It’s alright. You are not alone! The number of people suffering from chronic headaches every year is overwhelming.
Most people will experience headaches occasionally. Most of them are gentle and may only need to be cared for by an over-the-counter painkiller, such as acetaminophen, which –along with a good night’s sleep—may do the trick.
However, recurrent headaches are a common and sometimes devastating affliction that takes up too much time in many people’s lives. Suffers include adults, adolescents, and children alike. Headaches can dominate lives and create misery. Sadly, some people suffer for years from headaches.
Chronic headache sufferers need to recognize that using painkillers as a treatment may help to manage the symptoms, but won’t not address the cause. Treating symptoms alone is always unwise. Also, many people don’t want to use painkillers for the long-term, because of possible side effects, including life-threatening kidney disease. Sometimes, folks even experience withdrawal symptoms from stopping their analgesics, which further aggravates their headaches. Of course, other side effects of such medications are as varied as their users.
If you are taking painkillers on a regular basis, more than 5 analgesics per month, and other treatments you have tried are insufficient, it’s time to consult a chiropractor.
You might not necessarily think of seeing a chiropractor for headaches, but good chiropractors are highly trained and knowledgeable in this area and there is a lot they can do to help.
Chiropractic healthcare is holistic care. Back pain may be the most common reason patients seek the care of a chiropractor, but chiropractic techniques accomplish far more. Skilled chiropractors can help patients with acute or chronic issues, including headaches. Patients can look to chiropractors for general wellness too. In fact, preventive healthcare is among the fastest growing areas of chiropractic care.
Chronic headache suffers need to think “headache chiropractic” before they reach for those headache pills!
What is a headache? What causes headaches? More specifically, how can chiropractic care treat a headache?
A headache is a condition of pain in the head and frequently the neck or upper back. It stands amongst the most common ailments, because there are so many causes. This is why your chiropractor will need give you a thorough examination, which may include x-rays and other diagnostic tests, in order to make the correct diagnosis.
The most common type of vascular headaches is migraines. Often described by sufferers as “the worst headache of my life,” migraine headaches are usually characterized by severe pain on one or both sides of the head, an upset stomach, and for some people, disturbed vision. While vascular changes may occur during a migraine, the cause of the headache is neurologic, not vascular. Thus, migraine treatment usually responds well to chiropractic headache care.
Headaches, specifically migraines, have many underlying causes, ranging from food allergies, chemical sensitivities, hormonal imbalances, and simple dehydration. Most doctors just don’t have the time to investigate the origins of migraines. Sadly, the longer the foundational problem has been in existence, the more likely it is to cause symptoms which may worsen over time.
A headache may also be a symptom of sinusitis. The sinuses are supplied by the trigeminal nerve, which is the largest cranial nerve. Few headache sufferers realize that because the cranial nerve’s sensory foundation is in the neck, the pain of sinusitis often radiates and causes neck pain as well.
Cervicogenic headaches, or chiropractic headaches, originate from disorders of the neck, especially the facet joints. These are often caused by abnormal neck movements or sustained awkward head positioning. Craning your neck by washing your hair in a basin or by watching TV with your head turned could be causes that patients themselves never consider. Such pain is often accompanied by restricted range of motion, and neck, shoulder, or arm pain. Sometimes the cause is an old injury. Headaches that occur from neck injury after whiplash, allergies, eye-strain, inflammation of the jaw joint, and many other causes respond well to chiropractic headache treatment.
Muscular headaches involve the tightening or tensing of facial and neck muscles. This is often caused by poor posture and/or stress, and causes pain to radiate to the forehead. The muscles of the head also may be sensitive to pain from jaw joint conditions, thus causing headaches. Pelvic imbalance may result in tension up the spine to the neck, and can also cause muscular headaches.
Another possibility and not the least by far, is constipation, which is a known cause of headaches. If you are suffering from headaches and constipation, then holistic chiropractic care that includes expertise with nutrition is a very sensible place to begin.
Chiropractic care will often include a thorough analysis of a patient’s medical history, an in-depth examination, and finally, individualized treatment. Treatment will consist of gentle adjustments of the spine, perhaps some soft tissue work, and trigger point therapy with consideration of the jaw joint, followed by exercises, stretches, and rehabilitation. Chiropractic care successfully addresses headaches from a foundational level, and offers a patient treatment with confidence, aims at the origin of the pain to allow for successful management and headache alleviation.