Chiropractic care has long been effective for many headache sufferers. There is even some research to back it up. A preliminary six-month study of 32 patients suffering from migraine headaches appeared in Australian Chiropractic and Osteopathy (1997 Jul;6(2):41-7); it looked at the efficacy of chiropractic care on patients with migraine headaches. The subjects had a minimum of one migraine with aura per month, based on a detailed questionnaire. The group receiving chiropractic care showed statistically significant improvement in migraine frequency and duration, when compared to initial baseline levels. In another prospective study, published in the same journal (1999 Jul;8(2):61-5), 32 subjects reported similar results.

A randomized, controlled study appeared in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiologic Therapeutics (2000 Feb;23(2):91-5). The 127 subjects in the six-month study were between the ages of 10 and 70. The 83 subjects in the treatment group had statistically significant improvement in migraine frequency, duration, disability, and medication use when compared with the 40 subjects in the control group. In the group receiving chiropractic care, 22% of participants reported better than a 90% reduction of migraines and 50% reported significant improvement in the severity of each episode. Another randomized, placebo-controlled study, published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiologic Therapeutics (2009 Jun;32(5):344-51) looked at chiropractic and the prevention of tension headaches. It was a small sample, but found that the combination of headache medication and chiropractic care was more effective than either therapy alone.

A single-blind, placebo controlled study looking at chiropractic care and cervicogenic headaches was published in BMC Research Notes (2017 Jul 24;10(1):310). The trial lasted 17 months and 12 subjects completed the study. Chiropractic care improved both frequency and severity of headaches.

These studies are all small, but indicate the value of chiropractic care. They support what chiropractors and their patients have long known.