There is a big difference between having a headache once or twice a year, and living with regular headaches, let alone migraines. When your head hurts, it’s hard to do much of anything else. It’s difficult to not snap at people when you’re struggling to do simple tasks and get through another day of headaches. Popping another pill may help with some of the pain sometimes, but it’s often not enough and it’s not a lasting solution.
For many people, the source of the headaches is structural. This means there may be something inside your body not quite in its natural alignment, and it’s causing you constant and regular pain. Sometimes this pain may go away for a while, only to come back in a never ending cycle. Fortunately, chiropractic can help solve this problem. Unfortunately, not everyone knows this. In this section, we’ll take a closer look at what could be causing your headaches or migraines and how chiropractic treatments at Legacy Spine and Sport can naturally resolve the problem.
Headaches and migraines come with a variety of symptoms. There may be pain, which may present itself only in certain areas or all over. It may be a persistent ache or a recurring throbbing. Some people just feel the pain, others feel more symptoms associated with migraines, like nausea, depression, irritation, and light and noise intolerance. Finding even temporary relief from these symptoms is often a struggle.
If the issue is structural, which it often is, then fixing the structural issue can get to the source of the problem.
Your spinal column is made up of 33 small interlocking bones known as vertebrae. The spinal column is the center vertical column of the body, from the hips up through the neck. There are many nerve bundles around the spinal column. The spinal column contains many small joints. When these joints are not moving properly, we lose function and irritation of the nerves and muscles can occur.
This can occur in a sudden incident, like a car accident or other trauma to the body. It can also happen through repeated stress. Sitting at a desk all day with poor posture can cause the vertebrae to shift. Spending a long weekend helping your friend can put a lot of stress on the body. The motions may be small and seem harmless or make our muscles instantly sore. The bigger issue is that the repetitive nature of these examples is sometimes too much for the body and this is where the problem occurs.
In the instance of headaches, it’s often the case that a misalignment causes a compression or irritation for the surrounding nerves. The nerves will then alert the surrounding muscles, like those in the back, neck, or jaw, to tighten. The tight muscles cause tension in the head and cause a headache or migraine.
When left untreated, this constant muscle tightness can cause bones to move out of alignment, leading to more headaches or migraine problems.
Because your spine is such a central part of the anatomy, issues here can impact your health across your entire body. Headaches or migraines are a strong indicator of poor spinal health. When left untreated, the problems can become worse, so it’s important to seek out help as soon as possible.
Chiropractors are trained in spinal health. After completing an exam and taking down your medical history, a chiropractor can work with you to discover the source of your headaches and create a treatment plan. This plan will address the source of the problem and involve gentle adjustments to return the body to its natural, healthy alignment. These adjustments can provide instant relief, but it’s so important to work to restore spinal health for the long term.
If you have headaches or migraines, you know how debilitating the pain can be. Contact Legacy Spine and Sport today to schedule an appointment and begin the work toward long term relief.