Many suffer with chronic headaches and depend on over-the-counter pain relievers as a solution. While those medications may provide short-term relief, they generally don’t help to target the reason why the headaches continually occur. If you’ve had a headache, then you know that the painful symptoms can keep you from living life normally. It is important to understand why headaches occur and understand how chiropractic treatment can help.
What Causes Headaches?
The pain that you feel during a headache comes from a mix of signals between your brain, blood vessels and nearby nerves. Headaches can have causes that aren’t due to underlying disease such as lack of sleep, incorrect eyeglass prescription, stress, loud noise exposure or weakened neck and head muscles. It can be difficult to pinpoint the cause of a headache but an evaluation by a chiropractic doctor can help to determine the root cause of any ongoing headaches.
How a Chiropractic Doctor Can Help
Chiropractors can assess, diagnose and manage headaches. An examination by a chiropractic doctor can determine if chiropractic care can be the best form of treatment for your headaches.
One effective form of treatment is through manual therapy. Manual therapy can help to relieve tension and pain and improve head and neck range of motion. The cause of a headache oftentimes can be due to tight neck muscles and stretching and strengthening the head and neck muscles can help to lessen the frequency of a headache.
One very common reason for headaches is spinal misalignment. If the spine is misaligned, the nerves are irritated and can send a signal through the spine to the head and face region, resulting in a headache. A chiropractic adjustment can help to improve spinal function and alleviate stress on the nervous system which allows your body to function more normally and reduces the risk of stress and tension which can create headache pain.
Another way that a chiropractic office can help treat headaches is through massage therapy. Massage therapy helps to relieve the symptoms of a headache by easing muscle tension, relieving muscle spasms, releasing shortened muscles and relaxing tension held in the muscles of the head, shoulders and neck. When muscle tension eases, there is less pressure on the nerves and blood vessels that supply them. Regular massage therapy can help to prevent headaches by helping to reduce overall stress and muscle tension that can trigger headache pain.
We at North County Pain Relief put our patient’s health first and are devoted to providing exceptional medical care. We always take the time to answer any medical questions you may have and help to make sure your appointment times are convenient for you. If you are considering chiropractic care as an option to help with headache pain, please feel free to contact our office for an initial evaluation at (314) 731-4201. We look forward to speaking with you about the long-term benefits that chiropractic care can provide and to help you get the care you deserve!
