Yes, and for two specific types, cervicogenic and tension headaches, the results are often significant. Chiropractic care is the first thing that has actually worked for many of our headache patients at Full Swing Healthcare.
Most Headaches Start in the Neck
Cervicogenic headaches originate in the upper cervical spine, specifically the C1 and C2 joints. When those joints are restricted or irritated, they refer pain upward in a predictable pattern: starting at the base of the skull and spreading forward toward the eye or forehead. Many patients who come to us with these headaches have been told they have migraines or tension headaches. They are not wrong about the pain being in their head. They are wrong about where it is coming from.
The source is mechanical. Chiropractic is designed to address mechanical problems. That is why the outcomes for this type of headache are as consistent as they are.
Tension Headaches and What Drives Them
Tension headaches are a different animal, though they often coexist with the cervicogenic type. The upper trapezius and suboccipital muscles go into chronic contraction from screen time, poor desk ergonomics, and sustained forward head posture. Jacksonville commute traffic does not help. Neither does looking down at a phone for hours.
The suboccipital muscles at the base of the skull connect the upper cervical vertebrae directly to the occiput. When they carry active trigger points, they refer pain over the top of the head in a band pattern. That is exactly what most people describe as a tension headache. Dr. Muren works these muscles directly in every headache patient he treats, because an adjustment without addressing those trigger points produces shorter-lasting results.
A Real Patient Who Stopped Getting Headaches
A woman from the Beaches area came to us after three years of two to three tension headaches per week. She had tried different pillows, a chiropractor who only adjusted with no soft-tissue work, massage (which helped for a few days), and a long rotation of ibuprofen. When Dr. Muren assessed her, the right suboccipitals and levator scapulae had trigger points that reproduced her headache pattern the moment he pressed on them. Four sessions cleared the pattern. She called us six weeks later to say she had had one mild headache in that entire period.
That outcome is not guaranteed for every headache patient, but it is not unusual either. The structural driver in her case had simply never been addressed before.
What About Migraines?
Migraines are neurological, not purely mechanical, and chiropractic is not a migraine cure. That said, many migraine patients have upper cervical dysfunction that acts as a consistent trigger. If your migraines are reliably preceded by neck tension or stiffness, reducing that mechanical irritant can lower how often the threshold is crossed. We are honest with every headache patient about what we think we can and cannot do. If your pattern does not suggest a cervical component, we say so.
For migraines with a stress-driven or autonomic component, Dr. Muren’s acupuncture training is relevant. The combination of cervical adjustment and acupuncture targeting the suboccipital region and autonomic regulation points often produces a different quality of result than either approach alone.
One More Thing Worth Knowing
If you are taking ibuprofen or acetaminophen several times a week for headaches, that cycle is worth breaking. Frequent pain medication use can cause medication-overuse headaches, a rebound effect where the medication itself starts triggering headaches. Getting to the mechanical cause can end that cycle for good.
- Cervicogenic and tension headaches respond well to chiropractic care
- Trigger-point work on the suboccipitals is often the missing piece
- Migraines may improve if there is a cervical component driving them
- Acupuncture can complement adjustments for harder-to-resolve patterns
- We tell you honestly what we think we can help with before you commit