The most common cause of headaches seen by chiropractors are tension headaches, nerve headaches and migraine headaches.

• A tension headache  is the most common type of primary headache. The pain can radiate from the lower back of the head, the neck, eyes, or other muscle groups in the body.
• Nerve Headache: Neuralgia means nerve pain (neur= nerve + algia=pain). Cranial neuralgia describes a group of headaches that occur because the nerves in the head and upper neck become inflamed and are the source of the head pain.
• Migraine is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent moderate to severe headaches often in association with a number of autonomic nervous system symptoms. The word derives from the Greek ἡμικρανία (hemikrania), “pain on one side of the head”

While tension headaches are the most frequently occurring type of headache, their cause is not known but assumed to be caused by physical, chemical or emotional stresses on the body. The most likely cause is a contraction of the muscles that covers the skull.

• Physical stress may cause tension headaches; including difficult and prolonged manual labor, or sitting at a desk or computer for long periods of time.
• Emotional stress may also cause tension headaches by causing the muscles surrounding the skull to contract.
• Chemical stress are caused by substances or toxins ingested that interferes with  nervous system or that the body may not be able to process.

Any one of these stresses may cause an underlying structural problem in the head or neck. These changes in spinal structure can cause subluxations. These subluxations put pressure on the nerves leaving the spinal cord. These nerves travel to and from the brain and can result in headaches among other symptoms. Chiropractors treat subluxations.

Headaches may also be caused by disc compression in the thoracic area. The discs that separate the vertebrae; which also leave an opening for the nerves from the spinal cord that serve the nervous system. Pinched nerves can cause different muscles in the neck to tighten and pull the spinal column out of alignment; thus causing tension headaches.

Regular chiropractic care can get the tension out of the neck as well as restoring degenerated discs and relieve tension headaches.