Alternative medicines

Posts Tagged ‘headaches’

Everyone gets the occasional headache, but some headaches get so bad they won’t go away. While drugs treat the symptoms, they often ignore the underlying cause of the problem.

The worst headaches can be slow to respond to the intended effect of the medications. The stronger medications can have negative and long-lasting effects to the rest of your body when used for extended periods. They is why many people finally decide to look to other, more natural (and safer) solutions for their problem such as chiropractic.

Some Types of Headaches

When treating any type of health condition, the first and most important step is to understand what is causing the problem. Since there are many different kinds of headaches, some are more effectively treated by chiropractic than others. Headaches are often caused by

-changes in constriction of the vascular system

-tension in the muscles

-sinus congestion

These headaches can refer or radiate pain all over your head and they can feel like they’re centered in many different locations, but it is most important to realize that chiropractic seems to work best in the types of headaches that are based around muscle tension and changes to vascular flow. Sinus headaches have also had success, but they are likely to have a more complicated cause.

The three main types of headaches most often found in chiropractic offices are:

-migraine headaches

-tension headaches

-cervicogenic headaches (from the neck)

This last category sounds a bit daunting but cervicogenic simply means a headache that is caused by referred pain that actually originates within the bone or muscles of the neck.

Tension Headaches

If we become stressed, scared, or angry, your body will respond with increased muscle tension in the head, neck, and shoulders. This reaction is called the fight or flight response, and it is the normal response to stress. If we are stressed often (as most of us are) and we can neither run or fight, the muscle tension becomes a habit.

This can lead to some imbalances in the way we hold our body, which in turn leads to more muscle tension and pain. Chiropractic treatment can relax these muscles and realign the spine’s structure to put and end to the vicious cycle of pain. Those seeking chiropractic care for tension headaches can often see a marked improvement in just a few treatments as the nerves become less irritated and the muscles begin to relax.

Migraine Headaches

Migraine headaches are caused by changes in vascular flow, which can be brought about b a variety of factors such as changes in the weather, hormonal changes, stress, even different smells or foods — just to name a few. These headaches do not always start as pain, but may begin with nausea or visual auras. The headache can be strong or weak, but most migraine sufferers experience very painful headaches.

Recent studies have shown chiropractic treatment may play a significant role in reducing the number of migraines a person has. By careful manipulation of the neck and spine, chiropractic adjustments may be able to reduce nerve irritation in the spine, thus preventing radiating or referred pain, and improve vascular flow.

Treatment

Chiropractic care centers around manipulation of the spine and neck to improve blood flow and posture. To reduce the headaches, the chiropractor will perform spinal adjustments using his hands, but may also include massage, trigger point therapy, or other types of complementary treatments to address the problem. The doctor of chiropractic will probably also include some home care recommendations such as stretching exercises and posture education to help keep things balanced between visits.