Headaches – How Can Chiropractic Help?

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.

Many of the more severe headache symptoms are slow to respond to chemical treatment, which when made more intense to address the headache, can have long lasting and often negative effects to the body when used over time. This is why many people with chronic head pain look to the more natural (and very often the more effective alternative) solution of chiropractic care.

Some Types of Headaches

In order to better treat any type of condition, it is first important to try to understand what is causing the problem. Since there are many different types of headaches, some can be treated better by chiropractic than some of the others. Headaches can be caused by

-changes in constriction of the vascular system

-tension of 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.

There are three main types of headaches typically found in a chiropractic office:

-migraine headaches

-tension headaches

-Cervicogenic headaches (headaches from the neck)

The last kind of headache mentioned can sound a bit scary, but cervicogenic means a headache that is being caused by the bones, muscles, or nerves of neck.

Tension Headaches

When we are stressed, frightened or angry, the bodys normal response is to tense the muscles in our neck, shoulders and head. This reaction is called the fight or flight response. Unfortunately, when situations requiring that fight or flight response arise frequently or the stress is a constant in our lives we can neither run from or fight with, that muscle tension can become a habit.

This can lead to imbalances in the body, which then leads to more muscle tension and pain. Chiropractic care can will relax the tight muscles and realign the spine underneath to end this vicious cycle of pain. Those that are seeking treatment for tension headaches may often see a drastic improvement with just a few spinal adjustments as the nerves become less irritated and the muscles become more relaxed.

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.

Current research has shown chiropractic may help reduce the number of migraine headaches a person has. By specific adjustments to the neck and spine, chiropractic care may be able to reduce the nerve irritation in the spine, preventing the referred or radiating pain and improving vascular flow.

Types of Treatment

Chiropractic treatment centers around the idea of manipulating the spinal column and neck to improve posture and blood flow. To treat a headache, the chiropractor will likely perform an adjustment with his or her hands, but may also use trigger point therapy, massage and other supporting types of treatments to create a holistic approach to the problem. The chiropractor will also likely recommend some stretching exercises and basic changes in posture to help keep things balanced in between visits.

Philip Vincent is a health educator. Need a Billings Chiropractor? Consider a visit to this Billings Chiropractor.