Did you know that, outside of low back/neck pain, headaches are the second most common reason for missed workdays? So many Americans deal with headaches that you might believe that it’s totally normal to have them. The reality is that while they are very common, as 1 out of every 4 Americans deals with them, they are far from normal. While people suffering from headaches is not new, the increase in computer jobs, sitting, phone, and tablet use has caused an explosion in posture and neck problems, increasing the rate and severity of headaches.
In my experience, 99% of headaches are caused by subluxations (misalignments) of the neck. Your neck, or called the cervical spine, should be straight from behind with level shoulders, and from the side, we should have a C-shaped 45-degree curve. What I find regularly with patients who come into my practice with Headaches is that they have lost the natural curve in the neck, or the Neck bends behind it where it should be straight. This puts abnormal tension on the nerves that the Neck should be protecting, which affects the muscles, tissues, and organs they control.
Especially with headaches, it’s usually a vascular problem too. The vertebral arteries that deliver blood flow and oxygen to your brain actually go through the neck vertebrae and are controlled by the neck nerves, so when the vertebrae are subluxated (misaligned), abnormal pressure is placed upon the nerves, and that can cause a restriction in the Blood flow to the brain, resulting in headaches. Now, not all headaches are the same. There are several types, but we find the abnormal neck curve to be the root cause of almost all of them.
Corrective Chiropractic Care is very effective at correcting the root cause of headaches. A 2011 JMPT Randomized Controlled Trial showed that Chiropractic Care, including Spinal Manipulation, can improve Migraine and Cervicogenic Headaches.
So many people just think that taking Advil or Tylenol will make their headaches go away and be done with, but let me ask you something: Do the Headaches keep coming back? Do you have to take more drugs to cover the symptoms of headaches? While helping in the short term, medications are not the best approach, as they do not correct or even address the root cause of headaches. Drugs will not fix a structural problem! Don’t suffer a day longer when you can start healing your headaches!
$49 New Patient Special
Includes Consultation, Spinal Thermography, Postural Evaluation, Digital X-Rays, 1st Adjustment & Report of Findings
How Our Care Plan Works
1. Identify The Root Cause Of The Problem
Schedule a consultation with one of our doctors to review your history and perform a detailed exam. If necessary, we will include X-rays to determine the exact cause of your pain and develop a plan to resolve the problem.
2. See Exactly What Is Wrong And Get A Plan On How To Fix It
After your first adjustment, the doctor will observe how your body responds and determine the best course of action. Our goal is to not only provide immediate pain relief but also to ensure your long-term health and peak physical function.
3. Regain Your Freedom To Do Everything You Want To Do
Receive the specialized care you need to address your health concerns today. Our goal is to help you return to the activities you love, ensuring that pain no longer dictates your lifestyle or prevents you from living life to the fullest.
How We Treat Headaches In Fort Worth, TX
Comprehensive Consultation and Exam
Determining the type of headache a patient is experiencing is important. From migraines to sinus headaches, it’s important to consult and have an exam and X-rays to see where it’s coming from. Also, figuring out things/patterns that have led to the headaches from trauma, work ergonomics, sleep, exercise, repetitive movements, and many other factors can contribute. We want to find the root cause so we can help you correct it! To help identify the root cause, our office utilizes posture evaluation, range-of-motion testing, thermography (when nerves are damaged, they give off heat), and digital x-ray analysis, which shows us exactly where to adjust the patient.
Digital X-rays
This is the most important test that we do to identify what is causing your headaches. We can identify subluxations in your neck based on the X-ray findings and see exactly where you need to be adjusted. This is the safest way to have chiropractic care. Not seeing is guessing, and we don’t guess with your health! We perform seated X-rays in our office because, when you are seated, your Spine is in a more stressed position, allowing us to identify problems that might be missed in a standing position.
Specific Chiropractic Care in Fort Worth, TX
When a patient comes into our practice with headaches, we will check their neck for subluxations. What is a subluxation? It’s when the spine gets so stuck out of alignment that it starts to compress, stretch, or impinge the spinal cord or the nerves that run muscles, tissues, and organs. This results in headaches, localized or radiating arm pain, muscle spasms, bulging or herniated discs, Osteoarthritis, balance and equilibrium problems, allergies, and Sinus issues. When a patient starts to get adjusted, the vertebrae are realigned to their normal positions, taking pressure off the nerves and the spinal cord, allowing the area to heal and function better. Most headache pain is caused by structural problems (Subluxations), and our office focuses on correcting the root cause of your pain. Medication doesn’t fix a structural problem, so the 1st option to get better with low back pain should be chiropractic!
Custom Therapeutic Exercise Plan
In most cases, headaches take a long time to develop into a chronic problem. Many lifestyle habits can create poor muscle memory in the neck’s supporting muscles, especially those under the back of the skull. When these muscles and tissues break down, they can pull the top 2 neck vertebrae out of alignment, contributing to your Headache Pain. That’s why in our practice, we adjust the Spine AND Rehab the surrounding neck muscles to retrain the body to hold the adjustment in place longer. This helps us restore a patient’s neck curve to a more normal position, which will help the patient heal faster and give a more long-term result. We utilize Neck Traction therapy with our patients to warm up the neck and upper back muscles/discs before they are adjusted. This exercise not only warms up the neck muscles and discs, but also makes the adjustment more effective and longer-lasting. We also utilize cervical curve rolls to lie on after the Adjustment to help mold the Spine in a more normal posture. We also use body weights to help strengthen the surrounding neck and upper back muscles to hold the adjustment longer.
Nutrition and Supplementation
While a structural problem with the Neck Vertebrae needs to be addressed if you are having headaches, there might also be a few key nutrients that you might be deficient in that can be contributing to your headache frequency and making them worse. For starters, your diet might be a big problem, as a diet that is high in sugar/carbs and low in water intake can create issues with your blood sugar and dehydration, which can both lead to headaches. Switching to a more protein- and healthy-fat-rich, lower-carb diet, with daily water intake, will help significantly. Also, Magnesium, Omega-3 Fats, and Chelated Iron (for women with hormone-related HA’s) are all good supplements to start taking regularly.
Common Types of Headaches We Treat in Fort Worth, TX
Tension Headache
Tension headaches are the most common type of headache that people deal with. Usually, they consist of pressure or extreme tightness around the head, especially at the base of the skull. This is typically a type of Headache that results from stress or prolonged poor posture. Traction and neck adjustments help take pressure off the nerves, spinal cord, and neck muscles. Restoring the natural curve of the cervical spine (neck) is critical when finding a solution to your tension headaches.
Migraine Headaches
Described by an intense throbbing pain and even nausea/vomiting, Migraine headaches are usually a result of a lack of normal blood flow/oxygen to the brain. In our clinic, we often see a loss of the cervical curve, which is a major contributor to recurrent migraines. One of the best things a person can do to help correct the cause of migraine headaches is Corrective Chiropractic Care. By restoring the natural curve of the neck through adjustments and rehab, the brain starts to get more normal blood flow and more normal CSF (cerebrospinal fluid), which helps the patient heal faster.
Cervicogenic Headache
These HA’s are usually a secondary type of headache directly caused by the abnormal position of the cervical spine. These can start from the base of the skull and wrap around the head (especially the front over the eyes). From a structural standpoint, the neck curve is usually lost, and the head is very far forward of the shoulders (Forward Head Syndrome), which can stretch the spinal cord and cause chronic tension in the lower neck and upper back muscles. You typically see, over time, a hump at the top of the back in these patients due to the extreme inflammation. We see great improvement with our patients when we help restore the affected part of the Neck to a more normal curvature.
Sinus Headache
Often mistaken for Migraines. Sinus Headaches typically happen during an infection and don’t have the regularity of migraines, as when you are overcoming the infection, the symptoms get better. But symptoms usually include a thick, discolored mucus, bad breath, upper teeth pain, increased pressure when bending over, and fever. If you are someone who gets these regularly, there could be a structural cause in the upper 2 Cervical Vertebrae, causing abnormal pressure on the Nerves that control your sinuses, glands, and lymph nodes in your Neck. We see great change in patients who get repeated colds, ear infections, and Sinus Headaches as a result of Subluxations (misalignments) in the Upper Neck Area.
Whiplash Headache
Often a result of trauma like a rear-end auto accident, a concussion in sports, or a hard fall that hits the back of the head, whiplash is the result of the rapid back-and-forth motion, and this usually harms the neck muscles and ligaments that support it. These headaches start at the base of the neck, can wrap around the head and eyes, and are accompanied by intense neck and upper back muscle spasms. Restoring the Neck to its Normal Alignment is very effective at helping someone with whiplash headaches. In our office, we start by doing a series of tests: Posture, Range of Motion, Thermography, and X-ray analysis. The way we correct Subluxations (misalignments) in the neck and upper back is by gently adjusting the vertebrae back into proper alignment, thereby taking pressure off the Nerves. This causes the body to calm down and begin healing toward a more normal state. This results in fewer headaches, less pain, fewer muscle spasms, more strength, more energy, and better sleep, which helps facilitate a faster recovery from the whiplash event.
Check Out Our Location Near You
3250 Hulen Street, Suite 140, Fort Worth, TX 76107
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a Chiropractor in Ft Worth, TX, good for Headaches?
Yes! We have a high success rate helping people with all types of headaches reach a point where they no longer have them through specific chiropractic adjustments and rehab.
When should you see a Chiropractor for Headaches?
If you notice getting a headache at least once a month, or even more frequently, that is a huge red flag that something keeps causing them. The most common reason we see patients with headaches is a problem with the Cervical Spine (Neck).
Is a massage or chiropractic better for headaches?
Massages can be helpful for headaches but usually provide only short-term relief, as the muscles tighten again because the neck structure remains out of alignment. Restoring the natural curve in the neck is the most effective way to heal from headaches.
Do MDs recommend chiropractic for headaches?
More and more MDs recommend chiropractic for headaches, but usually when the pain meds stop working. Medications won’t fix a structural problem, so we always recommend chiropractic as a first response, not a last resort.
Can getting adjusted help with headaches?
Yes! Usually, the root cause of headaches is a subluxation (misalignment) of the natural neck curve. By restoring the neck curve to normal, we see a dramatic reduction in Headache frequency and duration.
How can you tell if your neck is out of alignment?
If you notice headaches, restricted range of motion, pain with movement, back muscle spasms, abnormal posture when you stand in front of a mirror, and numbness or weakness in your arms and hands, you need to see a chiropractor right away.
$49 New Patient Special
Includes Consultation, Spinal Thermography, Postural Evaluation, Digital X-Rays, 1st Adjustment & Report of Findings