Headache
Many millions of adults, worldwide, get headaches regularly. Headaches are among the most common physical complaints prompting people to treat themselves or get professional assistance. One estimate holds that some 50 million people in the U.S. get severe, long-lasting, recurring headaches. Most headaches are not signs of serious underlying conditions, but they can be very distracting, debilitating and account for significant amounts of time lost from work.
More than 90 percent of headaches can be classified as tension-type, migraine or cervicogenic. By far, most people get tension-type headaches and get them frequently. They typically suffer mild to moderate pain, on both sides of the head, that is often described as tight, stiff, constricting – like having something wrapped around your head and pressing tightly.
Migraines are periodic severe, throbbing headaches that afflict far fewer people (and more women than men), usually hurt on one side of the head, can cause loss of appetite, nausea and even vomiting, and may involve a visual change called an aura.
Cervicogenic headache is a muskuloskeletal form of tension-type headache (which may also be related to migraines). Many times, cervicogenic headache goes undiagnosed as such due to the relative newness of this classification.
Our chiropractors have had considerable success relieving the cause of headache pain and releasing headache sufferers from the dangerous vicious circle of taking ever-larger doses of ever-stronger painkillers that may even be causing new and worse headaches.
Chiropractic adjustments have shown to be as effective and even more effective than medications in reducing the severity and frequency of headaches. Chiropractic is particularly successful with cervicogenic headache. Even though cervicogenic and other tension-type headaches may not actually involve stress or muscle tension, chiropractic’s ability to adjust spinal abnormalities seems to lessen or remove the forces contributing to many individuals¹ headache pain.
Call our Lake Mary office today to see how we can help you with your headaches! We proudly serve the Lake Mary, Sanford, Longwood, and Metro Orlando areas.
References:
- Bove G, Nilsson N. Spinal manipulation in the treatment of episodic tension-type headache, The Journal of the American Medical Association, Nov. 11, 1998; vol. 280, no. 18, pp1576-79.
- Nelson CF, Bronfort G, Evans R. et al. The efficacy of spinal manipulation, amitriptyline and the combination of both therapies for prophylaxis of migraine headache. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, Oct. 1998; vol. 21, no. 8, pp511-19.
- Zwart J. Neck Mobility in different headache disorders. Headache, Jan. 1997; vol. 37, pp6-11.
- Nilsson N, Christiansen HW, Hartvigsen J. The effect of spinal manipulation in the treatment of cervicogenic headache, Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, June 1997;vol. 20, no. 5, pp326-30.
- Martelletti P, LaTour D, Giacovazzo M. Spectrum of pathophysiological disorders in cervicogenic headache and its therapeutic indications, Journal of the Neuromusculoskeletal System , Winter 1995; vol. 3, no. 4, pp167-8
- Nelson CF. The Tension Headache, Migraine Headache Continuum: A Hypothesis. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, March/April 1994; vol. 17, no. 3, pp156-66.