Expert: Dr. J. Shawn Leatherman - 2/8/2007

Question
My husband is 58 years old and has worked heavy building construction all of
his  life.  He has had several incidents where he has injured his back but has not
sought treatment for it.  He continues to work and eventually it heals.  During
the last year he has severe headaches.  How successful is chiropractic treatment
for headaches?

Answer
Dear Leslie,

Chiropractic care is very successful in treating headaches as long as they are not being caused by some internal disorder in the brain.  That would be an issue for a medical doctor.  Luckily, most headaches experienced are due to biomechanical dysfunction or myofascial dysfunction in the neck or upper back.  

The nerves that supply sensation to the back of the head exit at the top of the spinal cord and can be readily influenced by chiropractic adjustments.  In addition the musculature of the upper back and neck also contributes to headache pain, and frequently causes headaches, because they attach to the upper neck and lower portion of the skull. Even the muscles of the jaw and temple area can elicit headache pain when tensed.  The chiropractor is skilled in detecting muscular dysfunction and addressing the problem which will alleviate the stress and tension in the system which will reduce headache pain and frequency.

Chiropractors can also be successful in the elimination of migraine symptoms, but the success rate is lower than that of muscular and joint generated headache pain.  In my practice, we have three chiropractic physicians and headache pain is a common initial complaint.  I would opine that collectively as a group we are able to reduce 80-90 percent of all headache pain seen in our clinic, and they we have eliminated over 50 percent of headache pain.  Some people do better than others, we have had a few cases in which chiropractic care was not appropriate, so those patients were referred to a neurologist.

The bottom line is that the majority of the time we can help.  All chiropractors will be able to help your husband with the reduction of his headache pain, but the effectiveness will depend on an accurate diagnosis of the tissues responsible for the cause of the pain. Different anatomical structures may require different types of treatment for the best resolution. Spinal adjustments and myofascial work are very effective in controlling the cause of pain and you should see an appreciable reduction in pain and a reduction in frequency over the course of 4-6 treatments.  

I would recommend that you call a few local chiropractic offices to get a feel for the clinics, and schedule a consultation with the doctor to discuss your individual concerns.  Most chiropractic physicians will give consults for free, and this will also give you a chance to meet the doctor and become comfortable before scheduling an examination.

Hope this helps you and your husband with this decision Leslie.  Please feel free to write back if you have any further comments or questions.

Respectfully,
Dr. J. Shawn Leatherman
www.suncoasthealthcare.net