One
in every six Americans, or about 45 million people, complain of headaches
every year. Symptoms vary between individuals, but patients often report a
debilitating and throbbing pain accompanied by nausea. While you can take a
pill, lie down, and hope the pain goes away, seek a long-term solution to
headaches. Explore what the common causes of headaches are and how chiropractic
care can help below.
What Are Different Types of Headaches?
Most headaches, called primary headaches, do not signal an
underlying disease. They occur when structures like the scalp, tissues, and sinuses
experience irritation, tension, inflammation, or compression. Common triggers
include the following:
- Stress
- Fatigue
- Lack
of sleep
- Certain
foods
- Poor
posture
- Dehydration
- Eyesight
problems
Many kinds of primary headaches exist.
Tension Headaches
Tension headaches are common, where patients feel a tight
band around the head. Also, you may feel a constant, mild ache on each side of
your head. Tension headaches usually last for a few hours, although they can
take several days to subside. Since these headaches result from muscle
tightness in the head and neck, they respond well to chiropractic adjustments.
Migraines
Migraines often manifest as a one-sided, throbbing pain. In
addition to pain, patients complain of nausea, loss of appetite, belly pain,
and sensitivity to light or smells. Migraines typically last for hours to days
and can be so debilitating that they interfere with daily activities. The
frequency of migraine attacks varies between individuals and may happen weekly
or once a year.
Cluster Headaches
Cluster headaches are severe and result in a piercing or
throbbing pain around or behind one eye. The affected eye reddens or tears, and
the eyelid droops. Moreover, you may experience facial sweating and a runny
nose. The attacks may occur for 4 to 12 weeks
and last for 15 minutes to 3 hours. Then, the headaches may disappear for
months or years, and you will have no symptoms in this remission period.
Secondary headaches are symptoms of underlying illnesses
that irritate the head's pain-sensitive nerves. Such conditions include the
following:
- Stroke
- Pregnancy
- Tumor
- Infection
- Head
injury
- Hypothyroidism
- Sinus
congestion
Get medical care if a headache wakes you up from sleep or
worsens when you shift positions. Additionally, watch out for headaches that
cause slurred speech, fever, mental confusion, or inability to move a limb.
How Can a Chiropractor Help?
Typically, people take over-the-counter drugs for headaches
and move on with their day. However, this short-term approach only treats the
symptoms rather than the cause.
Most common types of headaches arise from muscle tightness
in the shoulders and neck. Moreover, overworked shoulder and back muscles due
to bad posture, stress, or injury can cause headaches. Today, many Americans
lead a sedentary lifestyle and spend many hours sitting in front of a computer.
As a result, they can experience muscle tension in the neck and upper back and
joint irritation.
A chiropractor performs cervical manipulations to relieve
muscle tension in the neck, back, and shoulders. Misalignments in the spine
irritate the nerves that control blood flow to the head. Thus, a chiropractor
addresses any irregularities in the spine to enhance the function of the
nervous system. As a result, you enjoy better spine health and reduced tension
headaches and migraines. What's more, you can expect improved physical
function.
Headaches have many triggers, including alcohol,
dehydration, stress, fatigue, and poor posture. If you want a drug-free
intervention for your migraines and headaches, chiropractic care may be a good
solution. Contact
our consultants at Corner Chiropractic Center to experience the benefits of
expert chiropractic treatment. We look forward to helping you solve your
headache pain.
