Headaches are painful, elusive, and one of the most common physical symptoms people face throughout their lives. The pain can occur with a variety of intensity, frequency, location, and duration, and is often debilitating. Just as there are many types and causes of headaches, there are also many treatments that can relieve them without the use of drugs.
According to the National Headache Foundation, more than 45 million Americans suffer from chronic and recurring headaches. Of those 45 million people, about 28 million suffer from migraines, an extremely painful condition that can include additional unpleasant symptoms such as vomiting and visual disturbances. It is interesting to note that about 20% of children complain of headaches.
Over the years, the tendency to suffer from headaches has increased significantly, largely due to lifestyle issues such as increased stress, increased use of visual screens (mobile phones, text messages, computers, etc.). .), plus caffeine, specific food chemicals, and poor diet. clothes. These can be added to basic physical triggers such as hormonal changes, lack of a proper neck curve, whiplash injuries, slip and falls, heavy weights on the shoulders and neck (such as backpacks and pencil cases). laptops) and other factors. According to chiropractic specialist Dr. George B. McClelland of Christiansburg, Virginia, “Today, Americans engage in more sedentary activities than ever before and spend more hours in a fixed position or posture. This can increase joint irritation and muscle tension in the neck, upper back and scalp, causing headache.”
Types of headaches
Headaches originate in a number of ways, including but not limited to:
• Tension: The most common type of headache, a muscle contraction pain.
• Cervicogenic: pain from subluxation (misalignment) of the neck and upper back.
• Dietary: Derived from food chemicals, such as MSG, and commercial food processing techniques.
• Exertion: headache that develops after exercising.
• Hormonal: More common in women with active reproductive cycles, who use hormonal contraceptive methods, or who experience hormonal changes in their life stage.
• Based on hypertension: a vascular (related to blood vessels) problem that is often worse at night.
• Drug-induced: The side effect of many store-bought prescription drugs.
• Sinusitis: constant, deep pain in the front of the head and cheeks, with possible fever, a feeling of fullness in the ears, and actual swelling.
• Temporomandibular Jaw Induced (TMJ): A result of joint inflammation and clenching of the teeth, which usually accompanies the disorder.
• Cluster: The least common type of headache, consisting of a group of severe, intense attacks behind one eye.
More than 150 categories of headache have been identified. Most involve symptoms that encompass throbbing, throbbing, or squeezing pain and can last from a few minutes to hours and even several days. Additional signs associated with headaches often include sensitivity to light; auras, sometimes triggered by certain smells or noises; and more severe symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain and stomach cramps, visual disturbances, floaters, fever, dizziness, and loss of skin tone. There are numerous options for headache treatment, and the approach to care generally varies depending on the type of headache presenting.
Headache treatment and care
Treatment and care for headaches includes prescription and over-the-counter medications, chiropractic care, acupuncture, trigger point therapy and massage, night guards to prevent teeth grinding, diet modifications, and lifestyle changes. Various medications have been shown to relieve headaches, and often a simple discussion with your family doctor and altering your medication regimen can reduce or even eliminate pain.
As far back as 1995, an article in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT) reported that chiropractic adjustments were found to be effective in relieving headaches when the chiropractor’s treatment plan was followed and to produce more benefits than most. prescription drugs. Then, in 2001, a study conducted at Duke University showed that spinal adjustments helped curb most headaches arising from muscle spasms and neck-derived headaches. The effect of the adjustments has also been reported to last much longer than the duration of most prescription drugs.
A recent study reported in the JMPT showed that people who took adequate pain relievers felt relief; however, those who were under chiropractic care experienced greater relief and had far fewer side effects than participants taking medication. Chiropractic care has been shown to be particularly effective in relieving pain and correcting the root cause of many types of headaches.
Proactive Measures
A variety of proactive measures can help reduce the likelihood of developing a headache. • If you normally stay in a fixed position for long periods of time working on a computer or other strenuous activity, try stretching every 45 minutes.
• Avoid looking at computer screens for long periods of time. Tilt your head from side to side and stretch. Raise your computer monitor to a position slightly above eye level.
• Have your eyes checked by a doctor to make sure your vision has not changed.
• Try to avoid clenching when possible and get regular dental checkups.
• Avoid placing too many pillows under your neck when you lie down and read or watch TV.
• Stay hydrated, as many headaches are caused by a lack of water intake during the day.
• Limit consumption of red wine and red meat, as both are known headache triggers.
• Consult your doctor about the many medications that cause headaches as side effects and determine if you are taking any of them.
• If you are a woman experiencing difficult menstrual cycles, see your OB/GYN and discuss modifying any related medications you are taking.
• Avoid foods with caffeine, MSG, and other excitotoxins that contain MSG, such as hydrolyzed protein and autolyzed yeast, broth, sodium caseinate, natural flavors, and spices.
Studies show that one in eight people in the US see a chiropractor. Consult your family chiropractor about a headache treatment plan that is right for you. Many headaches are caused by a lack of curvature in the neck that leads to muscle spasms and tension in the spinal cord, as well as misalignments. Massage therapy can “work wonders” for head and neck tension, and acupuncture has become increasingly popular as a care option. More people than ever are gravitating towards natural methods to manage their headaches, and the evidence points to the fact that, to a large extent, they are getting the relief they seek.