Anchorage Chiropractic Beats Massage for Cervicogenic Headaches

We see a large number of individuals with headaches in our Anchorage office, and Dr. Matthisen has been able to provide relief for many of them. For that matter, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 50 percent of all adults struggle with some sort of headache problems, so this certainly isn’t a surprise. One of the most prevalent varieties of headaches which our patients suffer from is cervicogenic headache which, luckily for us, chiropractic can generally help.

What is a Cervicogenic Headache?

A cervicogenic headache is one that comes from an issue in the cervical spine. It might be thanks to a condition 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 compression or irritation of the spinal nerves, which can bring on headache pain.

How do you know if the headache you are being affected by is a cervicogenic headache? Besides receiving a diagnosis from a healthcare professional, a common symptom of cervicogenic headaches is tenderness or pain in your neck. This is sometimes coupled with pain in the back of your head or between your shoulder blades.

Headache Relief with Chiropractic

Seeing that cervicogenic headaches will not subside until whatever problem is inducing them is corrected, it is essential to get 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 circulated in Chiropractic & Osteopathy, specialists studied 80 people who had regular 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 discovered that chiropractic delivered the optimum results.

Specifically, this study noted that chiropractic adjustments offered patients more significant pain relief and decreased the frequency of headaches that occurred. Additionally, it also minimized the disability that resulted from these painful headaches.

To find out what Dr. Matthisen 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/