Chronic Headaches and Migraines
There have been many studies that indicate chronic headaches and migraines often come from the upper cervical spine. (1) Suffice it to say, based on the best studies that we have at our disposal, that up to eighty percent of the people who suffer from chronic/repetitive headaches and migraines benefit from Chiropractic manipulation of the cervical spine. (2)
You can find a few of the articles in our What the Studies Say section. The governments department on Health Care Research and Reform stated unequivocally that use of drugs should be tempered for the treatment of headaches and recommended that spinal manipulation should be more commonly used. (3)
One of the problems of treating chronic headaches and migraines with the typical drug approach is that our patients can become dependent on the very drugs we are giving them in our efforts to help them. I believe everyone knows there are some inherent risks when taking any drugs particularly with prolonged exposure. While I am not for a minute suggesting one should never take drugs, they do have their place in our treatment protocols, I do think it makes sense to try a drug free approach to see if in fact it can help you without the potential side effects inherent with long term use of analgesics.
Evidence supports that people with cervicogenic (coming from the neck) headaches are a much larger proportion of the population than previously thought. It is clear with the current research that the studies say patients do in fact find sustained relief from their chronic headaches through Chiropractic intervention. (4)
If you are one of the many people who suffer from Chronic Headaches or Migraines don’t you think you owe it to yourself to give Chiropractic a try to see if you can be one of the many who benefit from our drug free approach?
1. Bogduk MD, PhD, Journal of Manipulative therapy 1992
2. Pikus MD, Phillips MD. Headache; 1995; Nov./Dec. : 621-629
3. ASHPR guidelines for Headache (unpublished)
4. Vernon DC. JMPT 1995; 18(9): 611-617
