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Headache and Migraine Chiropractor Melbourne — Finding the Cause, Not Just Masking the Pain

  • Headache and Migraine
Headaches are common. But common doesn’t mean normal for the human body, and it certainly doesn’t mean you have to live with them. Research shows that 38% of people experience tension-type headaches in any given year. Of those, 8.3% lose workdays entirely, and 43.6% report reduced effectiveness at work, home, or school. The cost of lost productivity and treatment is estimated to be in the billions of dollars annually. If persistent headaches are affecting your quality of life, a headache and migraine chiropractor in Melbourne can help you understand what’s driving them — and what to do about it.
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Why Do I Get Headaches in the First Place?

Headaches begin when the blood vessels and nerves entering your skull become irritated. The onset of headaches can have many contributing factors, such as:

  • Stress
  • Nutritional choices
  • Poor posture or work ergonomics
  • Sleep habits
  • Injury

These factors can often cause or aggravate Vertebral Subluxations — a condition that affects the movement of your spine and ultimately the surrounding nerves, which travel back into the skull. When those nerves are compressed or irritated, the result is often a headache.

The Anatomy of a Headache

Your cervical spine, the seven vertebrae in your neck, is one of the most common origins of headache pain. The nerve roots that exit the upper cervical spine are in direct proximity to the structures of the skull. Research has shown that stimulating these nerve roots can reliably trigger headache symptoms.

It doesn’t stop there. The muscles, ligaments, and connective tissue of the neck also play a significant role. Chronic tension in the suboccipital muscles — the small muscles at the base of your skull — is a well-documented source of referred head pain.

The upper cervical joints (C1–C3) share neural pathways with the trigeminal nerve — the primary sensory nerve of the face and head. When these joints are restricted or irritated, pain can refer forward into the temples, behind the eyes, and across the forehead.

This is the anatomical basis for cervicogenic headache: head pain that originates from the cervical spine, not the brain. It’s one of the most under-diagnosed and over-medicated headache types — and one of the most responsive to chiropractic care when correctly identified.

What Melbourne Patients Say

Types of Headaches Our Melbourne Chiropractors Assess and Manage

Dozens of sub-classes of headaches have been identified, but in general, the most common types are:

Cervicogenic Headache

Cervicogenic headaches originate from dysfunction in the joints, muscles, or soft tissues of the cervical spine. Pain is typically one-sided and often accompanied by neck stiffness or restricted movement. Because the symptoms can mimic migraines, they are frequently misdiagnosed — and mistreated. A precise spinal assessment is essential to tell them apart.

Tension-Type Headache

The most common headache type. Tension headaches produce a dull, constant pressure — often described as a band squeezing around the head. They are strongly linked to sustained muscle tension in the neck, shoulders, and upper back, and are aggravated by poor posture, long hours at a desk, and chronic stress.

Migraine Headache

Migraines are neurological in nature. They typically produce moderate to severe, one-sided throbbing pain lasting anywhere from 4 to 72 hours. They may include visual disturbances (aura), nausea, vomiting, and heightened sensitivity to light (photophobia) and sound (phonophobia). Evidence suggests that dysfunction in the upper cervical spine can contribute to migraine frequency and intensity in some patients.

Cluster Headache

Cluster headaches are among the most intense pain experiences a person can have. They produce sudden, severe pain around one eye or temple — often occurring in cyclical patterns over weeks or months. A thorough clinical assessment determines whether chiropractic care is appropriate as part of a broader management approach.

Rebound Headache

Also known as medication-overuse headache, rebound headaches are caused by the frequent use — or withdrawal — of pain-relief medication. If you find yourself reaching for pain tablets regularly, it’s worth exploring whether there’s an underlying spinal cause that can be addressed directly.

Sinus Headache

Sinus headaches produce pressure and pain around the forehead and cheeks, typically associated with sinus congestion. They can co-exist with cervical dysfunction, and a detailed assessment helps clarify which factor is the primary driver of your symptoms.

Common Headache and Migraine Symptoms

Headaches and migraines present differently from person to person. If you’re experiencing any of the following, a chiropractic assessment may help identify the underlying cause:
  • Persistent or recurring head pain — daily, or several times a week
  • One-sided pain in the head, face, or around one eye
  • Pressure or tightness across the forehead or temples
  • Dizziness or mild balance disturbances
  • Sensitivity to light, sound, or smell
  • Nausea that accompanies head pain
  • Visual disturbances or aura before a headache begins
  • Headaches that worsen after prolonged sitting, screen use, or certain neck positions

Can't I Just Take Medication for My Headaches?

Even though drugs may help temporarily relieve your symptoms, it is important to understand that they do not treat the root cause of headaches. Suppressing your symptoms with medication may also cause undesired side effects in the long run and can be harmful to organs like the liver and kidneys.

If your headaches are recurring — weekly, daily, or triggered by predictable activities — that pattern is telling you something. The goal at My Chiropractic Place is to understand what that is and to reduce your reliance on medication by identifying and correcting the underlying cause.

What to Expect from Your Headache Assessment at My Chiropractic Place

Dr Nam Nguyen and Dr David Addie bring a combined 49 years of clinical experience to every assessment. They take the time to understand your specific headache pattern before recommending anything.

Here’s how your first visit typically unfolds:

Step 1 — In-Depth Case History

Your assessment starts with a detailed conversation. Your chiropractor will ask about your headache pattern: how often they occur, how long they last, where the pain sits, what triggers them, and what makes them worse or better. Your posture, work setup, sleep, stress levels, and current medications are all relevant. Nothing is rushed.

Step 2 — Gonstead Spinal Analysis

Once your history is clear, a thorough spinal examination follows. Using the Gonstead Technique, your chiropractor analyses your posture, assesses joint movement through motion and static palpation, and uses Nervoscope instrumentation to detect areas of nerve irritation along the spine. An X-ray may be taken if clinically indicated. The aim is to identify the precise spinal level contributing to your headaches — not to apply a generalised adjustment and hope for the best.

Step 3 — Your Personalised Care Plan

If chiropractic care is appropriate for your presentation, your chiropractor will explain exactly what they found and what they recommend. Your care may include:
  • Specific spinal adjustments to the affected cervical segments
  • Soft tissue therapy to release neck and shoulder muscle tension
  • Postural correction guidance tailored to your work and daily habits
  • Ergonomic advice to reduce headache triggers between visits
  • Home care recommendations to support your progress
You’ll never be placed on a prepaid chiropractic care package. At our clinic, patients choose their own care pathway — whether that’s relief-focused, recovery-focused, or long-term maintenance. That’s your decision to make, not ours to pressure you into. Your plan is reassessed regularly, so it stays relevant to how you’re responding.

Headache Prevention

The best care for headaches is to not get them in the first place!

Your chiropractor can help you assess your lifestyle factors and provide specific advice to help you prevent headaches from appearing in the future.

Getting checked regularly for vertebral subluxations is essential in reducing nervous system stress as part of your preventative approach to managing your headaches.

In the meantime, these practical habits support headache prevention:

  • Workstation setup: Position your screen at eye level and keep your keyboard close to avoid a forward neck posture.
  • Movement breaks: Stand and move for at least two minutes every 30–40 minutes of desk or screen time.
  • Hydration and sleep: Even mild dehydration and disrupted sleep are well-documented headache triggers — consistency matters.

Early intervention: Address neck tension and postural habits before they become chronic — the longer dysfunction goes untreated, the longer it typically takes to resolve.

Headache and Migraine Chiropractic in Richmond and Caroline Springs

My Chiropractic Place has two Melbourne clinics — in Richmond, inner Melbourne, and Caroline Springs, in Melbourne’s western suburbs. Both clinics offer Gonstead assessment and individualised care for headaches, migraines, and related neck conditions.

Dr Nam Nguyen has been serving the Richmond community since 2005 and was the first chiropractor to establish a practice in Caroline Springs when the clinic opened there in 2007. Between them, Dr Nguyen and Dr Addie have provided chiropractic care to Melbourne families for nearly five decades.

The clinics are deliberately kept accessible — appointments are available without long waits, and you can contact your practitioner directly with questions. If you’re looking for a headache and migraine chiropractor near you in Melbourne, both locations are accepting new patients.

Book Online — Richmond
03 9428 1836
Book Online — Caroline Springs

Headache and Migraine FAQs

Clinical research supports the use of chiropractic care — specifically spinal manipulation targeting the upper cervical spine — as a management option that may reduce migraine frequency and intensity in some patients. At My Chiropractic Place, we first assess whether your migraine pattern has a cervical spine component before recommending any care. We don't apply a one-size-fits-all approach.
This depends on the type of headaches you're experiencing and how long you've had them. Your chiropractor will give you an honest assessment of what's realistic for your specific situation — and you're always in control of whether you continue.
Yes — when performed by a qualified, experienced practitioner. The Gonstead technique is notable for its specificity: it targets only the joint that requires correction, rather than applying broad manipulation across multiple spinal levels. Dr Nguyen and Dr Addie have each been practising for over two decades, and both have been members of the Australian Gonstead Chiropractic Society for more than 20 years.
Tension headaches typically produce bilateral pressure or tightness — like a band around the head — and are closely linked to muscle tension. Cervicogenic headaches originate from the cervical spine joints and are usually one-sided, often accompanied by neck stiffness or restricted movement. The symptoms can overlap, which is why a detailed spinal assessment is more reliable than self-diagnosis.
Yes. Gonstead chiropractic can be adapted appropriately for younger patients. We regularly see adolescents experiencing postural headaches related to heavy school bags, prolonged device use, or sports-related neck strain. As always, assessment comes first.

References

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Bogduk, N. (1984). Headaches and the cervical spine. An editorial. Cephalalgia,4(1), 6-8.

Bogduk, N. (1992). The anatomical basis for cervicogenic headache. Journal of manipulative and physiological therapeutics, 15(1), 67-70.

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Shekelle, P. G., & Coulter, I. (1997). Cervical spine manipulation: summary report of a systematic review of the literature and a multidisciplinary expert panel. Journal of Spinal Disorders & Techniques, 10(3), 223-228.

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Vernon, H., Jansz, G., Goldsmith, C. H., & McDermaid, C. (2009). A randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of chiropractic and medical prophylactic treatment of adults with tension-type headache: results from a stopped trial. Journal of manipulative and physiological therapeutics, 32(5), 344-351.

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