Relief Starts with Understanding the Root Cause

Headaches are one of the most common—and often misunderstood—conditions people face. Whether it’s tension, migraine, cluster, or sinus-related, the pain can be debilitating and disruptive. At Vanina Sport & Spine Clinic, we focus on identifying and treating the underlying mechanical and neurological causes of headache pain, not just masking symptoms.

 

What Causes a Headache?

Contrary to popular belief, the brain itself doesn’t feel pain. Headache sensations typically come from blood vessels, surrounding tissues, and neurological feedback loops. When the cervical spine (neck) is misaligned or under stress, it can lead to muscular compensation, ligament strain, and altered blood flow—especially in cases of tension and migraine headaches.

Factors that contribute to headaches include:

  • Cervical spine dysfunction

  • Muscular and ligamentous imbalance

  • Stress and fatigue

  • Dietary triggers

  • Poor posture and prolonged sitting

  • Neurological misregulation of blood vessel dilation/constriction

These elements can cause fluctuating pressure in the cranial blood vessels, resulting in the pain we recognize as a headache.

 

Our Approach to Headache Relief

Pain medications may offer temporary relief—but they don’t address the root cause. Our goal is to restore proper biomechanics and neurological function to reduce headache frequency, intensity, and duration.

Dr. Vanina’s treatment approach may include:

  • Cervical spine adjustments and mobilization

  • Soft tissue therapy and fascial release

  • Nutritional guidance to reduce oxidative stress

  • Postural correction and ergonomic strategies

  • Rehabilitation to restore cervical curve and scapular stability

 

Cervical Curve & Desk-Related Headaches

For patients with a history of desk work or sedentary posture, we often find a loss of cervical lordosis—the natural curve of the neck. This structural change places excess stress on joints and discs, contributing to chronic headaches and long-term spinal degeneration.

Rehabilitation focuses on:

  • Restoring cervical curve

  • Improving shoulder and scapular stability

  • Correcting joint mechanics

  • Preventing future strain and dysfunction

 

If headaches are interfering with your life, it’s time to treat the cause—not just the symptoms. 📞 Call us at (610) 430-0894 today.

 

Almost all of us at some point in time experience a headache of some form. There are many types of headaches, such as tension, cluster, sinus, and migraine, to name a few. Headaches can be caused by one or many factors, and one of the primary causative agents is aberrant joint function in the cervical spine with associated muscular and ligamentous compensation. This is especially the case with tension and migraine headaches.

So, what exactly is a headache? Being our brain does not feel pain, the structures that sense pain tend to be the blood vessels. In fact, the walls of the vessels are what gives you the sensation of a headache. Your neurological system controls the blood flow to the brain. When you are under a lot of stress, or are tired/sick, eat certain foods (triggering agents), or have cervical spine mechanical dysfunction, the neurological system can function at a less than optimal level and cause improper vasodilation (opening) and constriction (closing) of the blood vessels. This continual changing in pressure, over even a short period of time, can cause the sensation we call a headache.

In regards to headache pain, chiropractors work to identify the cause(s) of the headaches. Sometimes referrals to other health care providers are necessary if the pain is too severe. It is important to remember that pain medication for headaches does not address the cause of the headache, but rather simply works to dull, or kill the pain. Although this may help short-term, this approach will not help eliminate the cause of the headaches. Chiropractic care, nutritional changes (including reduction in oxidative stress), and other factors can all help in reducing headache frequency, intensity, length. In many instances, positive changes to the mechanics of the cervical spine and improving shoulder stability will help to reduce or eliminate headaches.

In cases where a lack of a proper cervical lordosis (curve) is identified (this is often seen with people who sit for years at desk jobs), rehabilitation will be aimed to correct faulty joint mechanics as well as to help the patient re-establish a proper curve and develop scapular stability. We know that as the cervical curve is lost, there is more stress placed on the joints and discs and this leads to significant injury over time.