Understand What May Be Contributing to Your Recurring Headaches
Recurring headaches can make work, exercise, and sleep harder. If you keep rubbing your neck or temples and the pain returns, Dr. Jason Godo evaluates whether neck or shoulder tension, trigger points, posture, restricted movement, or muscle imbalance may be contributing.
Your assessment includes your headache pattern, health history, posture, neck movement, muscle function, and neurological findings when appropriate. With more than 23 years of clinical experience as a chiropractic physician and registered nurse, Dr. Godo determines whether a musculoskeletal component may be involved, whether chiropractic care is appropriate, and what next step is safest.
Late appointments up to 8 PM
Do These Headache Symptoms Sound Familiar?
Patients commonly seek an evaluation for symptoms such as:
A headache is a symptom rather than a single diagnosis. Two people can feel pain in a similar area for very different reasons, which is why an individualized examination matters.
Can Chiropractic Care Help With Headaches?
Chiropractic care may be appropriate when a headache is associated with muscle tension, trigger points, reduced neck mobility, postural stress, joint restriction, or mechanical problems involving the neck and upper back.
Dr. Godo does not assume that every headache is coming from the cervical spine. Your evaluation is used to determine whether the examination findings support a musculoskeletal component and whether chiropractic treatment is a reasonable option.
Depending on your findings, care may include:
Treatment does not look the same for every patient. Recommendations depend on the type of headache, examination findings, your overall health, and how your body responds to care.
Why Patients Choose This Assessment
Many headache patients have already tried medication, massage, changing pillows, modifying their workstation, stretching, or simply waiting for the headache to pass.
Those approaches may provide temporary relief, but symptoms can return when the physical pattern creating the tension has not been identified.
Your assessment is intended to help:
Three Common Patterns Associated With Recurring Headaches
More than one factor may be present at the same time. These are three common mechanical patterns Dr. Godo evaluates in patients with recurring headaches.
Muscle Tension and Trigger Points
Tight muscles in the neck, shoulders, and base of the skull can become tender and develop trigger points. In some patients, pressing these areas can reproduce or refer pain into the head.
Postural Stress
Long periods at a computer or looking down at a phone can place additional demand on the neck and upper-back muscles. Forward head posture and rounded shoulders may cause these muscles to work harder throughout the day.
Restricted Movement and Muscle Compensation
When joints in the neck or upper back are not moving normally, surrounding muscles may compensate. Over time, this can contribute to stiffness, fatigue, and recurring muscle tension.
The examination looks beyond the location of the headache to understand how your neck, shoulders, posture, and upper back are working together.
Tension Headaches and Migraines Are Not the Same
Tension-type headaches frequently occur along with tight neck and shoulder muscles and may feel like pressure, aching, or a band of tension around the head.
Migraine is a different type of headache disorder and can involve throbbing pain, nausea, sensitivity to light or sound, and other neurological symptoms. Some people with migraines also have significant neck tension, but that does not necessarily mean the neck is causing the migraine.
When the examination suggests that the headache is not primarily musculoskeletal, Dr. Godo does not treat it as though a neck adjustment alone will solve the problem. Broader factors such as sleep, stress, hydration, nutrition, dietary triggers, medication use, and gastrointestinal health may also be discussed when relevant.
If your symptoms suggest that medical evaluation is more appropriate, Dr. Godo will recommend referral rather than attempting to treat a problem outside the scope of chiropractic care.
Headaches and Neck Pain Often Occur Together
Some headache patients notice that symptoms begin in the neck and travel toward the back, side, or front of the head. Others have headaches along with stiffness, reduced neck motion, or tight muscles across the shoulders.
Cervicogenic headache is a recognized secondary headache in which pain is referred from structures in the neck into the head. An examination helps distinguish this type of pattern from headaches that are less likely to have a mechanical source.
A Headache Evaluation Should Look Beyond Where It Hurts
Your evaluation begins with a detailed discussion of your headache pattern and how it affects your work, sleep, exercise, concentration, and everyday activities.
Dr. Godo may evaluate:
Dr. Godo may also use an AI-assisted posture and body scan. The scan provides a visual picture of posture and asymmetry so you can see many of the patterns being discussed during the examination.
The scan supports the examination. It does not independently diagnose a medical condition or replace Dr. Godo's clinical judgment.
Hands-On Treatment Instead of Being Passed From Person to Person
Muscle work is an important part of Dr. Godo's approach to many headache patients.
When tight muscles, trigger points, or muscle imbalance are part of the problem, Dr. Godo works directly on those tissues during your appointment. You are not examined by the doctor and then handed off to another provider for the majority of your care.
Treatment is individualized according to what Dr. Godo finds during your examination and how your body responds to care.
Do You Need an X-Ray, MRI, or Medical Evaluation?
Not every patient with recurring headaches needs imaging before beginning conservative care. The decision depends on your history, symptoms, neurological findings, trauma history, changes in your headache pattern, and other clinical concerns.
Dr. Godo may recommend imaging or medical referral when additional testing is necessary to clarify the diagnosis, investigate an underlying condition, or make sure chiropractic treatment can be provided safely.
What to Expect During Your First Visit
Your first visit may include:
Treatment may begin during the first visit when clinically appropriate. You will have an opportunity to ask questions before beginning care.
Why Patients Choose Godo Chiropractic
Review our insurance and payment options , or call the office before your visit with questions about coverage.
Some Headaches Need Immediate Medical Evaluation
Chiropractic care is not appropriate for every headache. Seek prompt or emergency medical evaluation for symptoms such as:
Call 911 or seek emergency care when symptoms are sudden, severe, or accompanied by major neurological changes.
Additional information is available from Mayo Clinic's guidance on when to seek medical care for a headache .
Frequently Asked Questions About Headaches
Can a chiropractor help with tension headaches?
Chiropractic care may be appropriate when headaches are associated with neck or shoulder muscle tension, trigger points, reduced mobility, postural stress, or joint dysfunction. An examination is needed to determine whether those factors appear relevant in your case.
Can neck problems cause headaches?
Yes. Some headaches originate from structures in the neck. These are commonly referred to as cervicogenic headaches and may occur with neck stiffness, reduced motion, or pain that starts in the neck and travels into the head.
Why do my headaches keep coming back?
Recurring headaches can have many causes. In musculoskeletal cases, repeated posture, muscle tension, trigger points, restricted movement, workstation habits, and muscle compensation may repeatedly recreate the same physical stress even after the pain temporarily improves.
Will Dr. Godo automatically adjust my neck?
No. Treatment is based on the examination findings. For many headache patients, hands-on muscle work, trigger-point treatment, stretching, exercise, and posture correction are important parts of care. A cervical adjustment is used when Dr. Godo believes it is appropriate.
How does Dr. Godo treat tight headache muscles?
Treatment may include direct hands-on muscle work, trigger-point techniques, soft-tissue treatment, muscle balancing, stretching, mobility exercises, strengthening, and posture recommendations. Dr. Godo performs the hands-on treatment himself.
Do you treat migraines?
Dr. Godo first determines whether a meaningful musculoskeletal component is present. Migraine is a different type of headache disorder and may involve factors beyond the muscles and joints. Medical evaluation and discussion of broader health or lifestyle factors may be appropriate depending on the presentation. You can also read more about chiropractic evaluation for migraines .
Do I need an MRI before seeing a chiropractor for headaches?
Not automatically. Imaging may be recommended when the headache pattern, neurological findings, trauma history, or other clinical concerns suggest that additional investigation is necessary.
Will treatment begin during my first appointment?
Treatment may begin during the first visit when the examination indicates that chiropractic care is safe and appropriate. If additional testing or referral is needed first, Dr. Godo will explain the recommended next step.
What is included in the $29 assessment?
The assessment includes a consultation, review of your headache and health history, clinical evaluation, AI-assisted posture and pain assessment, and discussion of findings and next steps. Treatment is separate unless specifically stated.
Do you accept insurance?
Coverage depends on your insurance carrier, network, plan, deductible, and chiropractic benefits. Contact the office before your appointment so your insurance and payment options can be reviewed.
Headache Chiropractor Serving Lakeview & Lincoln Park, Chicago
Godo Chiropractic is located at 3118 N. Sheffield Avenue, Unit 1S, Chicago, Illinois 60657.
Our office serves patients from:
Schedule Your $29 New Patient Evaluation
You should not receive the same headache treatment as every other patient. Your evaluation should begin with understanding your symptoms, examination findings, health history, and individual needs.
Call our office today to ask questions or schedule your headache assessment.
3118 N. Sheffield Avenue, Unit 1S
Chicago, IL 60657
Individual results vary. The information on this page is educational and is not a substitute for an individualized medical examination, diagnosis, or emergency care.
