Facts

• Chiropractic care for such conditions has been proven safe, with  far less possible side effects when compared with aspirin and other common painkillers.
• Nearly everyone suffers with occasional headaches, 
• For about 20% of the population, these headaches are chronic or recurrent. 
• Every year, millions of pounds are spent on painkillers for headaches and still more and more  people join the group of chronic sufferers
• The World Health Organisation (WHO) has defined the structures responsible for headaches and migraines to include the neck, the scalp muscles and vessels, and the brain covering sheath.
• According to a study carried out in North America, Europe and Australia approximately 10% of all chiropractic patients attend for the treatment of headaches

The most common causes of headache are dysfunction of the joints in the neck, physical trauma, emotional stress, nutritional imbalance, dehydration and visual strain.   These are all common benign conditions that are easily recognised and treated. However in rare cases, headaches and migraines can be a sign of a more serious problem. 

The most common types of headaches include:

• Migraine - caused by the narrowing and expanding of blood vessels in the skull
• Tension headache - caused by cramps or spasm in muscles surrounding the skull
• Neck (cervicogenic) headache - where problems with the joints and muscles of the neck refer pain into the head.

Controlled clinical studies have shown time and again that chiropractic care is an effective treatment for all these categories with a high level of success.

What does treatment involve?

Unlike pain killing drugs, we treat the cause of the pain not just the pain itself.  We will carry out a full examination (including x-rays if necessary) and ask you detailed questions about your medical history and lifestyle, to discover the cause of your headaches.  

Once the diagnosis has been made, we will use a variety of specific manipulation or adjustment techniques in order to mobilize (free) the neck joints, stretch, relax and strengthen  the neck muscles and remove spinal nerve irritation.

Some patients enjoy almost immediate relief, while others notice a gradual easing of their symptoms over a period of several weeks. This will depend on the nature and chronicity of the problem.