Most people who suffer from frequent headaches have spent years managing the symptoms without ever addressing the cause. They take over the counter pain relievers, try to identify food triggers, cut back on caffeine, and hope the next one is not as bad as the last. For many of those patients, the real driver of their headaches has nothing to do with what they are eating or drinking. It is coming from their neck.
Cervicogenic headaches, those originating from dysfunction in the cervical spine, are among the most commonly missed and most consistently undertreated headache types. They can feel identical to tension headaches or even migraines, producing pain that starts at the base of the skull and radiates forward into the temples, behind the eyes, or across the forehead. Because the pain is felt in the head, the neck rarely gets examined.
At Lagoni Chiropractic, the cervical spine is one of the first places Dr. Jay looks when a patient presents with chronic headaches. Joint restriction, muscle tension, and postural stress in the neck can all refer pain upward into the head. Addressing those underlying factors through chiropractic adjustments, soft tissue work, and corrective exercise often produces relief that medication alone never achieved.
This does not mean every headache is chiropractic in origin. Migraines involve complex neurological and vascular mechanisms that go beyond spinal dysfunction. But even migraine patients frequently have a cervical component that, when addressed, reduces the frequency and severity of episodes. Dr. Jay takes a thorough history and evaluation with every new headache patient to determine how much of the picture is mechanical and what the most appropriate approach looks like.
Treatment may include chiropractic adjustments to the cervical and upper thoracic spine, Arthrostim instrument adjusting for patients who prefer a gentler approach, soft tissue therapies, low-level laser therapy, and a home exercise program targeting the postural and movement factors that contribute to recurring headaches. Nutritional and lifestyle factors are also part of the conversation when relevant.
If you have been managing headaches with medication and not getting anywhere, call us at (765) 778-4095 or fill out the form on our New Patient page.
Serving Pendleton, Anderson, Fortville, Lapel, and the surrounding area. Most major insurance accepted.