We live in a hectic, stress-filled, fast-paced world. It’s no wonder that so many people suffer from headaches regularly. Their intensity can vary from person to person and for some, they’re merely an inconvenience, while for others, they’re downright debilitating. Often people don’t consider the root cause of the headache; they merely pop some aspirin and hope for the best. But understanding what is causing your headaches will allow you to treat the underlying problem instead of the symptom.
What Causes Headaches?
Headaches can be caused by many things. Emotional stress, dehydration, chemical toxins, nutritional deficiencies, concussion, the flu, anxiety, tension, noise, medications, food sensitivities, and staring at the glare of a computer screen can all contribute to headaches and migraines.
What is a Migraine?
A migraine is a severe headache. Migraines affect approximately 45 million Americans. It’s usually a throbbing on part of the head, followed by nausea, light and sound sensitivity, and vomiting. An aura occurs for some people right before the migraine in which flashes of light, blind spots, or blurry areas appear in the person’s field of vision.
Migraines can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. Things that trigger migraines include stress, alcohol, caffeine, bright lights, strong smells, medications, hormonal changes, and even changes in the weather.
Chiropractic Treatment of Headaches
Sometimes, the root cause of a headache is obvious. If it’s late afternoon and you haven’t had anything to drink all day other than your morning coffee, you’re probably dehydrated and drinking water will help. Maybe you’ve kicked a three-coffee-a-day habit and you’re simply experiencing caffeine withdrawal. Or perhaps you’ve recently started taking a new medication and headaches are one of the side effects.
However, a common cause of headaches is misaligned or fixated joints of the neck or back which affect blood flow to the head. Your chiropractor can determine whether chiropractic adjustments would be an effective course of treatment for your headaches.
Often, spinal adjustments along with nutritional and lifestyle changes can greatly reduce the intensity and frequency of your headaches.
Migraines can be reduced as well with chiropractic care, and in fact, chiropractic adjustments have been shown to be one of the most effective treatments for migraines. How? It is believed that poor joint motion of the neck can irritate nerves from the upper spine. By correcting the joint through manipulation, the nerves become less irritated and the headaches lessen.
Many people experience headaches after a traumatic event like an automobile accident. Whiplash happens when the head is snapped back and forth violently. It can cause damage to your disks, to the neck muscles, or subluxations (misalignments in the neck and upper back). Chiropractic adjustments can correct these issues and alleviate pain without the need for harsh or addictive pain medications.
If you suffer from frequent headaches, North County Chiropractic can help. We can help determine if chiropractic care could be the solution to your pain. Call North County at (314)731-4201 and schedule your appointment today. We can help you heal.
