How Does Chiropractic Help Headaches?

There are six randomized controlled scientific studies showing chiropractic care is beneficial for headache sufferers.  But, the average person may not understand exactly how it works.

There are three main ways that chiropractic helps headaches.  First, chiropractic treatments relax muscles.  Muscle tension is one of the main causes of headaches.  Tense muscles in the neck and upper back can refer pain up into the head as shown in the pictures below.  You may notice the areas of pain depicted in the drawings, correspond to your painful areas.  Relaxing these muscles, can help relieve your pain.

The second way chiropractic helps headaches is by relieving pinched nerves.  If a nerve in the upper part of the neck gets pinched, you can get pain that runs up into your head via a nerve called the greater occipital nerve.  You can see the area it affects in the drawing below.  Taking the pressure off the nerves, by re-aligning the bones of the neck, will relieve the pain.

The third way chiropractic helps is by improving your posture.  By improving your posture, the muscles of the neck do not have to contract as hard to hold up your head.  It also makes it less likely that a nerve will get pinched.  Improving your posture, will give you lasting relief of symptoms.

If you are suffering from headaches, you can get relief.  For more information check out other articles on www.painfree-greatposture.com.  Or, call Karen or Pat at 262-251-8306 and set up a Free No Obligation Headache Solution Evaluation with local headache treatment expert, Dr. Paul Kramer.   He will discuss your situation with you and perform a non-invasive surface EMG test to see if you might be a candidate for treatment.  This test will pin-point the areas where you are having trouble and give Dr. Kramer information he needs to determine if he can help.  The test is painless and free.  Just call 262-251-8306.