How Dynamic Chiropractic Eliminates Headaches in Arlington, TX
Around 80% of the time, when patients come into our office complaining of headaches, it’s due to a spinal misalignment—a subluxation. These misalignments occur in the neck, where the vertebrae protect the spinal cord and allow for movement. When a vertebra shifts out of proper alignment, it can put pressure on the nervous system.
There are small muscles that connect from the occipital bone (the base of your skull) down into your vertebrae. When the vertebrae are misaligned, these muscles can tighten, causing tension and pulling at the base of the skull, which can lead to headaches in different regions of the head.
The Importance of an Evaluation
Before starting treatment, it’s important that we understand what type of headache you’re experiencing and determine whether chiropractic care can help. That’s why we begin with a full evaluation.
Let me walk you through what your first visit will look like.
Your First Visit: Consultation and Exam
Once you complete your paperwork at the front desk, we’ll bring you into the consultation room, where we’ll go over your health history and get to know you and your symptoms. If it looks like chiropractic care may help, we’ll move forward with a thorough exam.
In the exam room, we’ll perform:
- Orthopedic testing
- Neurological testing
- Palpation of the spine to feel for tension and misalignment
- A posture analysis to assess how your body is aligned
What Posture Can Reveal About Headaches
Let’s take a look at a posture chart. Ideally, your ear, shoulder, and ankle should align in a straight vertical line. If your head is too far forward (which is common from long hours at a computer or looking down at your phone), it compresses the neck and upper spine. That can result in headaches, neck pain, and inflammation.
Specific vertebrae like C1 and C2, and even C5, are known to impact headaches when misaligned. Additionally, the skull itself, when shifted from its proper position, can be a major contributor to chronic headaches.
Digital X-Rays: Seeing What Hands Can’t Feel
The final part of the evaluation is a digital X-ray, taken just a short walk away in our imaging room. X-rays allow us to visually confirm misalignments and see conditions that are impossible to detect with hands-on exams alone. We can observe whether vertebrae are stuck, misaligned, or if there are early signs of degeneration or arthritis.
What Happens Next?
After your exam and X-rays, we’ll schedule your next appointment—what we call a Report of Findings (ROF). During your ROF visit, we’ll sit down together, review everything we’ve discovered, and talk about your personalized treatment plan moving forward.
Thanks for joining us today! We’re excited to help you find lasting relief from headaches. Be sure to follow along for the next video, where we’ll dive deeper into the different types of headaches and how they show up in different parts of the head. See you soon!
