Headaches
If you have a headache, you’re not alone. Nine out
of ten Americans suffer from headaches. Some are
occasional, some frequent, some are dull and throbbing,
and some cause debilitating pain and nausea.
What do you do when you suffer from a pounding headache?
Do you grit your teeth and carry on? Lie down? Pop a
pill and hope the pain goes away? There is a better
alternative.
Research shows that spinal manipulation – the primary
form of care provided by doctors of chiropractic – may
be an effective treatment option for tension headaches
and headaches that originate in the neck.
A report released in 2001 by researchers at the Duke
University Evidence-Based Practice Center in Durham, NC,
found that spinal manipulation resulted in almost
immediate improvement for those headaches that originate
in the neck, and had significantly fewer side effects
and longer-lasting relief of tension-type headache than
a commonly prescribed medication.
Also, a 1995 study in the Journal of Manipulative and
Physiological Therapeutics found that spinal
manipulative therapy is an effective treatment for
tension headaches and that those who ceased chiropractic
treatment after four weeks experienced a sustained
therapeutic benefit in contrast with those patients who
received a commonly prescribed medication.
Headache Triggers
Headaches have many causes, or “triggers.” These may
include foods, environmental stimuli (noises, lights,
stress, etc.) and/or behaviors (insomnia, excessive
exercise, blood sugar changes, etc.). About 5 percent of
all headaches are warning signals caused by physical
problems.
Ninety-five percent of headaches are primary headaches,
such as tension, migraine, or cluster headaches. These
types of headaches are not caused by disease. The
headache itself is the primary concern.
The greatest majority of primary headaches are
associated with muscle tension in the neck. Today,
Americans engage in more sedentary activities than they
used to, and more hours are spent in one fixed position
or posture. This can increase joint irritation and
muscle tension in the neck, upper back and scalp,
causing your head to ache.
What Can You Do?
The American Chiropractic Association suggests the
following:
- If you spend a large amount of time in one fixed
position, such as in front of a computer, on a
sewing machine, typing or reading, take a break and
stretch every 30 minutes to one hour. The stretches
should take your head and neck through a comfortable
range of motion.
- Low-impact exercise may help relieve the pain
associated with primary headaches. However, if you
are prone to dull, throbbing headaches, avoid heavy
exercise. Engage in such activities as walking and
low-impact aerobics.
- Avoid teeth clenching. The upper teeth should
never touch the lowers, except when swallowing. This
results in stress at the temporomandibular joints (TMJ)
– the two joints that connect your jaw to your skull
– leading to TMJ irritation and a form of tension
headaches.
- Drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water a
day to help avoid dehydration, which can lead to
headaches.
What Can Dr. Conboy Do?
Dr. Conboy may do one or more of the following if
you suffer from a primary headache:
- Perform spinal manipulation or chiropractic
adjustments to improve spinal function and alleviate
the stress on your system.
- Provide nutritional advice, recommending a
change in diet and perhaps the addition of B complex
vitamins.
- Offer advice on posture, ergonomics (work
postures), exercises and relaxation techniques. This
advice should help to relieve the recurring joint
irritation and tension in the muscles of the neck
and upper back.
Doctors of chiropractic undergo extensive training to
help their patients in many ways – not just back pain.
They know how tension in the spine relates to problems
in other parts of the body, and they can take steps to
relieve those problems.
Source: The American Chiropractic
Association |