Napa, CA Chiropractic Beats Massage for Cervicogenic Headaches

We see a great number of men and women with headaches in our Napa, CA office, and Dr. Roxann Bettencourt, DC has been able to aid many of them. For that matter, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 50% of all adults have difficulties with some type of headache condition, so this certainly isn’t a surprise. One of the most common types of headaches that our patients experience is cervicogenic headache which, luckily for us, chiropractic can generally help.

Cervicogenic Headaches Defined

A cervicogenic headache is one that originates from an issue in the cervical spine. It can easily be caused by an issue with either the spine itself (primarily, the vertebrae, joints, or discs), or it could be brought on by a problem in the muscles and tendons of your neck. This dysfunction in your spine produces squeezing or irritation of the spinal nerves, which can contribute to headache pain.

How do you determine if the headache you are enduring is a cervicogenic headache? Besides getting 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 generating them is remedied, it is vital to receive treatment rather than just trying to "wait it out." Chiropractic care is an excellent approach, and one that provides a considerable amount of pain relief.

In one study published in Chiropractic & Osteopathy, specialists evaluated 80 people who had recurring cervicogenic headaches. One-half received chiropractic care and the other half underwent light massage therapy. Each participant was assessed 12 and 24 weeks after the procedures and it was discovered that chiropractic provided the best results.

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

To find out what Dr. Roxann Bettencourt, DC 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/