Naperville, IL Chiropractic Effective for Cervicogenic Headache

We see a large number of individuals with headaches in our Naperville, IL office, and Frank Bendiks, DC, PC has been able to aid many of them. Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 50% of all adults struggle with some kind of headache problem, so this certainly isn’t unexpected. One of the most prevalent sorts of headaches that our patients suffer from is cervicogenic headache which, thankfully, chiropractic can usually help.

What is a Cervicogenic Headache?

A cervicogenic headache is one that originates from problems in the cervical spine. It might be a result of a problem with either the spine itself (primarily, the vertebrae, joints, or discs), or it can be due to a problem in the muscles and tendons of your neck. This problem in your spine contributes to squeezing or aggravation of the spinal nerves, which can give you headache pain.

How can you determine if the headache you are suffering from is a cervicogenic headache? Besides being given a diagnosis from a healthcare professional, a common symptom of cervicogenic headaches is tenderness or discomfort in your neck. This is occasionally coupled with pain in the back of your head or between your shoulder blades.

Chiropractic to the Rescue

Seeing that cervicogenic headaches will not go away until whatever issue is inducing them is remedied, it is critical to get treatment instead of just trying to "wait it out." Chiropractic care is an effective solution, and one that can provide a great deal of pain relief.

In one study printed in Chiropractic & Osteopathy, experts studied 80 people who had recurrent cervicogenic headaches. Fifty percent received 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 offered the best outcomes.

In particular, this study noted that chiropractic adjustments gave patients more pain relief and reduced the frequency of headaches that occurred. What's more, it also minimized the disability that resulted from these painful headaches.

To find out what Frank Bendiks, DC, PC 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/