Headaches in Joondalup: What Type Do You Have and Can a Chiropractor Help?

Cervicogenic Headache: When the Pain Starts in Your Neck

This is the headache type we see most often at Lakeside, and the one where chiropractic care has the clearest evidence. Pain originates in the upper cervical spine and refers upward into the head, usually on one side, starting at the base of the skull and travelling toward the forehead, eye, or temple. Sustained postures like long hours at a desk or looking down at a phone are common triggers.

A randomised controlled trial published in Spine found that both spinal manipulative therapy and targeted neck exercises significantly reduced headache frequency and intensity at 12-month follow-up. A review in Lancet Neurology identified the upper cervical joints as the most commonly involved structures. A more recent randomised trial found that manipulation and mobilisation of the upper cervical spine produced similar improvements in pain and headache impact.

Tension-Type Headache: The Band Around Your Head

Felt as a dull, pressing, band-like tightness across both sides of the head. It does not throb, is not usually one-sided, and does not typically come with nausea. The most common headache type in the general population, and often written off as stress when there is actually a physical component driving it.

Research in the Journal of Headache and Pain showed that both muscle tension and central sensitisation contribute to tension-type headache. A clinical practice guideline from the OPTIMa Collaboration recommended specific exercises and multimodal care including mobilisation and massage for chronic cases.

Occipital Neuralgia: Sharp, Shooting Pain From the Base of the Skull

Involves irritation of the nerves running from the upper neck up over the scalp. The pain is sharp, shooting, or electric, starting at the base of the skull and radiating upward. Regularly mistaken for migraine or cervicogenic headache because the location overlaps. The upper cervical joints and suboccipital muscles sit right next to these nerves, so joint dysfunction or muscle tension in that area can directly trigger symptoms.

Cluster Headache: Severe, One-Sided, and Often Misdiagnosed

A 2024 review in Frontiers in Pain Research reported that cluster headaches affect around 0.1% of the population and remain significantly underdiagnosed. Attacks last 15 minutes to 3 hours, occur up to several times a day in cycles, and are described as piercing or burning pain centred around one eye, often with a watering eye or blocked nostril on the same side.