My Head Hurts

Did you know that approximately 45 million Americans experience headaches each year? That’s about 1 in 6 people—with over 8 million seeking medical attention annually. Are you seeking headache pain relief? If so, you’ve come to the right place.

Types of Headaches

Headaches come in many forms, but they’re generally classified into primary, secondary, and a third “other” category that can overlap both.

Primary Headaches

These are standalone conditions, not caused by an underlying medical issue like an infection or injury. Common types include:

Migraine headaches – Often described as throbbing, usually on one side of the head, and frequently accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light or sound.
Tension headaches – Typically feel like a tight band around the head and range from mild to moderate in intensity.
Cluster headaches – Intense pain usually centered around one eye, often paired with nasal congestion, a drooping eyelid, or sensitivity to alcohol.

Secondary Headaches

These stem from an identifiable cause such as:

Infections (e.g., meningitis, encephalitis)
Head trauma (mild to severe)
Medication overuse
Chemical exposure or dehydration

Other Headaches

These include exertional headaches (from exercise or sexual activity), rebound headaches, and others that can fall under either primary or secondary categories depending on their root cause.

When Headaches Take Over

No matter the type, we know headaches can be debilitating. Our patients seek headache pain relief to avoid:

Missed work
Lost recreational time
Increased anxiety or depression

Knowing what kind of headache you’re experiencing is the first step toward headache pain relief. While primary headaches can often be managed with conservative care, secondary headaches may require immediate medical evaluation to rule out serious concerns such as brain tumors or hemorrhages.

The Chiropractic Connection

Once life-threatening conditions are ruled out, at Mountain Valley Chiropractic we can take a functional approach—and that begins with looking at the upper cervical spine.

Why? Because of the trigeminal nerve—the 5th cranial nerve—which is responsible for most primary headaches.

This nerve has three main branches:

Ophthalmic
Maxillary
Mandibular

It controls sensory information from the face (like pain and temperature) and motor control for the chewing muscles.

Misalignments (or subluxations) in the first or second cervical vertebrae can interfere with how the trigeminal nerve and surrounding structures function—often triggering or worsening headaches.

How Chiropractic Can Help

Chiropractic care helps restore proper motion and alignment to the spine, which can improve nerve function and alleviate a wide range of symptoms—including headaches.

This natural approach often reduces the need for costly or potentially harmful medications.

While not every headache will respond to chiropractic adjustments, many do—and for those who’ve never been evaluated by a chiropractor, it may be the missing piece in their headache care plan.

Ready to Find Headache Pain Relief?

If you or someone you love is struggling with headaches, now is the time to get checked. A chiropractic evaluation at Mountain Valley Chiropractic could be the key to better days ahead—without the pain.

Let us support you and your health. Contact Mountain Valley Chiropractic today!

Supporting Scientific Articles:

Migraine & Chiropractic

Cervicogenic Headache

Pediatric Headaches

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33413519

Tension-Type & Mixed Headaches

The overwhelming majority of people will experience digestive difficulties from time to time—whether it’s simple indigestion, heartburn, nausea with meals, the sensation that nothing is moving through, food feeling stuck, diarrhea, constipation, or something else entirely.

What you may not realize is that you’re likely not Tums-deficient. Instead, your digestive issues could be rooted in your spine.

How can this be?

Our nervous system controls and coordinates all functions of the human body. Specifically, the autonomic nervous system has a direct influence on organ function. When there are misalignments in the spinal column, it can interfere with a nerve’s ability to send messages to the organs or tissues it supplies. The result? Organ dysfunction.

A perfect example of this is heartburn or acid reflux. The stomach has two circular muscles, one at the top and one at the bottom. The top muscle is called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). It opens when we swallow food or liquids and should close once the contents enter the stomach. The bottom muscle is called the pyloric sphincter (PS). It opens when digested food leaves the stomach and enters the first part of the small intestine, the duodenum.

The LES receives its nerve supply from two sources:

The vagus nerve (cranial nerve X), which exits the base of the skull and runs directly in front of the first cervical vertebra (the atlas). This nerve causes the LES to relax so food can pass into the stomach—a parasympathetic action.
The T6–T9 spinal cord segments, which influence the celiac plexus, responsible for closing the LES—a sympathetic function.

When vertebrae become misaligned—called a subluxation—this can directly affect the nervous system’s ability to control and coordinate muscle function, including that of the LES and PS.

If the LES doesn’t close properly, stomach acid can escape into the esophagus, causing acid reflux or heartburn.

Of course, not all reflux is caused by spinal misalignment. Other contributing factors—such as pathogens like H. pylori—can also play a role. However, it’s important to evaluate spinal health as a possible contributor, and in some cases, the root cause. This may help avoid unnecessary medications that often come with unwanted side effects.

Let us help you!

This is just one example of how your spine can play a direct role in digestive health—and there are many more to explore. You can dig deeper on the PubMed website.

Let us help you with your digestive difficulties and much more. See all of the services we offer at Mountain Valley Chiropractic.

Dr. Joe Heinecke, DC
Mountain Valley Chiropractic
(970) 314-9244

Headache Pain Relief