Can a chiropractor help with headaches?
Headaches and migraines
Often, yes. A large share of headaches start in the neck, not the head. When the top neck joints lock up, they refer pain into the skull, behind the eyes, and across the forehead. Adjusting those joints removes the source instead of covering it with another pill.
What it usually looks like
- Pain that starts at the base of the skull
- Headaches after long desk days
- Tightness in the neck before the headache
- Headaches on one side
How Dr. Frank treats it
Upper cervical adjustments and soft tissue work on the muscles feeding the pattern.
Why it happens
What causes headaches and migraines
The top of the neck
The joints between the skull and the first two vertebrae share nerves with the head. When those joints are stuck or irritated, the brain reads it as a headache, usually at the base of the skull, over one eye, or across the forehead. This is a cervicogenic headache, and it is the kind chiropractic helps most.
Tension and posture
Hours of forward head posture keep the muscles at the base of the skull under load. The result is the dull band of pressure people call a tension headache, worse by late afternoon and better on weekends.
After an accident
Headaches that start days after a crash are one of the most common whiplash symptoms. They come from the neck, and they respond to care for the neck.
What to expect
Visit one, and how long it takes
Your first visit
Dr. Frank works out which kind of headache you have. Migraines and cluster headaches have their own patterns and are managed with your physician. Headaches coming from the neck show up on the exam: a stiff upper neck, tenderness at the skull base, and a headache you can reproduce by pressing the right spot. Those are treated the same day.
How many visits
Neck-driven headaches usually drop in frequency inside 2 to 4 weeks of care. Dr. Frank asks you to keep a simple count so you both know whether it is working, and adds the desk and pillow changes that keep them away.
When it is not a chiropractic problem
See a medical doctor first if you have
- The worst headache of your life, or one that came on in seconds
- Headache with fever and a stiff neck, with confusion, or after a head injury
- A new headache pattern after age 50, or headaches with vision changes or weakness
Dr. Frank screens for every one of these on visit one and refers out when he finds them. If any of them is happening right now, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
Questions
About headaches and migraines
What kind of headaches respond to chiropractic?
Tension headaches and cervicogenic headaches, meaning headaches that come from the neck, respond best. Many migraine patients improve too.
How many visits before headaches improve?
Most patients notice a change inside the first two weeks.
Can a chiropractor help migraines?
Sometimes, when neck tension is a trigger, and only alongside your physician. Dr. Frank is direct about this: if your headaches are true migraines with aura and nausea, chiropractic can reduce the neck component but is not the primary treatment.
How do I know my headache is from my neck?
It starts at the base of the skull or behind one eye, it is on the same side as your neck stiffness, it gets worse with a long day at a desk or after driving, and you can often reproduce it by pressing at the top of the neck.
Will I need to stop taking my headache medication?
That is between you and your prescribing doctor. Many patients need less of it as the headaches drop off, and Dr. Frank coordinates with your physician when that happens.
The patient and any other person responsible for payment has a right to refuse to pay, cancel payment, or be reimbursed for payment for any other service, examination, or treatment that is performed as a result of and within 72 hours of responding to the advertisement for the free, discounted fee, or reduced fee service, examination, or treatment.
Reviewed by Dr. Frank Comparetti, D.C. Last updated September 28, 2026.