Waldorf, MD Chiropractic Effective for Cervicogenic Headache

We see a large number of people with headaches in our Waldorf, MD office, and Waldorf Total Health Chiropractic & Physical Therapy has been able to assist many of them. For that matter, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 50 percent of all adults struggle with some manner of headache problems, so this actually isn’t surprising. One of the most common varieties of headaches that our patients endure is cervicogenic headache which, luckily, chiropractic can commonly help.

What is a Cervicogenic Headache?

A cervicogenic headache is one that stems from a problem in the cervical spine. It can be attributable to an issue with either the spine itself (primarily, the vertebrae, joints, or discs), or it might be because of a problem in the muscles and tendons of your neck. This dysfunction in your spine results in compaction or irritation of the spinal nerves, which can contribute to headache pain.

How do you tell if the headache you are being affected by is a cervicogenic headache? Besides being given a diagnosis from a healthcare specialist, 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.

Headache Relief with Chiropractic

Seeing that cervicogenic headaches will not go away until whatever problem is triggering them is remedied, it is important to receive treatment instead of just trying to "wait it out." Chiropractic care is an excellent solution, and one that offers a great deal of relief.

In one study printed in Chiropractic & Osteopathy, specialists followed 80 people who had recurrent cervicogenic headaches. One-half got chiropractic care and the other half underwent light massage therapy. Each participant was evaluated 12 and 24 weeks after the procedures and it was found that chiropractic delivered the best effects.

Specifically, this study uncovered that chiropractic adjustments provided patients more pain relief and diminished the number of headaches that occurred. In addition, it also mitigated the disability that resulted from these painful headaches.

To find out what Waldorf Total Health Chiropractic & Physical Therapy can do for you and your headaches, 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/