We see a great number of individuals with headaches in our North County, St. Louis, MO office, and Dr. Mark Holland has been able to aid many of them. Actually, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 50% of all adults deal with some type of headache condition, so this certainly isn’t surprising. One of the most frequent sorts of headaches that our patients struggle with is cervicogenic headache which, luckily, chiropractic can often help.
What is a Cervicogenic Headache?
A cervicogenic headache is one that starts from an issue in the cervical spine. It could be caused by a problem with either the spine itself (in particular, the vertebrae, joints, or discs), or it may be due to a problem in the muscles and tendons of your neck. This problem in your spine brings about compaction or aggravation of the spinal nerves, which can give you headache pain.
How can you find out if the headache you are suffering from is a cervicogenic headache? Besides being given a diagnosis from a healthcare specialist, a common symptom of cervicogenic headaches is tenderness or discomfort in your neck. This is sometimes associated with 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 issue is generating them is corrected, it is important to get treatment instead of just trying to "wait it out." Chiropractic care is an excellent approach, and one that offers a considerable amount of relief.
In one study reported in Chiropractic & Osteopathy, experts looked at 80 people who had recurring cervicogenic headaches. Half of them were given chiropractic care and the other half engaged in light massage therapy. Each participant was evaluated 12 and 24 weeks after the procedures and it was found that chiropractic offered the best results.
Specifically, this study noted that chiropractic adjustments offered patients more pain relief and diminished the number of headaches that occurred. Additionally, it also mitigated the disability that resulted from these painful headaches.
To find out what Dr. Mark Holland can do for you and your headache pain, call our office today. We'll do our best to get you the pain relief you need!
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