Headaches

There are several different types of headaches. Seeking medical care for proper diagnosis and subsequent treatment is important to successful management of headaches. If you are taking over-the-counter pain medications more than 2�3 times per week for headaches you owe it to yourself to get help for your headaches.

Tension Headache

The majority of headaches are what we call tension headaches and are related to stress, muscular tension and often poor posture. Tension headaches are the most common form of headache pain. Tension headaches often start in the back of the head and move into pain in the temples and behind the eyes. These headaches often occur in the afternoon and can feel like the head is being squeezed. Tension headaches are typically caused by problems in the neck and upper back. Muscular tension in this region leads to headache pain. Taking prescription or over-the-counter pain relievers does nothing to address the cause of the headaches; thus they continue to occur and usually become more frequent. As this happens more and more of the pain relievers are needed. Taking even moderate doses of over-the-counter pain relievers can lead to far more serious problems than a headache. Chiropractic care, massage therapy and acupuncture can all help end your suffering without having to take all the pills.

Hormonally Linked Headache

For women, many headaches can be linked to hormonal changes during their monthly cycle or during menopause and the time leading up to this. Headache is a common pre-menstrual complaint. In these cases, assessment of hormones can allow abnormal fluctuation to be controlled and thus easing headache pain as well as other menstrual symptoms.

Migraine

Migraine headaches are severe headaches which have a vascular cause. Migraine headaches are brought on by an increased blood flow to the brain. What causes this increased blood flow is not known; however, many people have triggers which seem to bring on their migraines. A migraine headache often will come on suddenly and last for a prolonged period of time. Depending on the severity of the migraine many suffers are extremely sensitive to light and sounds. For many people a migraine makes it impossible to carry out their daily activities.

Analgesic medications are often poorly effective for migraine headaches. To be successful with migraine management a thorough evaluation of possible triggers including evaluation of possible food allergies or hormonal fluctuations must be done. Management includes avoidance of these triggers once identified. During this process migraine intensity and frequency can be successfully managed with chiropractic care and massage therapy. Seeking treatment between migraines or early on in the headache is the most effective.