Headaches happen for lots of reasons. It can be hard to know what kind you have and what's causing it. But if it's related to a problem in your neck, there's a good chance it's a cervicogenic headache (CH).

One sign of CH is pain that comes from a sudden movement of your neck. Another is that you get head pain when your neck remains in the same position for some time.

Other signs may include:

• Pain on one side of your head or face
• Steady pain that doesn't throb
• Head pain when you cough, sneeze, or take a deep breath
• An attack of pain that can last for hours or days
• Stiff neck -- you can't move your neck normally
• Pain that stays in one spot, like the back, front, or side of your head or your eye

At times, a CH can also closely resemble a migraine. Some similar characteristics are:

• Feel sick to your stomach
• Throw up
• Have pain in your arm or shoulder
• Feel sick or uncomfortable in bright light
• Feel sick or uncomfortable with loud noise
• Have blurry vision

Sometimes a CH and migraine can happen at the same time.

Luckily, chiropractic is an excellent resource for tackling this troublesome issue. Through regular chiropractic care headaches including cervicogenic and migraines can be well managed. As of recent, there have been growing studies indicating that chiropractic adjustments are a safe, conservative, and effective way to manage these headaches. (Bryans R, Descarreaux M, Duranleau M, Marcoux H, Potter B, Ruegg R, Shaw L, Watkin R, White E. Evidence-based guidelines for the chiropractic treatment of adults with headache. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2011 Jun;34(5):274-89. doi: 10.1016/j.jmpt.2011.04.008. PMID: 21640251.) 

We look forward to helping you take control back and start living life on your terms free of crippling headaches that are stopping you in your tracks.