What puts the ache in headache?
Headaches and migraines can affect all people at some time in their life. Occasional suffering is bad enough, but regular head pain can make life really debilitating. You never know when a headache or migraine is going to strike and force you to cancel your plans and require you to lay in a dark, quiet room to recover.
The cause of headaches can be attributed to a wide range of common lifestyle factors, including feeling tense and stressed, being dehydrated, not getting enough sleep and spending too much time in front of computer, television, tablet and phone screens. However, headaches can also be brought on by bad posture putting excessive stress onto your neck, back and shoulders.
Is the pain all in your head?
Don’t be fooled into thinking that because the pain is in your head, the root of the problem must also be in your head – the spine has a lot to answer for and in many instances spinal issues are triggering pain elsewhere in the body!
Nowadays, people spend so much time in front of a screen, not just for work but for social purposes too, that our posture has worsened, triggering regular headaches as a result. This is true of children too.
A while back at Life Chiropractic, we knew of a ten year old girl who was suffering from chronic severe migraines. The pain left her unable to go to school; she could no longer join in with her after school dance clubs and was missing out on activities with her friends.
Doctors and Neurologists had not been able to help her and the girl and her parents were feeling really frustrated about being powerless to her pain. She was recommended by family friends to visit us at Life Chiropractic and although her parents were doubtful as they assumed chiropractic care was only for back pain, they brought her along for a check-up.
We were able to do a full chiropractic examination which revealed misalignments –subluxations in the joints of her upper neck. We quickly created a treatment plan for the young girl and after her fifth adjustment she was off her pain medication and was back to school, leading a normal and healthy life for the first time in two years.
She was overjoyed to once again be able to join in with her friends and just be a ‘normal’ ten year old child.
Her parents were relieved that an answer had been found after several years of going back and forth with various doctors. The whole family now come along for regular adjustments.
A breakthrough discovery…
A group of surgeons discovered that there is a small neck muscle that connects to brain membranes.
When the joints of the neck are out of alignment this muscle may actually pull on the membrane surrounding the brain and cause a headache. Since this discovery a number of clinical trials have shown that chiropractic realignment of the joints of the spine reduces tension on the muscles and membranes of the upper neck and skull and consequently reduces the pain of headaches.
Help is only an appointment away…
If you or someone you know is suffering from regular headaches or migraines, we strongly advise considering chiropractic treatment as a solution.
We can work with you to rectify any existing spinal misalignment that could be causing unknown tension in your shoulders, neck, back or jaw, consequently triggering your head pain. We’ll also be able to offer lots of advice – or you may like to call it ‘home work’ – of ways to improve your posture with ergonomic exercises and how to avoid stress through relaxation techniques.
