Headaches are common and can be incredibly frustrating. The pain associated with a headache can make it difficult to focus and think clearly and can impact your ability to enjoy your favorite activities. Even something that is normally quite peaceful, like watching a sporting event or sitting in the garden is not fun when you have a headache. For people with frequent or chronic headaches, chiropractic can be an effective solution.
With your headaches under control, you’ll be able to return to (and focus on) the activities you love.
Headaches Have Many Causes
Whether it’s a random headache that never returns or a weekly visitor that makes your Monday afternoons miserable, headaches have a variety of causes. As a result, symptoms of headaches tend to be subtly different. A headache that is caused by stress feels a little different than a headache caused by tension in your neck.
Headaches can be caused by stress, by bad posture, by trauma, changes in your sleep, dehydration and so on. There are so many causes that you probably won’t be able to narrow it down without help from your chiropractor!
What Are Different Types of Headaches?
The most common types of headaches tend to fall into three distinct categories:
- Tension headaches: Usually, pain from tension headaches will present in a kind of band around your head. It may feel like you’re wearing a hat that’s too tight.
- Migraines: These very severe types of headaches usually manifest on one side of the head or the other. If you have a migraine, you may also experience nausea or sensitivity to light.
- Cervicogenic headaches: This is a fancy word that simply means “caused by the neck and spine.” These headaches are usually caused by issues of the neck or upper back.
How Does Chiropractic for Headaches Help?
Chiropractic for headaches can help eliminate symptoms without the need for pain medication. And that can mean a huge increase in quality of life for many patients.
During your first visit to Diaspo, our team will work with you to help identify the type of headaches you are experiencing and their likely causes. This usually means we’ll ask about your medical and headache history and perform an assessment.
Chiropractic care can help with many types of headaches. In general, treatment steps include the following:
- Spinal manipulation: Headaches often originate from the joints in the neck and upper back. In these cases, spinal manipulation can help restore normal function and mobility, reducing or eliminating headaches. While this is especially helpful for cervicogenic headaches, other types of headaches, including those that result from work or auto accident injuries can often benefit from this type of treatment
- Reducing muscle tension: Sometimes it’s not the joints that are causing your headaches, but the muscles. Chiropractic therapy can help reduce muscle tension reducing the severity and frequency of your head pain.
- Physical therapy: Depending on the cause of your headache, physical therapy may be employed to help alleviate your symptoms.
- Posture coaching: For many, posture will have an enormous impact on their overall level of pain. Poor posture can lead to more frequent headaches. Whether you spend most of your time sitting or standing, your chiropractor will provide you with tips and strategies to improve your posture. Better posture means less stress on your neck and back, and that translates to fewer headaches.
Your chiropractor can also give you tips on ways you can prevent headaches in the future. This could include everything from simple behavioral changes (such as making sure to drink more water) to modification in sleep or work posture.
Essentially, chiropractic for headaches can help reduce chronic pain and let your body function with less stress.
Does Chiropractic Care Help with Migraines?
Migraines are particularly severe headaches, and are fortunately very uncommon. Typically, migraines are associated with considerable pain, sensitivity to light, and sensitivity to sound. Migraines can be debilitating. So people who experience frequent migraines often feel a sense of urgency to find a treatment that works.
For some people, chiropractic may be able to help with these types of headaches. If you experience chronic or regular migraines, ask your provider about chiropractic care.
Don’t Ignore Your Headache
Headaches are a sign that something isn’t quite right with your body. But they’re so common that you might be tempted to rely on over-the-counter medications. Over the long-term, this can be quite damaging, and end up masking your symptoms rather than resolving them.
Chiropractic for headaches offers a solution that can help address the underlying problems without any of the negative impacts associated with long term use of OTC pain medications.
You don’t have to try to ignore your symptoms. With the right treatment, headaches will stop being in charge of what you can enjoy. You can get back into the garden or enjoy that baseball game. At Diapso, we have decades of experience helping patients achieve relief from their headaches. Contact Diapso today!
