Many everyday headaches are tension-type headaches, or cervicogenic headaches, which start in the joints and muscles of the upper neck. Those are the headaches a chiropractic exam looks at: how your neck, upper back and jaw move, and what your desk, screen and sleep ask of them. Migraine is different. Good-quality trials found spinal manipulation no better than a sham treatment for migraine, so for migraine we work alongside your physician and make no promises. Same-day appointments are often available — a doctor is in the office six days a week.
Sources: Headaches: danger signs (MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine) and Headaches (NHS).
Tension-type headaches feel like pressure or a tight band around the head, often with tight muscles across the neck and shoulders.
Cervicogenic headaches come from the neck. The pain is felt in the head, but it starts in the joints, muscles or nerves of the upper neck, and neck stiffness or certain neck positions often bring it on.
Migraine is a neurological condition, and your physician is the right lead for it. If you have migraines and also have neck or shoulder tension, we can examine that, alongside your physician’s care rather than instead of it.
If you clench or grind, or your jaw clicks or aches, see TMJ and jaw care. Jaw tension and temple headaches often travel together.
History. Where the headache starts (the back of your head, your temples, behind your eyes), when it comes on, how often, and what helps. Also your screen time, your desk, your sleep, jaw clenching, your medications, and what your physician has told you.
Exam. A neurological screening, how your upper neck and upper back move, the muscles at the base of your skull and across your shoulders, and your jaw. If anything in your history or exam points away from the neck, we tell you and refer you to your physician.
Report of findings. What we found, in plain language, whether it looks like a chiropractic problem, and the total cost of any plan in writing before you agree to anything.
Care. Adjustments where your neck and upper back are restricted, with low-force options if you prefer them; myofascial release on the muscles at the base of your skull and across your shoulders, as part of your visit; exercises for the muscles that hold your head up; and changes to your desk, screen and sleep.
The further your head drifts forward toward a screen, the harder the muscles at the back of your neck work to hold it there. The text-neck load tool shows how that load climbs as your head tips forward, and the desk setup calculator gives you a starting chair, desk and screen height for your own height.
More on tech neck for desk workers, neck pain care, and how to sleep when your neck hurts.
In 2021, a global summit of 50 researchers reviewed trials of spinal manipulation for conditions that aren’t muscle, bone or joint problems, migraine among them. In the good-quality trials, manipulation was no better than a sham treatment (Côté and colleagues, 2021). Six of the 50 participants didn’t approve the final report. That’s why we make no promises for migraine, and why your physician stays in charge of migraine care.
A 2020 review of 7 trials found that spinal manipulation gave small, short-term improvements in headache pain, frequency and disability compared with other hands-on therapies, and no significant difference at long-term follow-up. Its authors note that high-quality evidence is lacking (Fernandez and colleagues, 2020). A 2022 review of 20 trials found that hands-on and exercise therapy may reduce headache intensity, frequency and disability. In the trials with the lowest risk of bias, which compared manipulation with a sham, the effects were small, and most of the trials had a high risk of bias (Bini and colleagues, 2022).
A review of 15 trials found that high-velocity thrust manipulation (the quick style of adjustment that can make a pop) was not better than no treatment for tension-type headache pain or frequency. Soft-tissue techniques did better than no treatment, with low certainty (Kamonseki and colleagues, 2022). A 2021 review written for Danish national guidelines found that gentle joint mobilization might reduce how often tension-type headaches happen, with low to very low certainty and a weak recommendation (Krøll and colleagues, 2021).
The evidence is modest for neck-related headaches, weak for tension-type headaches, and negative for migraine. After your exam, we tell you what we found, what we’d suggest and why, and the total cost of any plan in writing before you agree to anything.
Both doctors see headache visits, and both see jaw and TMJ visits. Dr. Ben Glass is in Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, in English and Spanish. Dr. Irina Velichko is in Monday, Wednesday and Friday, in English and Russian. Which doctor should I see? New to The Shift? See what your first visit includes.
It depends on the type, and the exam is how we find out. For tension-type and neck-related (cervicogenic) headaches, we look at how your neck, upper back and jaw move. Reviews of the research show small, short-term effects for neck-related headaches and low-certainty evidence for tension-type headaches. For migraine, good-quality trials found spinal manipulation no better than a sham.
We make no promises for migraine. Good-quality trials found spinal manipulation no better than a sham treatment for migraine, so your physician stays in charge of migraine care. If you also have neck or shoulder tension, we can examine that alongside your physician’s care, not instead of it.
A headache that comes from the neck. The pain is felt in the head, but it starts in the joints, muscles or nerves of the upper neck, and neck stiffness or certain neck positions often bring it on.
Call 911 or go to an emergency room for a sudden, severe or worst-ever headache, a headache with fever and a stiff neck, a headache after a head injury, or a headache with weakness, numbness, confusion, vision changes or trouble speaking. See a physician soon if your headaches are new or have changed. If anything in our exam points away from the neck, we tell you and refer you.
It can. The further your head drifts toward a screen, the harder the muscles at the back of your neck work. The desk setup calculator and the text-neck load tool are good places to start, and we look at your setup after the exam.
As of October 2026, a first visit is $135. It includes the exam, your first adjustment and a follow-up report-of-findings visit; an adjustment at that follow-up visit is billed separately. Visits after that are $60–$80, depending on whether you’re on a care plan or paying per visit. Confirm current prices when you book.
Same-day appointments are often available — a doctor is in the office six days a week. 435 8th Street #203, at 8th and Broadway.
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