Headache and Migraine Treatments by San Rafael Chiropractor

Chiropractic care generally involves some combination of spinal manipulation, active and passive exercises, and massage. It is commonly used to manage and prevent headaches. There are different headache types that can be treated with chiropractic therapy and they include cervicogenic headaches, migraines, and tension headaches, though they each tend to respond in different ways to chiropractic treatment. Cervicogenic headaches usually begin on one side at the back of the head and then moves to the front. It is common for them to also cause pain in same-side on the shoulder or arm pain. These types of headaches are thought to be connected to underlying neck problems and are triggered by an injury.

Episodic tension headaches are very common. They are usually caused by lingering muscle tension in the neck, shoulders, or head, and they generally improve with over-the-counter pain medications. Chronic tension headaches may improve with altered chiropractic therapy and are commonly caused by:

• Strained neck from looking down at your cellphone
• Working all day on a computer at a desk
• Driving for a long period of time with no rest
• Playing video games for hours at a time
• Clenching your jaw or grinding your teeth

These activities overstrain the muscles on the back of your neck, which weakens them and increases your vulnerability to tension headaches. According to the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), 14 percent of patients that come in for chiropractic care are seeking treatment for headaches. Chiropractic care has been proven to relieve pain in tension headaches and headaches that are rooted in the neck. There is also an increasing amount of evidence that shows the effectiveness of chiropractic care in treating migraines and cluster headaches. When you seek help from a traditional medical doctor for headaches, they will most likely offer drugs, which merely mask the symptoms and don’t address the root cause of the pain. These medications tend to have horrible side effects as well, like nausea and constipation, and some of them are may be addictive.

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What are likely causes of headaches and dizziness?

Headaches is a very common medical condition and most people will experience them at some point in their life and affect anyone regardless of age, race, and gender. According to the International Headache Society (IHS), headaches are categorized as:

• Primary headaches: Caused by the structures in the head that are pain-sensitive being overactive, including the blood vessels, muscles, and nerves of the head and neck. They might also be caused by changes in chemical activity in the brain.
• Secondary headaches are symptoms that happen when another condition irritates the pain-sensitive nerves in the head. Basically, the headache symptoms are attributed to another cause and there is a wide range of different factors that can cause secondary headaches, including:
  • “Brain Freeze”
  • Dehydration
  • Concussion
  • Panic attacks
  • Teeth grinding
  • Stroke
  • Brain tumor

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Can a chiropractor treat migraines?

Chiropractic treatment focuses on the body’s alignment, particularly in the spine, to help patients alleviate pain, improve the body’s mobility and function, and allow the body to naturally heal. Migraines are typically diagnosed as headaches that include other symptoms, like dizziness and nausea. There many helpful medications that are used for migraine prevention or for severe migraine episodes. Procedures like pain injections are successful at alleviating pain, but spinal manipulation with chiropractic care has been a lifesaver for many people who have been suffering from migraines.

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How San Rafael chiropractor treat headache and migraine pain?

The exact cause of migraines is a mystery, though one popular theory is that it is due to a chemical imbalance in the brain. This imbalance is generally caused by food or hormones, amongst other triggers, and is the reason those who have food allergies get migraines or headaches often after eating food they are allergic too. When the allergy trigger is set off, blood vessels dilate in the brain, which causes those vessels to become inflamed and it irritates the surrounding nerves.

If painful migraines are intruding in your daily life, you should know that there is hope for relief. At San Rafael Auto Accident Injury Chiropractic Center, our caring team not only offers pain relieving chiropractic adjustments, but we also provide our patients with the knowledge they need to take control of their health. If you are ready to find relief from headaches and migraines, contact our chiropractors for more information at (415) 877-9400. We can show you the difference in getting the right care can make.