Chiropractic Care for Headaches and Migraines

Headaches and migraines plague adults, especially people who work long hours or encounter daily stress. A combination of poor posture along with stressors and other factors like diet can all increase the chances of chronic headaches and migraines.

Chiropractic care seeks to alleviate the pain and suffering of chronic headache and migraine sufferers through targeted spinal corrections. These corrections have been proven as effective as medications for treating those with chronic migraines. Since many medications only offer temporary relief and can have serious side effects, chiropractic care can be the safest and best option for some headache sufferers.

Regular chiropractic adjustments may offer the best chance of alleviating both the symptoms and underlying causes of chronic headaches.

Chiropractic Care for Tension Headaches

There are two common types of headaches as described by modern medical science: tension headaches and migraine headaches. While tension headaches are not as severe as migraines, they can still be just as painful and debilitating, popping up unexpectedly and making a normal routine difficult. The most common type of condition that leads to regular tension headaches is a recurring spasm in the rectus capitis posterior minor (RCPM) muscle, located along the neck. Spasms in this muscle affect its tendon attached at the base of the skull to a thin, protective tissue called the dura mater. The dura mater is covered in sensitive nerve endings, so RCPM spasms can trigger a broad, dull sense of pain that leads to a headache. By correcting subluxations in the top two cervical bones near the base of the neck, muscle tension and spasm can be relieved, eliminating the root cause of tension headaches.

Chiropractic Care for Migraine Headaches

Migraine headaches have complex root causes that are not completely understood by modern science and medicine. The prevailing theory is that a chemical imbalance can cause blood vessel dilations in particular regions of the brain. These dilated blood vessels press on the nerves, causing irritation which can cause more blood vessel dilation in an escalating, painful loop.

Published research indicates that chiropractic adjustments can reduce the conditions that trigger migraines by removing nerve interference, thus relieving pain and often solving the root cause of migraines. In that study, 22 percent of participants reported an almost complete reduction in migraine episodes, while an additional 50 percent reported that their migraines had become significantly less painful and frequent.