Real relief from headaches often starts with your neck.

Many headaches are closely tied to tight, irritated joints and muscles at the top of your spine — cervicogenic headaches actually start there, and tension headaches are often aggravated by neck and shoulder tension.¹ We look there first, and work to calm the source instead of chasing the ache.

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See the signs

At a glance

What it feels like

A tight band around the head, pain that climbs from the base of the skull, or a throbbing, light-sensitive migraine.

Common causes

Irritated joints in the upper neck, muscle tension and desk posture, plus everyday triggers like stress, sleep, and diet.²

The good news

When the neck is the driver, gentle care to restore motion and ease tension can make headaches less frequent and less intense.³

The basics

What’s really behind your headaches?

A headache is a symptom, not a diagnosis — and many trace straight back to the neck. When the joints and muscles at the top of the spine are stiff or strained, they can refer pain up into the head, a pattern often called a cervicogenic (neck-related) headache.¹

The upper neck and the base of the skull are packed with nerves and muscles that share pathways with the head. Sit hunched over a phone or keyboard all day, sleep in an awkward position, or carry chronic stress in your shoulders, and those upper-neck joints lose their normal motion. The surrounding muscles tighten, the shared nerve pathways get irritated, and the result shows up as head pain.¹ That’s why so many people who think they only have “headaches” actually have a neck that’s been quietly asking for attention — and why looking at the spine can change the whole picture.

The signs

Signs your headaches may be coming from your neck.

Pain that starts at the base of the skull and spreads forward
A tight, band-like ache or pressure around the head
Headaches that flare after long hours at a desk, phone, or wheel

Stiffness or reduced motion when you turn or tilt your head
Throbbing, light- or sound-sensitive migraines, sometimes with nausea
Tender, knotted muscles across the neck and shoulders

Recognize a few of these? It’s a strong hint that your neck is part of the story. A consultation lets us check how your upper spine moves and whether calming that area could ease your headaches.

Where it starts

What’s actually causing it.

The neck connection

Loss of normal motion in the upper neck (cervical) joints can irritate nerves shared between the neck and head, referring pain upward. These cervicogenic (neck-related) headaches are a frequently overlooked and commonly misdiagnosed source of head pain.¹

Muscle tension & posture

Prolonged screen use often pulls the head forward, which can strain the muscles of the neck and shoulders. Over time this tension may build tight, tender bands (myofascial trigger points) in muscles that attach around the base of the skull — a pattern commonly associated with tension-type headaches.²

Triggers & nutrition

Stress, poor sleep, dehydration, skipped meals, and certain foods can be migraine triggers for some people.⁴ We can help you keep a simple food-and-symptom diary to spot possible dietary and digestive triggers and support balanced nutrition alongside your chiropractic care.

Our approach

Calming the source, not just the symptom.

Instead of masking the pain, we work to find why your headaches keep coming back — starting with your neck — and build a plan around what we find.

Find the pattern

We talk through your history and triggers, then check how your upper neck moves and where muscles are holding tension — so we can tell how much of your headache is coming from the spine.

Restore motion, gently

For headaches that originate in the neck (cervicogenic headache), gentle low-force adjustments and soft-tissue techniques — often paired with targeted neck exercises — may help ease tension in the upper-cervical joints and muscles and reduce how often and how intensely these headaches occur.⁵

Keep them away

Simple posture habits, stretches, and — when it fits — attention to nutrition and common dietary triggers can help make relief last, so many people find their headaches show up less often and feel less intense.⁶

Headaches & migraines, specifically

Questions people ask about headache care

Can chiropractic care really help my headaches?

For neck-related headaches — especially cervicogenic headaches, and often tension-type headaches — gentle chiropractic care that restores neck motion and eases muscle tension may help reduce how often headaches occur and how severe they feel.⁷ We can’t promise a cure, but the first step is a consultation to see how much of your headache is coming from your spine.

How do I know if my headache is coming from my neck?

Clues include pain that starts at the base of the skull, stiffness when you turn your head, and headaches that flare after long hours at a desk or on your phone. During your visit we check how your upper neck moves and where muscles are tight, which helps us tell how much the spine is involved.

Are the adjustments forceful or painful?

No. Dr. Marrone uses a gentle, low-force technique that applies lighter, more controlled pressure than traditional manual (high-velocity) adjusting. It’s an approach many patients prefer — comfortable enough for children, seniors, and anyone nervous about traditional neck adjusting, while still suitable for active athletes.⁸

When should a headache be treated as an emergency?

Some headaches need urgent medical attention rather than chiropractic care. Seek emergency or ER care right away if you have a sudden, severe “worst headache of your life,” a headache with fever and a stiff neck, weakness or numbness, trouble speaking, sudden vision loss, or a headache that follows a head injury.⁹ When in doubt, get checked by a medical provider first — we’ll gladly see you for the neck-related component once serious causes have been ruled out.

Do you look at diet and other migraine triggers too?

Yes. For some people, certain foods can act as migraine triggers — a headache diary and a careful, one-food-at-a-time look at your diet can help you spot them. Paired with chiropractic care, which some early research suggests may help reduce how often migraines occur, this gives us more of your triggers to work with, not just where you feel the pain.¹⁰

Tired of living around your headaches?

Let’s find out whether your neck is the missing piece. Book a free consultation — honest answers, no pressure, no obligation.