Headaches Have Many Causes—Start With the Right Evaluation
At Better Chiropractic in Gilbert, we evaluate whether neck, joint, muscle, or movement factors may be contributing to your headaches and recommend medical evaluation when the presentation suggests another cause.
If your headaches began after a car accident, see our Car Accident & Personal Injury page for accident-specific evaluation and documentation information.
Seek urgent medical care for a sudden severe or “worst” headache, headache after significant trauma, new weakness or numbness, confusion, fainting, fever with neck stiffness, or other concerning neurologic symptoms.
What Can Contribute to Headaches?
Headaches can have many causes, and the right next step depends on the pattern of symptoms and your health history.
Tension-type headaches can be associated with stress and tenderness in the muscles of the head and neck. Some headaches can also be referred from structures in the neck, while migraine is a neurologic disorder and may require medical management.
Our evaluation looks for neck and musculoskeletal factors that may be contributing to symptoms. We do not assume that every headache is caused by the spine, and we recommend medical evaluation or referral when the history or examination suggests another cause.
If a headache began after a motor-vehicle collision, visit our Car Accident & Personal Injury page for accident-specific information.
When Headaches Are Frequent or Recurrent
Recurring headaches deserve an appropriate diagnosis, especially when the pattern is new, changing, severe, or accompanied by other symptoms.
Migraine is a neurologic disorder that can include severe head pain, nausea, light or sound sensitivity, and other symptoms. Cluster headaches and other recurrent headache disorders have different features and may require medical evaluation and condition-specific treatment.
Some headache patterns can also involve neck or musculoskeletal contributors. Our role is to evaluate those factors when relevant—not to assume that all chronic headaches have the same cause.
New, changing, unusually severe, or persistent headaches should be discussed with an appropriate healthcare professional, particularly when accompanied by neurologic symptoms or other red flags.
How We Evaluate Headaches and When Conservative Care Fits
We start with your headache pattern, health history, associated symptoms, neck function, and red flags before recommending care.
When the evaluation suggests that neck or other musculoskeletal factors are contributing, conservative care may include gentle chiropractic or manual treatment, soft-tissue work, mobility exercise, and individualized rehabilitation.
The specific approach depends on the presentation and your response. We do not treat every headache the same way, and we do not promise that chiropractic care will prevent future headaches.
If the history or examination suggests migraine, a non-musculoskeletal cause, need for imaging, or another medical concern, we will recommend appropriate medical evaluation or referral.
