By Dustin Houser, D.C. at our Chiropractic Partners Durham/Chapel Hill, NC location

How many people do you know who suffer from headaches? How many of you are squinting to read this article right now, because you currently have a headache? The bad news is that you probably do know someone with chronic headaches, or that you have personally been dealing with headaches for years. I can say this with confidence, because research shows that 9 out of 10 Americans suffer from headaches. Don’t give up hope though, because there is good news. Before we get to that good news; however, let’s clear up some confusion about headaches.

If you search online for “types of headaches,” you will see lists that run on through 10, 12, some sources even report 14 different types of headaches. Most of these lists include the more common types of headaches like migraine, sinus, cluster, tension, and rebound headaches. However, there is one type that rarely gets mentioned, and that is the cervicogenic headache. This particular type of headache gets its name because it originates (-genic) from issues in the neck, or the cervical spine (cervico-). There are several nerves in the head that branch off from nerves in the neck; therefore, when these nerves in the neck get irritated, they can radiate pain signals into the head. There are also several muscles along the course of those nerves that can become tight and inflamed, which can also cause radiating head pain. As bad as all this may sound, this is actually why there is good news.

The good news is that chiropractic manipulation of the spine, and certain soft tissue therapies that chiropractors perform, are aimed at correcting these issues in the neck, which can directly reduce the related headache symptoms. The symptoms associated with cervicogenic headaches overlap several of those associated with migraines. This means that cervicogenic headaches often get misdiagnosed as migraines, and the medicines prescribed for the treatment of migraines do not provide the same relief for cervicogenic headaches. Many patients come into our office complaining of migraine headaches, but then through careful examination, we find that the patient actually has cervicogenic headaches. This is a condition that I, and many of my chiropractic colleagues, have been very successful at treating. My fiancé is a perfect example.

When I first met my fiancé, she was having frequent “migraines,” which she told me she had been suffering for years. She had never been to a chiropractor before me. So I began adjusting her neck, and working on the tight muscles, which we did regularly for months. She eventually stopped having “migraines,” and now, almost 2 years later, she has been “migraine-” free, and rarely even has dull headaches, which she still experienced for some time after the “migraines” ceased. This is just one example, but I have helped countless other patients overcome their struggle with headaches.

In current events, United Healthcare (UHC) recently pulled its coverage for “nondrug manipulative therapy for headache treatment.” After submission of extensive research and much petitioning, done in large part by the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), UHC weighed the evidence, and restored its policy to support coverage of spinal manipulation for treatment of headaches. There is growing research available to support chiropractic care for the treatment of headaches, both migraine and cervicogenic. Don’t become one of the negative statistics… one of those 9 out of 10 people suffering from headaches. Become one of the statistics where your headaches were resolved… with chiropractic!  Chiropractic Partners is here for you, and ready to restore your health and wellness today!