HEADACHES AND MIGRAINES – COULD THEY BE RELATED TO YOUR NECK?
Have you noticed your headaches/migraines have increased in severity and frequency recently? Is it starting to affect your daily life? Then this blog might be able to help.
Headaches and migraines can cause pain – seriously effecting people’s quality of life. About 97% of people with headaches will end up seeking help from a primary care physician. Migraines, for example, occur in 15% of the UK adult population, and more than 100,000 people are absent from work or school as a result of migraine every working day. Cluster headaches are less common, affecting around 1% of the population at some time in their life.
Common types of headache include:
Tension headaches
Migraines headaches
Cluster headaches
Sinus headaches
Trigeminal headaches
Patient are often unaware of the link between headaches and tension of the neck. Cervicogenic headaches (headaches arising from the neck), can result in discomfort due to the pain sensors in your joints and muscles located in the neck, that is regularly misdiagnosed or unrecognised. This may also include structures such as your jaw (TMJ) and related muscles, sinus problems, face, mouth, teeth and throat pain.
Numerous studies have shown Cervicogenic headaches to respond favourably to chiropractic. A study released in 2001, by researchers at the Duke University Evidence-Based Practice Centre in Durham, DC, found that spinal adjustments resulted in almost immediate improvement for headaches that originate in the neck. They also had significantly fewer side effects and longer-lasting relief than a commonly prescribed medication for tension type headaches.
In 1995, a study in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics found that spinal adjustments are an effective treatment for tension headaches, and that those who attended chiropractic treatment for four weeks, experienced a sustained therapeutic benefit compared with patients who received a commonly prescribed medication.
Remember there are other factors such as dietary triggers, environmental triggers and secondary headaches arising from other pathological diseases. Chiropractors will make sure to diagnose the right headache and provide a holistic approach to the management of your headaches. Why put up with having headaches? Or continuously taking medication? There may be a natural way of treating your headaches. Look into seeing one of our chiropractors now.