There are more than 100 different types of headaches, the vast majority are tension headaches and “cervicogenic” headaches.
Headaches can be debilitating, affecting daily life and severe pain affects the ability to concentrate at school or at work. Taking painkillers can mask the symptoms and perhaps not address the cause. People start to find they are taking more pills, more often, giving rise to worries about ‘rebound headaches’ and medications that have addictive properties or side effects.
Many patients are turning to Chiropractic as an alternative to medication. If headache is a problem for you call Spine Scan to arrange your initial consultation.
Common Headache Causes
Tension Headaches
- Headaches resulting from extreme muscle tension due to forward head posture: This is can be due to the neck having lost the normal forward facing curve through traumas such as car accidents or sporting injuries, poor posture at work, etc.
- Headaches resulting from misaligned or locked vertebrae: This can cause joint inflammation within the spine and tightening of the surrounding muscles. This muscle tightening can lead to the development of a tension headache.
For those affected by this type of headache, that can often be triggered by stress, the symptoms include feelings of pressure surrounding the head, inability to concentrate, mood changes and nausea.
Cervicogenic Headache
Cervicogenic Headache is the type of headache that starts in the cervical spine. This can be the result of irritation of the trigeminal nerve by tissue within and around the top three vertebra of the neck where this cranial nerve originates. In severe cases, these upper three vertebrae can be a contributory source of many migraines.
For those with this type of headache, the symptoms are often on only one side of the head, beginning behind the eyeball on the affected side. Pain can be made worse by moving the neck and although the patient can often feel or be sick (as with a migraine), there are often no disturbances of vision.
