Headaches play a significant role in a person’s quality of life and are one of the most common complaints seen in chiropractic offices.
One survey reported that 16.6% of adults age 18 and older suffered from migraines or other severe headaches during a three-month period. Another study found that head pain was the fifth leading cause of emergency department visits in the United States and accounted for 1.2% of all outpatient visits.
These numbers are even higher for women ages 18–44, where the three-month occurrence rate reached 26.1%, making headaches the third leading cause of emergency room visits in that age group.
Because of the possible side effects of medications, many headache sufferers turn to non-medication approaches. Chiropractic is one of the most commonly used complementary treatments for tension-type and cervicogenic headaches.
So why are headaches so common? One major reason is posture.
Posture plays a key role in the onset and persistence of headaches that originate in the neck. Ideally, the head should sit directly over the shoulders, not forward in front of them.
From the side view, an imaginary line drawn upward from the shoulder should pass through the opening of the ear.
When the head shifts forward—even by one inch—it effectively adds approximately 10 pounds of extra weight that the muscles of the neck and upper back must support.
University of California medical author Dr. Rene Calliet reported that this altered posture can add up to 30 pounds of abnormal stress on the neck and may “pull the entire spine out of alignment.” It may also reduce lung capacity by as much as 30%, contribute to neck pain and headaches, and even lead to the development of a forward-rounded upper back.
Think of carrying a 30-pound watermelon around your neck all day. Eventually the muscles become tight, fatigued, and painful.
The good news is that this problem can often be improved.
Between chiropractic adjustments, posture retraining exercises, strengthening, and other corrective care, your Doctor of Chiropractic can help improve your posture so that neck pain and headaches do not continue to worsen over time.
