Headaches are often reported as the #2 reason for visiting a chiropractor. Right behind low back/ neck pain.
In typical chiropractic fashion, we aim to discover the reason behind the headaches. This can often be tricky, and lead to some in-depth questioning as headaches can have many origins.
Causes
Our examination and history-taking will first start with common things, as those happen commonly. For example, headaches are often caused by stress, caffeine, vision problems (out-dated prescription glasses, or sensitivity to light to name a couple), or mechanical changes in the neck and shoulder.
For the purposes of this writing, we will focus more on the structural issues that can cause headaches, as that is where we help out the most.
Anatomical Contributors
If you look at a picture of the neck and shoulders, you will see the that the muscles that attach to the shoulder blade and spine, often travel towards the head and base of the skull. Therefore, when there are muscle imbalances from side-to-side, spasms, or length-tension issues in theses muscles, they can change the way that you are able to use your shoulder and neck. These mechanical malfunctions cause abnormal tensions on the head and neck causing headaches.
In that same picture, you will also see all of the joints on the neck. When these joints do not have the movement that they are supposed to, other joints have to compensate for this lack of motion. In doing so, there is an abnormal amount of tension being placed on the adjacent muscular structures. You can see where we are going with this one.
How Do We Treat Them?
Once we know the cause of the headaches, we can help by providing any of the modalities of treatment that would work for specific sites and tissues. This includes, but is not limited to; chiropractic adjustments, soft tissue tools, cupping , dry needling, electro-therapy, and so on.
You may be wondering if we can help with the other causes of headaches (diet, stress, etc.) and the answer is yes! However, that may be best described in a seperate blog post. Stay tuned!