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Headaches are one of the most common ailments among Americans. It is estimated that more than 30 million Americans experience intense or chronic headaches. The daily grind, stress, allergies, environmental factors, and physiological imbalances or subluxations/ spinal dysfunctions are all potential contributing factors of headaches. Headaches affect all ages, from young children to senior adults and symptoms vary from mild, nagging pain to debilitating migraines.
Chiropractors have long been treating patients with headaches with great success. Chiropractic is a natural form of healing that uses manual therapies (commonly adjustments) and other physiotherapy modalities. Chiropractic is a holistic approach in patient care and has been shown in multiple studies to be an effective treatment for the treatment and prevention of headaches.
In an early study, “Spinal manipulation vs. amitriptyline for the treatment of chronic tension-type” (J Manipulative Physiol Ther)1, researchers concluded that chiropractic had a more positive long term effect than medication in the treatment of headaches. In the study, the patients who received chiropractic an average of twice a week for one month, had longer lasting levels of improvementthan those who were taking the medication.
In a 1997 randomized clinical trial, researchers found that chiropractic spinal manipulation was superior to laser treatment for cervicogenic headaches.2 Cervicogenic headaches are fairly common. Symptoms originate in the back or neck and travel up into the head. Chronic tension, injury, spinal disc disease, and arthritis are among the common causes of cervicogenic headaches. Chiropractic can help address not only the symptoms, but also the cause of the pain, producing long term relief.
For individuals plagued by migraine headaches, two major studies found evidence supporting chiropractic manipulations (adjustments) as an effective treatment. The first study found that chiropractic was beneficial for migraine sufferers and that adding medication (amitriptyline) to the treatment care for those patients did not provide any additional relief.3 The second study compared two months of chiropractic manipulations to detuned ultrasound treatments (placebo). The manipulations proved to be statistically significant in improving migraine pain, duration, and frequency for the patients.4
Finally, Duke University conducted their “Evidence Report: Behavioral and Physical Treatments for Tension-type and Cervicogenic Headache.”5 The report took a comprehensive look at all of the previous studies on headaches. They concluded that treatment by a chiropractor using spinal manipulations was an effective and superior treatment to other soft tissue therapies for headaches and that chiropractic had long-term effects, above and beyond the common medication, amitriptyline.
References
1. Boline PD, Kassak K, Bronfort G, Nelson C, Anderson AV. Spinal manipulation vs. amitriptyline for the treatment of chronic tension-type headaches: a randomized clinical trial. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. Mar-Apr 1995;18(3):148-154.
2. Nilsson N, Christensen HW, Hartvigsen J. The effect of spinal manipulation in the treatment of cervicogenic headache. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1997;20(5):326-330.
3. Nelson CF, Bronfort G, Evans R, Boline P, Goldsmith C, Anderson AV. The efficacy of spinal manipulation, amitriptyline and the combination of both therapies for the prophylaxis of migraine headache. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1998;21(8):511-519.
4. Tuchin PJ, Pollard H, Bonello R. A randomized controlled trial of chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy for migraine. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2000;23(2):91-95.
5. McCrory DC. Evidence report: Behavior and physical treatments for tension-type and cervicogenic headaches. Des Moines, IA: Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research; 2001.
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