Yes, for some headaches. Chiropractic care treats mechanical neck pain well, and the headaches that start in the neck respond best. Trials also report fewer migraine days for some patients. It is the wrong answer for other headache types, so the exam at our Holt office comes before any adjustment.
Almost nobody arrives able to name their headache type. They arrive the way Akia B. did: “I first came to Holt Chiropractic four months ago due to a pinch nerve in my neck. I was on muscle relaxers and couldn’t even look at my computer for work, let alone keep up with my active 2-year-old.”
That pairing shows up constantly in the 180 Google reviews for the Holt office: a neck that will not turn, and a head that aches by mid afternoon. Usually there is a history behind it too, a year or two of heating pads, over the counter tablets and a massage gun, none of which touched the joint that was causing the trouble.
Below is how the two problems connect, which headaches the evidence supports treating here, which ones belong with a physician, and what an exam at our Holt office actually looks at.
Where Mechanical Neck Pain Comes From
Mechanical means the pain comes from the joints, muscles and discs of the neck rather than from disease. That covers most neck pain, and most adults meet it at some point: neck pain ranks fourth among causes of disability worldwide, and roughly half of adults have an episode in any given year.[1]
The causes are ordinary. Eight hours with your head tipped toward a monitor loads the small joints at the base of the skull. So does an hour of scrolling before bed. Add a pillow that holds your neck at an angle all night, a rear end collision from years ago, or shoulders that climb toward your ears whenever work gets heavy, and those joints stop moving through their full range.
Restricted joints send vague signals. A shoulder check that no longer turns far enough. A tender knot beside the shoulder blade. A neck that needs until lunchtime to loosen. Then, for many people, the head joins in. You can read what that pattern looks like for our neck pain patients who work at a desk in Holt, Mason, Dimondale or Okemos.
Sorting Out Which Headache You Have
The type decides the treatment, so the exam starts there. Four types account for most of what we see:
- Tension-type headache: the most common kind, felt as a band of pressure across both sides of the head. Tight muscles through the neck, shoulders and scalp are part of the picture for many people, and stress and posture usually keep them tight.
- Cervicogenic headache: pain generated in the upper neck and referred into the head, because those top joints share nerve pathways with the skull. It tends to sit on one side, start at the base of the skull, and worsen with neck movement or a long stretch in one position.[2]
- Migraine: a neurological condition rather than a joint problem, marked by throbbing pain, nausea and sensitivity to light and sound. Neck pain often travels with it, and spinal manipulation may ease migraine symptoms for some patients, but the migraine itself begins in the brain.
- Cluster headache: uncommon, and severe. One sided pain around the eye arrives in bouts lasting days or weeks. This is managed medically, not on a chiropractic table.
Chiropractic clinical guidelines draw the same lines the exam does: spinal manipulation is recommended for cervicogenic headache and for migraine management, while joint mobilization and exercise sit among the options for tension-type headache.[3]
Tension-type headache often calls for soft tissue manipulation more than for a joint adjustment, releasing the neck and scalp muscles that refer pain upward. Massage therapy is available in the same Holt office, which is why care plans here frequently combine the two. Our headaches and migraines page sets out how that combination is put together.
What the Trials Actually Found
Neck pain first. A 2015 Cochrane review of 51 trials concluded that a course of cervical manipulation gave better pain relief and better function than some medications, at short and intermediate follow up, with outcomes close to those of mobilization.[4] Cochrane reviews apply the strictest standards in medicine, which is why that one carries weight.
Cervicogenic headache has something better than a single trial: a dose response study. Researchers randomized 256 adults to different numbers of spinal manipulation visits across six weeks. Relief tracked the number of visits, and at every dose tested the manipulation groups had meaningfully fewer headache days than the group receiving light massage.[5] That finding is the reason your doctor will talk about a plan of care instead of one appointment.
For migraine, a 2019 meta-analysis in the journal Headache pooled six randomized trials and found that spinal manipulation lowered both the number of migraine days and the intensity of the pain.[6] The honest limit is that this is a reduction, not a cure, and patients who see a neurologist should keep seeing one.
“I originally went due to migraines and I am currently migraine free.” - LaSha G. (Holt)
That is one patient’s account over several years, not a forecast for anyone else, which is exactly why it sits beside the trials rather than in place of them. What the research predicts for people who respond is fewer bad days.
When a Headache Needs a Physician First
A few headaches need medical assessment before anyone examines your neck. Seek medical care first if you have:
- A headache that hits full force within seconds, the worst you have ever had. Go to the emergency room.
- A headache alongside fever and a neck too stiff to bend forward.
- Any headache that follows a crash, a fall or a blow to the head.
- A headache with confusion, slurred speech, loss of vision, or weakness down one side.
- Neck pain with fever, weight loss you cannot account for, or numbness and weakness running into a hand.
Those screens are part of the first exam, and we refer out when the findings point past what we treat.
The other safety question people bring in concerns strokes, usually after reading something alarming. The largest study on it tracked more than 100 million person-years in Ontario and found no increase in stroke risk after chiropractic care compared with visits to a family doctor. The apparent link exists because people in the early hours of a stroke seek help for neck pain and headache from both professions alike.[7] The side effect patients do report is a dull one: soreness for a day, sometimes less.
How We Assess Neck Pain and Headaches in Holt
Nothing happens on the table first. Dr. Jessica Coleman or Dr. Moriah Severance takes your history, checks how each segment of your neck moves, tests strength and reflexes, and works out which headache type, or which combination, you have. Our what to expect page walks through that first appointment step by step. X-rays follow only when the exam gives a reason for them.
Treatment is an adjustment to the joints that are not moving, scaled to the person on the table. Low-force methods are available for patients who tense up at the thought, and massage therapy is on site for the muscular half of the problem. Dr. Moriah is a naturopathic doctor as well as a chiropractor, so where sleep, hydration or diet are feeding the headaches, that conversation happens here too.
The joint is only half the job. Free it up on Monday and it locks again by Friday if the setup that caused it is untouched, so every plan includes work you do at home:
- A monitor raised until the top of the screen meets eye level.
- A pillow that keeps your neck in line with the rest of your spine.
- A timer that gets you up every 30 to 45 minutes.
- Two or three exercises aimed at what the exam found weak.
“My neck issues have radically improved since seeing her, and the exercises she showed me have helped create more balance and way less pain.” - Christina M. (Holt)
Timelines vary honestly. Some patients feel the change the same week, others measure it over a couple of months, and more accounts from both groups sit on our headache testimonials page.
If you are in a flare right now, say so when you call. Asjia M. described how that goes: “Able to work me in same day when my neck froze.”
The Holt office is at 4573 E Willoughby Rd Suite B, open Monday and Wednesday 9am to 6pm, Thursday 2pm to 6pm and Friday 9am to 3pm. Call (517) 699-2646 or book online, and tell us which of the headaches above sounds like yours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which headaches respond best to chiropractic care?
Cervicogenic headaches, the ones that begin in the joints of the upper neck, respond best. Tension-type headaches often improve as well, because tight neck and shoulder muscles usually drive them. Migraine is a neurological condition, so care aims at how often and how hard the attacks arrive rather than at stopping them.
Is a neck adjustment safe?
Serious problems are rare. The largest study on the question followed more than 100 million person-years and found no added stroke risk after chiropractic care compared with a visit to a family doctor. Mild soreness for a day is the usual side effect, and if the thought of a neck adjustment makes you tense up, say so and we will use a low-force method instead.
How long before my headaches change?
Some patients notice a difference inside the first week, and the research points to a course of care rather than a single visit. A randomized trial of cervicogenic headache found that more spinal manipulation visits across six weeks produced more relief. Your doctor sets a timeline at the exam and revises it as your response tells her what is working.
Will I need X-rays for neck pain or headaches?
Only when the examination gives a clinical reason, such as a history of trauma or findings that should be imaged before treatment begins. X-rays are taken at our Holt office when they are needed, and the doctor walks you through what they show. Plenty of headache and neck pain patients never need them.
Can I be seen the same day when a headache flares?
Often, yes. Call (517) 699-2646, tell us you are in a flare, and we will fit you in where the schedule allows. The Holt office is open Monday and Wednesday 9am to 6pm, Thursday 2pm to 6pm, and Friday 9am to 3pm.
References
- Cohen SP. Epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of neck pain. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2015;90(2):284-299. PubMed ↩
- Blanpied PR, Gross AR, Elliott JM, et al. Neck pain: revision 2017. Clinical practice guidelines linked to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy. 2017;47(7):A1-A83. PubMed ↩
- Bryans R, Descarreaux M, Duranleau M, et al. Evidence-based guidelines for the chiropractic treatment of adults with headache. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 2011;34(5):274-289. PubMed ↩
- Gross A, Langevin P, Burnie SJ, et al. Manipulation and mobilisation for neck pain contrasted against an inactive control or another active treatment. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2015;(9):CD004249. PubMed ↩
- Haas M, Bronfort G, Evans R, et al. Dose-response and efficacy of spinal manipulation for care of cervicogenic headache: a dual-center randomized controlled trial. The Spine Journal. 2018;18(10):1741-1754. PubMed ↩
- Rist PM, Hernandez A, Bernstein C, et al. The impact of spinal manipulation on migraine pain and disability: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Headache. 2019;59(4):532-542. PubMed ↩
- Cassidy JD, Boyle E, Côté P, et al. Risk of vertebrobasilar stroke and chiropractic care: results of a population-based case-control and case-crossover study. Spine. 2008;33(4 Suppl):S176-S183. PubMed ↩
