Question
Dear Sir/madam,
I am writing this email from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. My wife (38) has been suffering from intense headache and neck pains for almost three years. She did MRI and CT scan of the brain which showed normal brain scan. We visited several NT clinics and took several treatment without vain. Recently we went to chiropracting clinic and her cervical x-ray finding read as follows: 揤ertebral alignment and curvature is straightened. Normal vertebral height. Normal disc spaces. Normal prevertebral soft tissue thickness. Normal facet joints. Conclusion: Straightened curvature otherwise normal cervical x-ray findings?
The doctored at the clinic prescribed her a 7 days physiotherapy, which didn抰 work. While I was browsing the internet to find information on the condition and self-help advices, I found your site and  wanted to seek advice on what to do. Please help me what to do with the condition.
I look forward to receiving your advice!!!
Kindest Regards
Tesfu

Answer
Tesfu,

I wish that I had the perfect answer for you.  I am sorry for the suffering that your wife is experiencing.  The problem with headaches is that there can be many different causes.

Over the years I hand found that typically there are three causes of headaches that are more common:

1) Hormonal sensitivity.  These people (women in particular) experience headache symptoms that correlates often with their monthly cycles.  
2) Environmental sensitivities.  These patients have allergies or sensitivities to chemicals or pollens or foods.  They are hard to track down, and hard to treat.
3) Cervical spine dysfunction.  This is what the chiropractor in Ethiopia tried to help your wife with.  This can help a lot of cases, but not all.  7 visits is a nice start, but often more care is required.

The problem is that almost ANYTHING can cause headaches, and some causes can be very serious and detrimental to the health and well-being of the patient.

Some other causes of headache include: Dental issues, TMJ dysfunction, blood pressure problems, brain tumors, cranial vascular issues such as aneurysms or ischemia, kidney issues, eye problems, hormonal imbalances, diabetes, etc.  

These come to my mind in particular because you state that prior to three years ago, she had no headaches...

Headaches can, in fact, be a symptom of almost any disease.

The most important thing for you is to make sure that she is not suffering from any disease that is undiagnosed.  She should have a good evaluation that includes not only imaging (CT and MRI of the brain), but also lab tests to rule out other diseases.  

Once you have exhausted disease as a cause of your wife's symptoms, You might consider continuing chiropractic manipulation and therapy. 7 visits is a short course of treatment. If the chiropractor that is treating her is not helping, try another one if you can find one. Just like medical doctors, each chiropractor is different and brings a unique set of skills to his/her practice. You could also try acupuncture to help control the symptoms.

Again, I wish that I could answer your question definitively.  I would love to help you to help her to never have a headache again.  I hope that what I have said at least gives you some ideas of what to do next.

Good luck,

Keith Biggs, DC
http://www.eastmesachiropractor.com