Headaches & Migraines: what to expect and why it happens.
Most chronic headache patients have already been through medication management. What is often missing is a coordinated focus on the muscular, postural, and joint-related contributors.
Evaluates the root cause. Orders imaging or diagnostic testing when appropriate. Ensures your treatment plan has a solid medical foundation before hands-on care begins.
Manual therapy, movement retraining, and targeted exercise to restore function and reduce pain. Your PT team works with you through every exercise. Identifies and corrects the muscle imbalances and movement patterns contributing to your pain.
Targeted, therapeutic work designed to address the soft tissue tension and restriction that contributes to your pain. Coordinated with your PT plan. 60-minute sessions using deep tissue and hot stone techniques.
The goal is to address what is causing the pain.
Yes. Many headaches start with tight muscles in the neck, shoulders, and upper back. Gliding cupping massage is a great way to ease that tension and the head and neck discomfort it can cause.
Yes, for many patients. Tension headaches and cervicogenic headaches (headaches that start in the neck) often respond very well to combined PT and therapeutic massage. We treat the headaches by treating the muscular and postural patterns that keep triggering them. Many patients see fewer and less severe headaches within a few weeks of consistent care.
Not necessarily. Migraine is a real neurological condition. What we are saying is that for many people diagnosed with migraines, there is a musculoskeletal contributor (neck tension, posture, jaw or shoulder tension) that makes the migraines worse and more frequent. Addressing that contributor often makes a meaningful difference even when the underlying migraine condition stays the same.
That is a conversation to have with the provider who prescribed it. Wellspring does not manage migraine medication. Many patients continue their existing migraine care while also working with us on the musculoskeletal side. The two approaches often complement each other.
We do not manage primary migraine as a neurological condition, sudden severe headaches that need urgent evaluation, headaches caused by other underlying medical conditions, or post-concussion headaches as a primary diagnosis. If your headaches do not fit our scope, we will tell you honestly at your first visit and help point you in the right direction.
Some patients notice meaningful improvement within the first few weeks of consistent care. Chronic and complex cases take longer. At your first visit, your care team will give you a realistic estimate based on your specific situation and history.
No. You do not need imaging before your first visit. If imaging would be helpful to clarify your diagnosis, your nurse practitioner can order it as part of your care.
A free consultation is the first step. No referral needed.