I Know What It’s Like to Live With Headaches
Some things you understand differently when you've lived through them yourself.
Headaches are one of those things for me.
Long before I became a chiropractor, I knew what it felt like to have a headache interfere with life. Not the occasional “I probably didn't drink enough water today” headache.
The kind that changes your plans.
The kind that makes light too bright, noise too loud, and a normal day feel much harder than it should.
Following significant trauma, I began experiencing debilitating migraine headaches. And when headaches become part of your life, you start organizing your world around them without even realizing it.
You wonder:
Will I be able to finish what I need to do today?
Is this going to get worse?
What triggered this one?
How long will it last?
And perhaps the biggest question:
Why does this keep happening?
That question ultimately became an important one in my own life.
I Wasn't Just Looking for Temporary Relief
When pain happens over and over again, it's natural to focus on making it stop.
I understand that completely.
When your head hurts, you're usually not interested in an anatomy lesson. You simply want to feel better.
But eventually I began thinking differently.
Instead of only asking:
“What can I do about this headache?”
I became more interested in:
“Why is my body responding this way?”
That shift—from chasing a symptom to trying to understand what was happening underneath it—played an important role in my own journey toward chiropractic care.
And eventually, it helped lead me to becoming a chiropractor myself.
That's Why I Listen Differently When Someone Says, “I Get Headaches”
When patients tell me they experience headaches, I don't hear it as one simple diagnosis.
I hear questions.
When do they happen?
Where do you feel them?
Do they begin in your neck?
Do your shoulders become tight?
Does your neck feel stiff?
Are you sitting at a computer all day?
Do they happen during periods of stress?
Do they feel like pressure, throbbing or something entirely different?
Has the pattern changed?
Because “I get headaches” can mean many different things.
And understanding the pattern matters.
Not Every Headache Is the Same
Some headaches are associated with stress or muscle tension.
Others may be related to sleep, dehydration, missed meals or changes in caffeine.
And some headaches may have a connection to the neck and cervical spine.
That's one of the reasons I believe headache care should begin with listening and evaluating rather than assuming.
The goal isn't to fit every headache into the same box.
It's to understand your experience.
Sometimes Pain Is a Clue
One of the things I want patients to understand is that the place you feel pain isn't always the place the problem began.
A headache can sometimes be influenced by structures in the neck.
Muscle tension can contribute.
Movement patterns can matter.
Stress can show up physically.
And sometimes the body has been giving us clues for quite a while before we begin connecting them.
That doesn't mean every headache is a chiropractic issue.
Far from it.
But if headaches are recurring—especially when they're accompanied by neck tension, stiffness, or restricted movement—they deserve a closer look.
This Is Why I'm Starting This Series
Headaches are too big a subject for one article.
So over the next several posts, I'm going to break them down in a way that I hope feels practical and easy to understand.
We'll talk about:
why different headache locations may matter
the connection between your neck and certain headaches
tension headaches and stress
migraines
posture and screen time
simple things you can do when a headache begins
how to recognize patterns and triggers
when a headache requires medical attention
and when it might make sense to have your neck and movement evaluated
Most importantly, I want to help you become more curious about what your body is telling you.
Because I remember what it feels like to just want the headache to stop.
And I also know how valuable it can be to finally start asking why it's happening in the first place.
Next in the Series
Your Headache Has an Address: What the Location of Your Head Pain May Be Telling You
We'll look at headaches behind the eyes, across the forehead, around the temples and at the base of the skull—and why where you feel the pain can sometimes offer useful clues.
If recurring headaches seem to occur alongside neck pain, stiffness or reduced mobility,
Dr. Katrina Weiland at Mountainside Chiropractic in Harrisonburg, Virginia can help evaluate whether musculoskeletal factors may be contributing. Get Relief Now.
Mountainside Chiropractic serves patients throughout Harrisonburg, Rockingham County and the Shenandoah Valley.
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