Almost everyone gets a headache from time to time. Nine out of 10 Americans have suffered from headaches at some point in their lives. If you're someone who frequently gets headaches and could use more options for relief, this blog is for you!

Types of Headaches and Causes

Headaches can have a number of different triggers, such as certain foods, elements in the surroundings (lights, noise, chemicals and smells) or physical issues (low blood sugar, dehydration, illness, allergies or insomnia). However, experts estimate that those triggers account for only around 5% of all headaches. Approximately 95% of headaches are some form of primary headache, meaning it's not caused by one or several of those triggers (though the triggers can certainly make primary headaches worse). Primary headaches include cluster headaches, tension headaches and migraine headaches. The majority of primary headaches are related to misalignments in cervical vertebrae and/or muscle tension in the neck, shoulders, upper back and skull/scalp.

What You Can Do to Ease Headache Woes

Before we dig into how chiropractic can help with headaches, there are a number of things you can do to help ease headaches or reduce their frequency.

Drink plenty of water. The correct amount of water for most people per day is half your body weight in ounces. So if you weigh 140 pounds, you should drink at least 70 ounces of water each day, adding more to account for sweaty workouts. Even mild dehydration can make a primary headache much worse.

Don't clench your jaw/teeth. Clenching the jaw or teeth is a common reaction to our stressful work and home lives, but worth paying attention to. Clenching the jaw puts stress on the TMJ joint where your bottom jaw meets your skull. Stress and irritation in the TMJ joint is a frequent cause of tension headaches.

Stretch and move often. If you work in a fixed or seated position for a significant part of your day - at a desk, in front of computer or other sedentary position, it's important to incorporate breaks to stretch and move throughout your day. Every half hour to one hour, get up and move around a bit. If you can do some light stretches taking the head and neck through the full range of motion, that is ideal. Movement and stretching releases muscle tension that can lead to headaches.

What a Chiropractor Can Do to Help Headaches

Many, many people seek out the help of chiropractors to help with headaches every year. Here are a few ways your chiropractor can help reduce the severity and frequency of your headaches.

Perform chiropractic adjustments. Your chiropractor will check for misalignments in your neck (cervical vertebrae) and rest of the spine and perform adjustments to restore proper alignment. For many people, correcting misalignments in the cervical vertebrae in the neck provide a vast improvement in spinal function and reducing stress that leads to headaches.

Teach you stretches, exercises and good posture habits. Your chiropractor can advise you on specific stretches and exercises that will improve and strengthen the muscles that could be contributing to headaches. When the surrounding tissues better support the neck and spine, it can help the body better hold proper alignment after an adjustment. Your chiropractor can also teach you good posture habits and relaxation techniques to reduce tension that contributes to headaches.

Provide advice on topical treatments. Using some forms of topical treatments in the neck and shoulder areas, in particular, can relieve discomfort in those areas and help reduce muscle tension that could cause headaches. Your chiropractor can also advise you on the use of ice or heat therapy to keep muscle tension under control.


Headaches can be a minor nuisance for some people and debilitating for others. You have options! Your chiropractor can provide care that significantly improves your headaches by addressing the misalignments that contribute to your condition. For more information on how chiropractic can help you with headache issues, call O'Neill Chiropractic.