Amanda had been coming to me for several weeks to receive chiropractic treatment for ongoing neck pain. One day upon entering the office she proclaimed: “My sinus headaches are gone!” In addition to having neck pain she also been dealing with a persistent sinus irritation and headache problem. She’d been taking sinus medication but was still having problems. Fortunately, her chiropractic care helped her with both her neck pain and her sinus condition. This article will discuss how neck pain and sinus headaches are associated and how chiropractic care can help. It will also reveal a recent important research study detailing how chiropractors can help headaches attributed to sinusitis.
Many people suffer from neck pain. In our society today is very common due to the amount of sitting we do during our childhood education and with desk/computer jobs that we engage in as adults. For over 125 years chiropractors have helped those with neck discomfort by providing a nonpharmaceutical, nonsurgical, safe, effective method of pain relief.
Chiropractors have noted that many people suffering from neck pain also have problems with their sinuses. These sinus conditions can include headaches in the frontal aspect of the head, stuffiness and congestion of the sinus areas and drainage of the sinuses causing a persistent cough.
A recent research study in the Journal of Manual and Manipulative Therapy, February 2019 found that examinations of 31 patients with self-reported sinus headaches and 30 patients without a history of headaches revealed that neck pain in cervical musculoskeletal dysfunction were common among those with sinus headaches which may be a contributing factor to headaches attributed to sinusitis.
In my 34 years of chiropractic practice I often treat patients with sinus headaches and accompanying neck pain/dysfunction with a combination of manual therapies such as a chiropractic adjustments, nutritional counseling and lifestyle advice. When providing manual adjustments to correct misaligned or improperly moving spinal bones in the upper neck many patients get relief of their sinus problems.
Additionally, I commonly recommend patients use an inexpensive sinus rinse bottle. These can be purchased in any convenience store and are found on the “cough/cold” shelves. They usually come with saline packets that contains a combination of baking soda and salt. One can simply fill the rinse bottle with lukewarm water, empty a saline packet into the water and then gently squirt the solution into the nostrils while leaning over the sink. This provides a gentle way for these sinus membranes to be cleaned and relieved of irritation.
I have found that people who get persistent or recurrent sinus headaches that are resistant to pharmaceutical care get relief by receiving chiropractic treatment.
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