Hauppauge, Long Island Chiropractic and Cervicogenic Headache

We see a large number of people with headaches in our Hauppauge, Long Island office, and Dr. Cohen has been able to support many of them. Furthermore, the World Health Organization (WHO) states that 50 percent of all adults deal with some sort of headache disorder, so this certainly isn’t a surprise. One of the most prevalent types of headaches which our patients are afflicted by is cervicogenic headache which, fortunately, chiropractic can usually help.

What is a Cervicogenic Headache?

A cervicogenic headache is one that originates from issues in the cervical spine. It can easily be a result of an issue with either the spine itself (primarily, the vertebrae, joints, or discs), or it might be attributable to a problem in the muscles and tendons of your neck. This problem in your spine produces compaction or irritation of the spinal nerves, which can bring on headache pain.

How do you distinguish if the headache you are feeling is a cervicogenic headache? Besides receiving a diagnosis from a healthcare specialist, a frequent symptom of cervicogenic headaches is tenderness or discomfort in your neck. This is occasionally combined with pain in the back of your head or between your shoulder blades.

Headache Relief with Chiropractic

Considering cervicogenic headaches will not subside until whatever problem is initiating them is remedied, it is critical to get treatment instead of just trying to "wait it out." Chiropractic care is an excellent approach, and one that can provide a considerable amount of headache pain relief.

In one study published in Chiropractic & Osteopathy, experts evaluated 80 people who had recurrent cervicogenic headaches. Half got chiropractic care and the other fifty percent underwent light massage therapy. Each participant was examined 12 and 24 weeks after the procedures and it was found that chiropractic delivered the most beneficial results.

Specifically, this study noted that chiropractic adjustments offered patients greater pain relief and decreased the frequency of headaches that occurred. Moreover, it also mitigated the disability that resulted from these painful headaches.

To find out what Dr. Cohen 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/