Chiropractor for Headaches in Perth

What is a headache?

A headache is pain anywhere in the head, from the base of the skull to the forehead and temples. Most headaches aren't dangerous, but they can take over your day.

Not everyone is the same, and neither are headaches. The right care depends on the type. The three main types are tension headaches, cervicogenic headaches (which come from the neck), and cluster headaches. Cluster headaches are severe, come in bouts, and need your GP. The two we see most often are tension and cervicogenic headaches.

People usually describe them like this:

• A dull, pressing ache, like a tightening band around your head, or your head is in a vice
• Pain that starts at the base of the skull and spreads over the head to the forehead or behind one eye
• Tight, sore shoulders and upper back, especially after a long day at the desk
• A headache that gets worse with certain neck positions, or when you hold your head still for hours
• Stiffness turning your head, for example when reversing the car or checking a blind spot

Why it happens

Your head weighs around 5kg, about as much as a bowling ball. When it sits in the right position, it balances like a ball on a stick, with very little strain. But as soon as it creeps forward towards a screen, the load on your neck and upper back climbs. A widely quoted figure from Kapandji's Physiology of the Joints suggests every inch (2.5cm) your head moves forward adds around 4.5kg (10 pounds) of load on the supporting structures.

Do that for eight hours, five days a week, and your neck lets you know about it. It has become the most common problem I see and treat in clinic.

Common contributors we look at include:

• Long hours at a laptop or a screen that sits too low
• Phone use with the head bent forward (often called tech neck)
• Stress and clenching through the jaw and shoulders
• Poor sleep or an unsupportive pillow
• Stiffness in the upper back, which pushes more load into the neck
• Old neck injuries, including whiplash

The different types of headache

Not all headaches are the same, and the type matters. Here are the common ones:

• Tension headache: a tight band or pressure around the head, often building through the afternoon.
• Cervicogenic headache: a headache that starts in the neck, often at the base of the skull, and spreads up and over the head. Often worse with certain neck positions.
• Migraine: a throbbing headache, often one-sided, with sensitivity to light and sound, and sometimes nausea or an aura. See our migraines page.
• Jaw-related headache: pain at the temples or around the ears, linked to clenching or grinding. See our jaw pain page.
• Medication-overuse (rebound) headache: daily headaches that can come from taking painkillers very often. Talk to your GP or pharmacist.
• Cluster headache: rare, severe pain around one eye that comes in bouts. This needs your GP.

The real cost: you

Most people with regular headaches have learned to live with them. "It's just the afternoon." "It goes away by bedtime."

But the real cost isn't the headache. It's the gym class you skipped, the drinks you said no to, the evening with the kids where you were there, but not really there. It's being short with the people you love because your head is pounding.

A note from Geoff

Here's what I see every week. People with these headaches usually focus purely on the neck: they stretch it, crack it, and have it worked on. But in my experience, the real driver is very often the upper back.

When the upper back stiffens and rounds forward from years at a desk, the neck has to work overtime to hold your head up. Many people start to notice a lump or hump at the base of the neck. You might find yourself clicking your neck side to side every 20 minutes, chasing a bit of relief that never lasts.

That's why focusing on the neck alone often misses it, and why the chin tucks you saw on Instagram may not do the trick on their own. We look at the whole chain: upper back, neck, shoulders and jaw. There's a lot of overlap with tech neck, and our tech neck page explains more.

This is what I do. First, I work out the position of your back. Have you lost the natural curve? Is your upper back rounding forward too much (hyperkyphosis)? Is your spine shifting to one side? And where does your neck sit on top of all that?

Then we adjust you according to what your body needs. We don't just lie you down and crack everything, because that doesn't answer the question of why. We adjust you the way your body needs to be adjusted, then we build the stretches and exercises you need for your specific problem.

That's the Vitality Method.

Try this right now

Sit up, look straight ahead, then slowly turn your head to the left. Now to the right. Is one side tighter, or does it stop short? Many people with these headaches notice exactly that.

That difference is a clue, and it tells us where to start looking. At your first visit, we follow it: we check how each part of your neck and upper back moves, and use X-rays where clinically justified, to find what's really driving your headaches. Then we explain it in plain English.

I'd love to help you get to the bottom of it.

How we assess headaches

Your first visit starts with a conversation. We want to know when your headaches started, how often they come, what they feel like, what makes them better or worse, and what they are costing you at work and at home.

Then we examine your neck, upper back, shoulders and posture. That includes checking how each part of your neck moves, testing the muscles that commonly refer pain into the head, and screening for anything that needs a GP or other medical care instead. Where it is clinically justified, we may refer you for X-rays.

You'll leave knowing what we think is going on and whether chiropractic care is a sensible option for you. If it isn't, we'll tell you, and point you in the right direction.

What your plan will include

Here's exactly what happens when you come to Vitality with headaches:

• A detailed consultation and clinical assessment
• Digital X-rays if clinically required, bulk billed with a valid Medicare card
• Specific adjustments to assess whether change is possible for you
• If change is possible, and it's what you want, a care plan built around you and your lifestyle
• Specific neck and upper back stretches and exercises
• Desk, screen and pillow assessment
• Daily tips to improve your posture and help manage stress and tension

My promise to you

Research suggests manual therapy may help some people with tension-type and neck-related headaches, but it doesn't help everyone. I won't promise your headaches will disappear, or that it'll take a set number of visits.

What I do promise is a thorough investigation, an honest explanation of whether we can help, and a plan we review together. We also work alongside your GP.