There were approximately 45 million Americans complaining of
headaches last year. These headaches can be very frustrating to many
individuals especially if they are causing disability or interfering with daily
activities such as work or interacting with your family. There are many
different types of headaches, so the first step in treating headaches is to
determine what type you are suffering from.
The most common type of headache is called a tension headache.
It is estimated that 88 percent of females and 69 percent of males suffer from
tension headaches. This type of headache is most often related to stress or
mechanical problems in the neck and is usually described as pressure or
tightness in the neck or around the head.
Migraines are the second most common type of headache. These
debilitating headaches cause approximately 157 million hours of work lost every
year and affect approximately 17 percent of the American population. Migraine
headaches can be recurrent and typically last from 4 to 72 hours. They are
described as moderate or severe pain that can be accompanied by nausea,
vomiting, throbbing pain in the head or neck, and sensitivity to light or
sound. In children, these headaches may also be accompanied by abdominal pain
which can make them very hard to diagnose. Many migraines are related to a
trigger such as certain foods or hormone imbalance that causes blood vessels
within the brain to dilate. These enlarged vessels can cause inflammation of
the surrounding nerves in the brain which can contribute to the vicious cycle
of violent and debilitating pain.
The last type of headache, a cluster headache, is
characterized by frequent recurring cycles that are extremely severe and can be
associated with pain around the eye with tearing or numbness, nasal congestion,
and eyelid sagging. These headaches progress very rapidly and go from zero to
debilitating in 10 minutes or less. It is theorized that these types of
headaches are related to sudden and severe nerve irritation and can also be
related hormonal changes.
As a Peoria chiropractor, I have found that the underlying
cause of EVERY one of these headaches is an underlying nerve irritation which
can be due to a mechanical misalignment in the neck, dehydration or toxicity in
the body, or hormone imbalance that can trigger or exacerbate these headaches.
I’ve found the absolute best way to determine the cause of your headaches
specifically is to have consultation focused on the occurrence and
characteristics of your headaches followed by an examination to determine the
best approach to correct the underlying issue.
According to a study published in the
Journal of Manipulative and
Physiological Therapeutics, migraine patients that utilized chiropractic
adjustments to correct nerve irritation in the neck showed a significant
improvement in the amount and length of their migraines and also reported less
disability and medication usage. 72% of participants reported a decrease in
incidence of their migraines with 22% of those reporting more than 90%
reduction in migraines after 2 months of treatment.
Chiropractors are the only physicians that have extensive
training in identifying and correcting the mechanical misalignment I mentioned
above. They utilize specialized chiropractic adjustments to correct the nerve
irritation without the use of medication or risky procedures. I’d highly
recommend visiting your local Peoria chiropractic office at AlignLife for an
integrative approach designed to find and correct the underlying cause of your
headaches and they will empower you with proactive techniques to get rid of
them for good!