When the headache is coming from your neck — and how to tell whether it is.
Chiropractic Care for Cervicogenic Headaches in Camrose
A cervicogenic headache is a headache whose source is the neck. Structures in the upper cervical spine refer pain into the head, typically starting at the base of the skull and spreading up one side, behind the eye or into the temple.
The clues are fairly consistent: the pain is usually one-sided and stays on that side, it often starts in the neck, it is provoked by neck movement or sustained postures, and there is usually restricted neck movement to find on examination.
Tension-type headache also responds to treating the neck and shoulders, since sustained muscle tension is part of the picture. Migraine is a different condition, and it is worth being clear about what manual treatment can and cannot offer there.
Chiropractic Care for Headaches and Migraines Camrose
Migraine is a neurological condition, not a mechanical one. Manual therapy does not treat migraine at its source, and claims that it cures migraine are not supported by the evidence.
What is worth knowing is that many people with migraine also have neck dysfunction, and neck pain is a common migraine trigger and a very common migraine symptom. Treating the neck can reduce that contribution — sometimes meaningfully, in terms of attack frequency or the neck pain around attacks. That is a supporting role alongside proper medical management, not a replacement for it.
If you have migraine and are not under medical care for it, that is the more important gap to close.
What to Expect From Headache and Migraine Chiropractic Treatment
Upper cervical assessment
Identifying which segments are restricted and whether they reproduce your familiar headache.
Manual treatment
Adjustment or mobilisation of the restricted segments, chosen according to how irritable the neck is.
Soft tissue work
Suboccipital, upper trapezius and levator scapulae — frequent contributors. See trigger point therapy.
Postural and workstation review
Sustained forward head posture is the single most common driver we see.
Deep neck flexor training
Endurance work in the deep stabilising muscles, which is well supported for cervicogenic headache.
Trigger identification
Sleep position, screen height, stress, jaw clenching — see TMJ physiotherapy where the jaw is involved.
When to Seek Medical Care for Headaches and Migraines
Some headaches need medical assessment, not manual therapy. Seek medical care for a sudden severe headache that peaks within seconds, a headache with fever and neck stiffness, headache after a head injury, a headache with vision loss, confusion, weakness or difficulty speaking, a headache that is progressively worsening over weeks, or a new headache pattern after age 50.
We screen for these and will send you on rather than treat.
Coverage & Direct Billing
We direct bill Alberta Blue Cross, Great-West Life, Sun Life Financial, Cowan Insurance Group, Manulife Financial, Maximum Benefit, Desjardins, Johnson Insurance and Green Shield Canada. We also handle WCB claims and motor vehicle accident claims directly.
What Our Camrose Patients Say
Verified Google reviews for Central Physiotherapy & Massage.
Book an Appointment in Camrose
Headaches that start in your neck? Book an assessment and we will find out whether that is what is happening.
Central Physiotherapy & Massage · 6028 48 Avenue, Camrose, AB · (780) 673-0573
Monday to Thursday 8:30am–7:00pm · Friday 8:30am–5:00pm