Headache & Migraine Headache

We’ve seen thousands of new patients and in a lot of cases when we ask the question: “Do you suffer from headaches?” The response is “Not really…..just the normal amount”.

When we ask how often they occur, it is amazing to discover how many of you think having 2-3 headaches a week is normal or even expected. Even worse is the belief that taking painkillers for them is a suitable answer, even with the risks involved with chronic painkiller use.

There are many types of headache, the most common are:

Tension

These tend to be caused by tense muscles at the back of the head and neck. They can be quite painful and tend to be chronic (long term) especially when stress is involved.

Cervicogenic

This means any headaches cause by the joints in the neck. It is usually thought to be caused by stiffness in the joints of the upper neck which can happen with many activities in modern life.

Chiropractic has been proven to help with this type of headache and relieve the tension in the neck by increasing the motion of the joints and relaxing the muscles.

Migraine

These types of headache are usually severe in nature and can last 1-2 days. They can also be accompanied by; nausea, flashing lights in the eyes referred to as an aura, and sensitivity to light or noise. These headaches can also be treated by chiropractic to reduce the frequency (number of headaches) or nature of them.

How can Chiropractic help?

Chiropractors use small force movements known as adjustments to the upper back and neck along with muscle relaxing techniques to treat headaches. By making the spine move properly and exercising the muscles that support the spine, many pain conditions can be improved.

The main issue with headaches is effectively diagnosing the headache and finding its cause. As Chiropractors are trained in diagnosing and treating headaches we would recommend you try this as an alternative to taking painkillers.

“It is important to find the root cause of the headaches instead of just covering up the pain. Pain is only the symptom of an underlying problem, we need to find and treat the cause. Chiropractic is proven to have good results with Migraine and neck related headaches, and our diagnostic process can show the cause and effect of the headaches.”

To help find that cause we offer:

A Private Consultation with the Doctor of Chiropractic
A Thorough Examination including Neurological, Orthopaedic & Blood Pressure Tests
X-Rays, if necessary
A Verbal Report of our Findings and thorough Explanation of the X-Rays

After which you should know more about your body and the problems you are experiencing than you ever have before. Whether you go ahead with treatment, as always, is entirely your decision

References:

Nelson CF, Bronfort G, Evans R, Boline P, Goldsmith C, Anderson AV: The efficacy of spinal manipulation, amitriptyline and the combination of both therapies for the prophylaxis of migraine headaches. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 1998, 21:511-519.

Bronfort G, Nilsson N, Haas M, Evans R, Goldsmith CH, Assendelft WJ, et al.: Non-invasive physical treatments for chronic/recurrent headache. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2004, CD001878.