When the familiar pounding begins at the base of your skull and starts its journey up into your head, what is the first thing you do? Run to the medicine cabinet and pop some pills to dull the ache, most likely. What should you really be doing? Getting in touch with a chiropractor to look into what the cause of these headaches could be. Chiropractic care and Acupuncture could be the answer for you.
Seeing a chiropractor for headaches is a medication-free way to deal with frequent headaches. Your doctor will be mainly concerned with assisting to correct neuromusculoskeletal sources of your headaches.
Acupuncture is another treatment method that can be used in conjunction with chiropractic care to help alleviate the symptoms of your headaches. Acupuncture can not only heal headaches but may help to prevent them by activating the parasympathetic nervous system while also decreasing muscle tension.
Understanding Headaches
Chronic headaches are highly disruptive to our lives. Headaches occur when the brain, blood vessels, head muscles, and surrounding nerves send pain signals to the brain. The pain from headaches can range from mild to severe. These signals can be interpreted as throbbing, sharp, dull or stabbing pain. Headaches are classified by their frequency, sensation, and associated symptoms.
Types of Headaches:
Tension: Tension headache pain can radiate from the neck and shoulders to multiple parts of the head. These headaches are on both sides of the head and they account for nearly 90% of all headaches.
Cluster: Cluster headaches are a neurological disorder with recurrent, severe headaches on one side of the head, typically around the eye. Often these headaches are associated with eye-watering, swelling, or nasal congestion on the affected side. Symptoms typically last from 15 minutes to 3 hours. Attacks often occur in clusters that typically last for weeks or months rarely more than a year.
Migraine: Migraine headaches are characterized by recurrent headaches that are moderate to very severe. Typically, the headaches affect one half of the head, are pulsating in nature, and last from two to 72 hours. Associated symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light, sound, or smell. These headaches are often triggered by several conditions including alcohol consumption, loud noises, or hormone changes.
We encourage you to contact a chiropractor to learn more about the combination of acupuncture and spinal manipulation. It’s important to understand that there are natural alternatives to drug-based therapies available for headache sufferers and that these treatment options can provide lasting relief for many patients as an alternative to medications.