this really isn’t unexpected. One of the most frequent types of headaches that our patients endure is cervicogenic headache which, happily, chiropractic can generally help.

What is a Cervicogenic Headache?

A cervicogenic headache is one that comes from issues in the cervical spine. It could be a result of an issue 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 produces compression or aggravation of the spinal nerves, which can result in headache pain.

How can you identify if the headache you are experiencing is a cervicogenic headache? Other than being given 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.

Headache Relief with Chiropractic

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

In one study released in Chiropractic & Osteopathy, researchers studied 80 people who had recurrent cervicogenic headaches. One-half were given chiropractic care and the other fifty percent underwent light massage therapy. Each participant was examined 12 and 24 weeks after the treatment and it was found that chiropractic provided the most beneficial results.

Specifically, this study revealed that chiropractic adjustments provided patients more significant pain relief and lessened the frequency of headaches that occurred. On top of that, it also minimized the disability that resulted from these painful headaches.

To find out what Dr. Berklich 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/