Parkland, FL Chiropractic Beats Massage for Cervicogenic Headaches

We see a lot of people with headaches in our Parkland, FL office, and Dr. Neil Scharf has been able to help many of them. Of course, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 50 percent of all adults have difficulty with some sort of headache problem, so this certainly isn’t shocking. One of the most common types of headaches that our patients deal with is cervicogenic headache which, happily, chiropractic can commonly help.

What is a Cervicogenic Headache?

A cervicogenic headache is one that stems from problems in the cervical spine. It can be thanks to a condition with either the spine itself (particularly, the vertebrae, joints, or discs), or it could be attributed to a problem in the muscles and tendons of your neck. This problem in your spine produces compaction or aggravation of the spinal nerves, which can contribute to headache pain.

How do you determine if the headache you are going through is a cervicogenic headache? Besides being given a diagnosis from a healthcare specialist, a typical symptom of cervicogenic headaches is tenderness or pain in your neck. This is occasionally followed by pain in the back of your head or between your shoulder blades.

How Chiropractic Helps with Cervicogenic Headaches

Considering cervicogenic headaches will not go away until whatever problem is generating them is corrected, it is crucial to receive treatment instead of just trying to "wait it out." Chiropractic care is an effective approach, and one that offers a great deal of headache pain relief.

In one study published in Chiropractic & Osteopathy, researchers looked at 80 people who had frequent cervicogenic headaches. Fifty percent received chiropractic care and the other 50% engaged in light massage therapy. Each participant was evaluated 12 and 24 weeks after the procedures and it was found that chiropractic provided the best outcomes.

Specifically, this study found that chiropractic adjustments provided patients more significant 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. Neil Scharf can do for you and your headaches, call us today. We'll do our best to get you the pain relief you need!

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/