More than 15 percent of American adults suffer from severe headaches or migraines. If you have ever experienced a headache, you know how uncomfortable, painful, and distracting it can be. There are various types of headaches, which affect people differently. While you may reach for over-the-counter medications, did you know that there are drug-free, natural options for headache treatment? Keep reading to discover how chiropractic care can help those suffering from headaches.
What Is a Headache?
Headaches are a common condition that causes pain in your head or face. Most people will experience a headache in their lifetime. Common symptoms include throbbing, constant, sharp, or dull pain in the head or face. The severity of the pain can range from mild to severe, while the duration of the pain varies from several minutes to hours or days. Since each person is unique, everyone experiences headaches differently.
What Are the Main Types of Headaches?
The primary type of headaches includes tension, migraine, and cervicogenic.
- Tension Headaches: this causes ring-like tension around the head.
- Migraine Headaches: this causes severe, sharp pain on one side of the head. People may experience dizziness, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound.
- Cervicogenic Headaches: this causes pain in one or more areas of the head or face. These headaches are usually due to a family history of headaches, neck injury, neck stiffness, and/or stress.
Common Causes of Headaches
While every individual is different, there are some common causes of headaches that have been observed in the health industry. Like any health condition, it’s important to identify the source of the problem, in this case the headaches. It’s important to understand what is triggering your headaches, which may shed some light on how to better manage or remove the headaches altogether. You may find that making some lifestyle changes will significantly improve your health, including less headaches.
Common Causes include:
- Allergies
- Auto accident injuries like whiplash
- Clenching your jaw at night or during the day
- Driving for long hours on a regular basis
- Eating certain foods
- Environmental factors like light or noise
- Genetics
- Lack of proper hydration
- Looking down at your device, such as a computer, phone, or tablet
- Poor posture
- Poor sleep
- Sitting for long periods of time without moving
- Sleeping on your stomach
How Chiropractic Care Can Help Patients with Headaches
As with any patient, a licensed chiropractor will first assess, diagnose, and create a personalized treatment plan for your health needs and goals. This plan will focus on identifying and treating the root cause of your headaches. Studies have shown the manual adjustments can effectively treat cervicogenic and tension headaches, as well as reduce the frequency and severity of migraines.
Chiropractors may use:
- Manual adjustments
- Modalities, such as acupuncture, electrical stimulation, or ultrasounds
- Recommendations for lifestyle changes
- Referral to other specialists
- Soft tissue massage therapy
No matter what type of headache you have, this can negatively impact your health, well-being, and everyday life. Depending on the frequency, duration, and severity of your headaches, you may find that a combination of treatments helps you better manage or even remove the headaches. It’s recommended to talk with your primary doctor to determine the best treatments for your health needs and goals. For many patients, they experience great results with receiving regular chiropractic care and making healthier lifestyle changes. This includes getting enough sleep, managing stress levels, eating healthy, and staying active.
We hope this article helped highlight how chiropractic can help people with headaches. If you are looking for the best Portage chiropractors near you, contact West Michigan Chiropractic today! Let our result driven chiropractic office help you live life to its fullest potential!