Success Story - Tension Headaches
As someone who grew up dancing many hours a week, I had my fair share of muscular injuries. I also suffered from tension headaches that I couldn’t seem to beat. Having these issues led me to many types of therapies such as chiropractic care, physical therapy, and massage therapy. I did find relief, but it was more of a band aid than anything. When I first started getting treatment for my headaches, it was multiple chiro visits per week where our local chiro would spend 2 minutes with me adjusting my neck and send me on my way. Eventually, the pain stayed so consistent that my primary care provider prescribed Amitriptyline to relax my muscles and calm my system. I was on this medication for 3 years, and while I was told that is perfectly fine, they would check my liver every time I would go in for follow up and it just didn’t sit right with me. When I came off the medication, the headaches came back and so did the multiple chiro visits a week. I was in college at the time and seeing a new chiropractor – yet he continued the same treatment.
Fast forward a couple years, I was furloughed due to the pandemic and in my job search, I found Chicago Conservative Care. I was drawn to the independent, successful, and women-owned business that Dr. Hoberland had built. Not only that, but our passions aligned when it came to patient-centered care and the patient-provider relationship for successful care. I was hired as her new front desk associate and massage therapist. Since I had a history of tension headaches, I was curious about what Dr. Hoberland would have to say. I was expecting the same treatment I had always received – an aggressive adjustment resulting from the provider throwing their entire body weight on top of me at a 3x per week schedule.
I was pleasantly surprised at how gentle and effective Dr. Hoberland’s adjustment was, which was paired with a detailed but easy to understand explanation of what was happening inside my body to cause these headaches. Also, before I even got the adjustment, she explained and showed me the benefits of the McKenzie Method of Diagnosis and Treatment (MDT) that includes subtle stretches and exercises that help reverse the strain from every day postures. Her approach is simple: she wants you to feel better, but then stay better by maintaining care on your own. Dr. Hoberland’s main motivation is not to have patients come in 3x per week just to get adjusted, it’s to come in for a short period of time to get education and care that encourages independence and empowerment in her patients.
I may be biased, however, from my experience with other chiropractic offices, this was the most long-lasting and useful treatment. Now, two years later, I get an adjustment from Dr. Hoberland probably every 2 or 3 months and my headaches come very few and far between. And when they do come, I just do my exercises and find relief. I also am so much more aware of my body and can pinpoint times where a headache may come on based on my posture or positioning. What I like most about the exercises within the McKenzie Method is that they are so simple, but they make so much sense. If we are all constantly looking down at our phones, feet, etc. what should we do to combat that? If we are sitting at desk jobs, hinged forward, and putting pressure on our lower back, what do we do to combat that? Dr Hoberland educates patients through the MDT system on simple movements that bring you back to neutral.
We all have back pain or neck pain at some point in our lives, why settle for just a bandaid? I found relief at Chicago Conservative Care and after working here, I’ve seen the consistency of Dr. Hoberland’s care in our patients. I’m so grateful I found something that not only has eliminated tension headaches but also gives me tools to fall back on when I do have a flare up, and I feel so lucky to see and be a part of other people finding similar results too!
