If you've been living on ibuprofen, fighting through headaches at work, or waking up with pain already behind your eyes — medication isn't the problem. It's that nobody has looked for the actual cause.
Many chronic headaches have a structural component: restricted joints in the cervical spine, overloaded suboccipital muscles, or trigger points in the upper traps that refer pain directly into the head. These won't show up on an MRI. They won't respond to more medication. But they do respond to chiropractic care and dry needling.
At Function Chiropractic, Dr. Cody Noyes evaluates the full picture — not just where the pain is, but what's driving it. For many patients with tension or cervicogenic headaches, results come faster than expected.
Book Your First Visit →What Makes Our Approach Different
- Full cervical spine assessment — we evaluate joint motion, muscle tension, and postural load, not just headache frequency
- Dry needling for suboccipital and upper trap trigger points — often the fastest path to relief
- Hands-on treatment every visit — cervical adjustments + soft tissue work combined
- Postural correction built in — addressing tech neck and forward head posture at the root
- Custom home exercise program with video guidance to maintain results between visits
Not All Headaches Are the Same
The type of headache determines the right treatment. Here are the most common presentations we see — and how chiropractic care may help with each.
Cervicogenic Headaches
These originate in the cervical spine — from restricted joints, irritated nerves, or tight muscles at the base of the skull. Pain typically starts at the back of the head and radiates forward, often on one side. They're frequently mistaken for migraines.
Common signs: pain starts in the neck or base of skull, worsens with neck movement, comes alongside stiffness, one-sided.
Chiropractic adjustments and dry needling address the cervical joints and suboccipital muscles driving these headaches directly.
Tension-Type Headaches
The most common headache type — a dull, pressing band of pain across the forehead or around the head. Often triggered by stress, poor posture, prolonged screen time, and tight muscles in the neck, upper traps, and jaw.
Common signs: bilateral pressure, no nausea, worsens through the workday, tight neck and shoulders.
Trigger point dry needling and cervical adjustments can significantly reduce frequency and severity for many patients.
Migraine & Mixed Headaches
True migraines involve a neurological component that goes beyond musculoskeletal care alone. However, many patients labeled "migraineurs" have a significant cervical trigger — and addressing that trigger can reduce headache frequency, intensity, or duration.
If you experience: nausea, light/sound sensitivity, aura, or severe unilateral pain, a full evaluation helps clarify how much of your picture has a structural component we can address.
Important: Sudden severe headaches, headaches with fever, vision changes, confusion, or neurological symptoms require immediate medical evaluation. This page addresses musculoskeletal headache presentations. If you're unsure, contact your physician first.
Why Medication Alone Doesn't Fix Most Headaches
Pain medication treats the symptom. It doesn't address restricted cervical joints, overactive trigger points in the suboccipital muscles, or the forward head posture adding 30+ pounds of load to your cervical spine every day.
When the structural cause goes untreated, the headaches return — often more frequently over time, and requiring higher doses to achieve the same relief. This pattern is sometimes called medication overuse headache, and it's more common than most people realize.
For headaches with a cervical or muscular driver, structural treatment — adjustments, dry needling, postural rehab — addresses what the medication never could.
What Often Gets Missed
- ❌ Restricted upper cervical joints (C1–C3)
- ❌ Suboccipital trigger points referring into the skull
- ❌ Forward head posture loading the cervical spine
- ❌ Upper trap tightness driving referred head pain
- ❌ Thoracic restriction driving compensatory neck tension
How Dr. Cody Treats Headaches
Treatment is always built around your evaluation findings — never a one-size approach. Most headache patients receive a combination of the following.
Cervical Adjustments
Precise manipulation of restricted joints in the upper and mid cervical spine restores proper motion, reduces nerve irritation, and takes pressure off the structures that refer pain into the head. Diversified or Activator technique used based on patient preference and presentation.
Trigger Point Dry Needling
Thin needles are placed directly into trigger points in the suboccipital muscles, upper trapezius, and cervical paraspinals — causing them to release. For patients with chronic tension or cervicogenic headaches, this is often the most direct and effective intervention available. Learn more →
Soft Tissue Therapy
Manual release work on the posterior cervical muscles, upper traps, and occipital attachment points reduces the chronic muscular tension that builds up over weeks of screen time and poor posture. Done in combination with adjustments every visit.
Postural Correction
Forward head posture adds up to 10 lbs of force per inch of forward displacement. Correcting this through targeted rehab exercises reduces the chronic load that drives both neck pain and headaches. You'll receive a home exercise program with video demonstrations and clear rep schemes.
A Closer Look: Cervicogenic Headaches
Cervicogenic headache is one of the most under-diagnosed conditions in people who believe they have migraines or chronic tension headaches. Studies suggest it may account for up to 20% of all headache presentations — yet it's rarely evaluated structurally.
The hallmark is a headache that originates from the cervical spine — specifically the upper three cervical segments (C1, C2, C3) and the nerves they supply. Pain typically starts at the base of the skull or back of the neck and refers forward into the head, temple, or behind the eye.
Signs Your Headaches May Be Cervicogenic
- Pain consistently starts at the base of the skull or back of the neck
- Headaches triggered or worsened by neck movement or sustained positions
- One-sided head pain that doesn't switch sides
- Accompanied by neck stiffness or restricted range of motion
- Worse after long periods at a desk or screen
- Dull ache rather than throbbing, without nausea or aura
- Medication takes the edge off but headaches keep returning
"A headache is a symptom. My job is to find out what's causing it."
Most headache sufferers have seen multiple providers and been told to manage stress, drink more water, and take ibuprofen. That advice isn't wrong — but it's incomplete when there's a structural problem driving the headaches.
At Function Chiropractic, the first visit is about understanding your full picture: how your cervical spine moves, where the trigger points are, what your posture looks like, and how long this has been building. From there, we build a targeted plan — and track progress against real outcomes, not just symptom management.
What to Expect at Function Chiropractic
Your first visit is 40 minutes — long enough to actually understand what's going on. Dr. Cody reviews your headache history, evaluates cervical motion, assesses postural load, and identifies trigger point activity before recommending any treatment.
By visit two, active care begins. Patients with cervicogenic or tension-type headaches often notice a meaningful reduction in frequency or severity within the first few visits — and for those with stubborn trigger points, dry needling can accelerate that timeline significantly.
You'll also leave with a home exercise program you can actually follow — not a stack of generic stretches, but a PDF with specific movements, rep counts, video links, and guidance on when to stop.
Learn more about your first visit →Comprehensive Evaluation
40-minute first visit — cervical motion assessment, postural analysis, orthopedic testing, trigger point mapping, and full headache history. You'll know what's going on before you leave.
Targeted Treatment Begins
Visit two starts active care. Cervical adjustments, trigger point dry needling, and soft tissue work — every session is hands-on and tailored to that day's findings.
Postural Rehab & Long-Term Relief
As headache frequency drops, the focus shifts to postural correction and rehab — so the structural causes are addressed, not just the symptoms.
What Patients Are Saying
"I had neck pain and headaches for years. After just a few visits with Dr. Cody, both improved significantly. He actually explains what's going on and gives you tools to maintain it yourself."
— Google Review"Dr. Cody is thorough, knowledgeable, and genuinely invested in your recovery. I came in for neck and shoulder stiffness and felt real improvement faster than I expected."
— Google Review"Best chiropractor I've been to. He doesn't just crack your back and send you home — there's a real plan and he follows through on it every single visit."
— Google ReviewIndividual results may vary. Testimonials reflect personal experiences and are not a guarantee of outcome.
Find Out If Your Headaches Have a Structural Cause
Your first visit includes a full cervical spine evaluation, postural assessment, and trigger point screening — so you leave with a clear picture of what's driving your headaches and what it'll take to fix it. New patient visits begin with a comprehensive evaluation.
Book Your New Patient Visit →BCBS PPO accepted · FSA/HSA eligible · Batavia, IL
Serving Batavia · Geneva · St. Charles · Elgin · Naperville · Aurora · North Aurora · Sugar Grove, IL
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