According to the World Health Organisation, headaches affect around 40% of people worldwide, with women experiencing them more frequently than men. Headaches fall into two main categories: primary and secondary.
Primary headaches include:
- Tension-type headaches
- Migraines
- Cluster headaches
Secondary headaches often arise due to an underlying condition such as medication overuse, infections, or more rarely tumours.
Tension-Type Headaches
Tension headaches are the most common form, accounting for an estimated 60–80% of all headache presentations. They often feel like a tight band around the head, commonly affecting the temples, forehead, or the neck region.
These headaches typically produce a dull, aching discomfort that can range from mild to moderate intensity. Common contributing factors include:
- Stress and anxiety
- Poor sleep habits
- Dehydration
- Nutritional imbalances
- Prolonged screen time or poor posture
Migraines
Migraines are the second most common headache type, affecting roughly 15% of the population. They are usually moderate to severe and are often described as a throbbing or pulsating pain on one side of the head.
People with migraines frequently experience:
- Sensitivity to light and sound
- Nausea or vomiting
- Visual or sensory disturbances known as Auras
Auras can appear as flashing lights, zig-zag lines, bright colours, or dark or fuzzy spots in the visual field. They typically occur before the onset of the headache.
Cluster Headaches
Cluster headaches are rare but extremely intense, often considered one of the most severe types of head pain. The pain usually centres around or behind one eye or at the temple and is almost always one-sided.
Cluster headaches:
- Occur more often in men
- Are more common among smokers and heavy drinkers
- Tend to strike at similar times each day
- Last from 15 minutes to 3-4 hours
- Can have periods of remission for weeks, months, or even years
How Chiropractic Care May Play a Role
When the spine has a subluxation, or misalignment, this can place pressure on surrounding soft tissues and interfere with critical neurological pathways near the brainstem. When this happens, normal communication between the brain and body can become disrupted, potentially triggering or exacerbating headache and migraine symptoms.
This may lead to:
- Increased muscle tension
- Reduced mobility in the cervical spine
- Altered blood flow or nerve signalling
- Heightened sensitivity of the nervous system
These factors can aggravate or trigger headaches in susceptible individuals.
How Chiropractic Care Can Help
Chiropractors assess the spine for subluxations or misalignments. Through gentle, specific chiropractic adjustments, this helps to improve the balance of the spinal structures, to decompress the nervous system, and to restore the brain-body communication.
Benefits patients commonly experience include:
- Reduced neck and upper-back muscle tension
- Improved posture and mobility
- Enhanced overall nervous system function
- Fewer or less intense headaches
- Better quality of life and day-to-day comfort
Chiropractic care is non-invasive, personalised, and focuses on supporting the body’s natural ability to regulate and heal.
Paris Georgiadis, MChiro