“Dr. Bergin at Chiromed Wellness Centers is the best chiropractor in town. I no longer have to take pain meds. If you still have pain, you’re not seeing to best chiropractor.”
Condition
Headaches and Migraines treatment
in Lakeland and The Villages, FL
Not every headache starts in the head. Before another prescription gets added, it is worth finding out whether yours is coming from the neck.
- 22 years in practice
- Drug-free, non-surgical
- $47 new-patient exam
- 22 years in practice
- $47 new-patient exam
Medically reviewed by Dr. Justin Bergin, DC Updated September 14, 2026
Quick summary
Headaches fall into recognisable types, and the type decides the treatment. Cervicogenic headaches start in the neck joints. Tension headaches come from sustained muscular load. Migraine is a neurological condition with its own triggers. ChiroMed examines the upper neck to identify which pattern you have, then treats without medication. The consultation, exam and report of findings cost $47.
Understanding headaches and migraines
Headaches are classified by where the pain is generated, not by how badly it hurts. Cervicogenic headaches come from the upper neck joints, tension headaches from sustained muscular load, and migraine from a neurological process with its own triggers and phases.
The distinction matters because the three respond to different things. The top three cervical segments share nerve pathways with the trigeminal system, which serves the face and the front of the head. Irritate a joint at that level and the brain reports pain behind the eye or across the temple, nowhere near the actual source. That is a cervicogenic headache, and it is mechanical. Tension headaches build from load. Migraine is a neurological event with prodrome, sometimes aura, then the headache and a hangover afterwards. Many people have more than one type at once, which is why an unexamined headache gets treated as the wrong thing for years.
By the time somebody books a headache appointment here, they have usually built a life around the headaches rather than around themselves. There is a bottle in the car, a bottle in the desk and a bottle by the bed. There is a list of plans quietly cancelled. There is a drawer of half-finished prescriptions from three different prescribers, none of whom examined the neck. That last part is the gap ChiroMed is interested in. A significant share of persistent headaches are cervicogenic, meaning they start in the upper cervical joints and refer pain into the skull, and they are routinely treated as migraines for years. Dr. Justin Bergin, DC assesses the upper neck properly at the first visit, in Lakeland or in Lady Lake.
Independent background: Migraine, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Symptoms
Most people recognise their own version somewhere in this list. Each one maps to a specific finding the examination checks for.
- Pain starting at the base of the skull
- One-sided throbbing that builds over hours
- A band of pressure around the whole head
- Light and sound becoming intolerable
- Nausea arriving with the pain
- Visual disturbance before the headache starts
- Neck stiffness in the hours beforehand
- Waking with a headache several days a week
- Tenderness in the temples or the jaw
Common causes
Upper cervical joint dysfunction
Restricted motion in the top segments of the neck refers pain into the skull through shared nerve pathways. It is the most commonly missed headache source.
Sustained muscular load
Screens, driving, and a jaw clenched through the night keep the suboccipital and shoulder muscles switched on. The tissue becomes a pain generator in its own right.
Migraine physiology and its triggers
A neurological process with real triggers: disrupted sleep, missed meals, dehydration, hormonal shifts and barometric change. Florida summers matter here.
Jaw mechanics
A jaw joint that tracks poorly loads the temporalis and masseter, and those refer into the temple and behind the eye. Headaches and jaw symptoms travel together.
An old whiplash injury
A collision changes how the upper neck moves, and headaches can appear months later. The history matters even when the crash was years ago.
How we treat headaches and migraines in Lakeland and The Villages
The examination decides the plan. Cervicogenic and tension patterns respond to restoring upper cervical motion and releasing the loaded tissue. Where the pain signal has become persistent in its own right, neuromodulation is added rather than escalating medication.
Chiropractic care for the upper cervical segments
Specific, controlled adjustment of the top of the neck, where the referral pathways into the head begin. Patients with a genuine cervicogenic component often notice the change in frequency before the change in intensity, which is a good sign the source was mechanical.
Neuromed electroanalgesia for persistent pain signalling
Neuromed applies targeted electrical stimulation to the pain signalling itself. It suits patients whose headaches have run long enough that the nervous system has become sensitised, and patients who would rather not add another daily tablet to the pile.
Soft tissue therapy for the suboccipital and jaw musculature
Release work through the base of the skull, the upper trapezius and the jaw musculature, which is where tension-type pain is generated and where cervicogenic headaches are sustained between episodes. It is usually what makes the adjustment last.
What recovery usually looks like
Sorting the type Your first two visits
History, a headache pattern review, upper cervical examination and neurological screening. You leave knowing which type or types you are dealing with.
The active phase The opening block of care
Visits sit closer together while motion is restored. Frequency shifts before intensity, so we track how many days a month you lose rather than how bad the worst one was.
Reassessment At a set checkpoint in the plan
We compare your headache diary against the baseline. If frequency has not measurably changed, the plan changes or you are referred to a neurologist. You are told either way.
Trigger management Once episodes have settled
Care moves to keeping the neck moving and managing what reliably sets you off. Some patients keep a periodic visit through the summer months and drop it in winter.
When to seek care sooner
A headache diary is the single most useful thing you can bring to a first appointment: date, time of onset, what you had eaten, how you slept, and what you had been doing in the two hours before. Beyond that, hydrate properly in the Florida heat, keep sleep and mealtimes regular, get the screen up to eye level, and go easy on over-the-counter painkillers, since taking them more than a couple of days a week can start causing the headaches they are meant to stop. Some headaches are emergencies. Call 911 or go to an emergency department for a headache that arrives at full intensity in seconds, the worst headache of your life, a headache with fever and a stiff neck, one with confusion, slurred speech, weakness or vision loss, a headache after a head injury, or a genuinely new pattern beginning after age fifty.
Red-flag findings belong with a physician, promptly, and not with conservative care alone.
Cost, insurance and financing
Headache care is priced by the plan the examination produces rather than by a package sold before anyone has looked at your neck. Your first visit is $47 and includes the consultation, examination, X-rays if needed and the report of findings.
The one published price
Consultation, Exam, X-Rays (If Needed) & Report of Findings: Only $47
What moves the cost
- Which headache type or combination the examination identifies
- Whether neuromodulation is added to the hands-on plan
- How long the pattern has been running, and how many days a month you lose
What a course includes
- The upper cervical and neurological examination and the report of findings
- Reassessment against your own headache baseline as the plan progresses
Payment: Chiropractic care at ChiroMed bills insurance and your benefits are verified before the first visit. Medicare coverage varies by plan and by service, so the front desk will confirm what applies to your policy. Payment plans are available for self-pay care.
Who you would be seeing
Dr. Justin Bergin, DC has 22 years of practice behind him and performs the headache examination himself at both offices. His view is that a headache nobody has examined the neck for has not really been assessed, and that the honest answer is sometimes a neurology referral rather than a course of care. He founded ChiroMed to reject the rushed-appointment model, which in a headache consultation means the history is taken properly before any treatment is proposed.
Dr. Justin Bergin, DC, 22 years in practice, performs the examination personally and explains the findings before any program starts. Lakeland: 6595 Florida Ave S, Suite 13, Lakeland. The Villages market office: 929 US-441 #404, Lady Lake. Both offices run the same program.
Getting to us
The South Florida Avenue office in Lakeland is a short drive from Dixieland, Cleveland Heights, Southgate, Christina and Highland City, and easy to reach off the Polk Parkway from Winter Haven and Mulberry. Florida Southern College sits minutes away on Lake Hollingsworth. Lady Lake patients find the US-441 office just north of CR 466, within reach of Spanish Springs Town Square, Lake Sumter Landing, Wildwood, Leesburg and Summerfield, and the cart routes cover most of the trip for anyone who would rather not drive with a headache building.
Browse every condition on the conditions we treat index.
Options compared, honestly
This is treated very differently depending on who you walk in to see. Here is the full set, including the options this practice does not provide.
| Criteria | Our approachChiropractic care with soft tissue therapy | Acute headache medication | Preventive prescription medication | Botulinum toxin injections | Occipital nerve block |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Restoring upper cervical motion and releasing the musculature that sustains the pain | Tablets taken at onset to stop or shorten an episode | A daily prescription taken to reduce how often episodes occur | Injections into head and neck musculature on a repeating schedule | Anaesthetic placed around the occipital nerve at the back of the skull |
| Typically considered when | Examination shows a cervical or muscular source, or those are contributing to a mixed picture | Episodes are infrequent enough to manage as they come | Episodes are frequent and a neurologist has established a diagnosis | Chronic migraine is diagnosed and other preventives have not worked | Occipital neuralgia is suspected, or a diagnostic block will clarify the source |
| Invasive? | No. Hands-on and drug free | No, though rebound headache is a known risk with frequent use | No, though the side effects are systemic | Yes. Repeated injections | Yes. Needle-based procedure |
| Offered at ChiroMed? | Yes, at both offices | Not prescribed here. Appropriate under the guidance of your prescriber for episodes as they arise | Not prescribed here. Appropriate when episodes are frequent and a neurologist is managing them | Not performed here. Appropriate for diagnosed chronic migraine under a neurologist | Not performed here. Appropriate when occipital neuralgia is suspected and a specialist recommends it |
Migraine that is frequent, escalating or changing in character belongs with a neurologist, and hands-on care does not replace that. Where a cervical component exists alongside it, treating both usually beats treating either one on its own.
What to expect
From evaluation to a plan for your headaches and migraines
A course, not a single visit. The examination decides the length and the cost, and both are written down first.
-
01Evaluation
Orthopedic and neurological testing, with imaging on site where it changes the plan.
-
02Findings, in plain language
What the examination actually found, and honestly whether this is a case conservative care can help at all.
-
03A written program
Which disciplines, how many visits, over what period, and what it costs. Decided before anything begins.
-
04Reassessment as it runs
Function is re-measured through the course. If the response says the plan should change, it changes.
-
Find out what is actually driving it before choosing a program.
“I have had sich a great experience seeing Dr. Bergin. When other offices have told me I just had muscle damage or the only thing they could do for me was give shots, he said he had others ways to manage my pain and numbness, along with improving mobility. And he was right! I feel so much better!”
“I have had pain in my right upper back quadrant by my shoulder blade for at least a year now and the doctors have been unsuccessful in making the pain go away. I came to Dr. Bergin looking for some help. Within 3 to 4 weeks. My pain in that area is completely gone.”
“Dr. Bergin is phenomenal. Chronic lower back issues led a different doctor to mention back surgery to me. That was not an option I wanted to entertain. After a consult with Dr. B, he was confident that he could help resolve my back issues. I’ve been seeing him weekly to resolve the issue, and I am so pleased with the results so far! More mobility, less pain, and a great customer experience.”
“I bless the day that Dr. Bergin started working on me. I have had long standing pain for so long. After just a few visits my pain left and I feel so good. He is very patient oriented and caring. I regard him highly.”
“Dr. Bergin was instrumental in relieving my back pain which I had for many years. The techniques he used on relieving my back pain were impressive. I been going to chiropractors for years and Dr. Bergin is the best.”
Get in touch
Schedule your headaches and migraines evaluation
Tell us what you are feeling and which office is closer. A member of the ChiroMed team follows up within one business day.
- 1
Send the form
Two minutes. Tell us what hurts and which office is closer.
- 2
We call you back
A real person, within one business day, to find a time that works.
- 3
Exam and answers
History, orthopedic and neurological testing, imaging on site when it changes the plan.
- $47 consultation, exam, X-rays if needed and report of findings
- Payment plans available on the self-pay programs
- 4.8 out of 5 from 225 Google reviews
- Choose Lakeland or The Villages on the form
Headaches and Migraines questions
Tap a message for the honest answer. Call Lakeland (863) 940-3444
Can a chiropractor help with migraines?
Hands-on care helps most where a cervical component is contributing, which is common and frequently missed. It does not replace neurological management of established migraine. Patients with a mixed picture, part cervicogenic and part migraine, often get the largest change from treating the mechanical half properly.
the clinic teamHow do I know if my headaches are coming from my neck?
Typical signs are pain that starts at the base of the skull and spreads forward, one-sided pain that stays on the same side, neck stiffness in the hours before it builds, and headaches provoked by sustained positions. An upper cervical examination that reproduces your familiar pain settles the question quickly.
the clinic teamWhat kind of doctor should I see for chronic headaches?
Start with whoever will examine you rather than prescribe first. A neurologist manages diagnosed migraine and investigates concerning patterns. A chiropractor assesses the mechanical contribution from the neck and jaw. Many people with daily headaches genuinely need both, in that order.
the clinic teamWhat is commonly mistaken for a migraine?
Cervicogenic headache heads the list, because it can be one-sided, throbbing and light-sensitive too. Others include jaw joint dysfunction, occipital neuralgia, sinus disease, and medication-overuse headache from frequent painkiller use. The pattern and a proper examination separate them.
the clinic teamWhy do doctors discourage chiropractors?
Some do, usually where a clinic has over-promised or treated outside its scope. The fair concern is a patient being kept on a plan when a referral is what they need. Our answer is to reassess against your own baseline and to say plainly when neurology is the better route.
the clinic teamWill insurance pay for chiropractic headache care?
Chiropractic care at ChiroMed bills insurance and your benefits are verified before your first visit. Device-based additions are handled separately and quoted in advance. Medicare coverage varies by plan and by service, so ask the front desk to check your specific policy.
the clinic teamSame-week appointments
Start with an examination, not a package.
Find out what is actually driving it before choosing a program.
- 4.8 out of 5 on Google
- $47 consultation, exam and report
- 22 years in practice
Consultation, Exam, X-Rays (If Needed) & Report of Findings: Only $47