Headache Pain Relief
There are many possible types of headaches that a person can experience. Each type of headache will cause pain in or around the head, although the specific area affected, and the intensity can vary. Some of the more common headache types are migraines, tension-type headaches, and cervicogenic headaches. There are many other, rarer, headaches that can also occur.
Your doctor will determine the exact type of headache you are experiencing and provide a specific plan to address your concerns and get you back to enjoying everyday life. Headaches can be debilitating and affect every part of your life. If you are suffering from frequent headaches, seek treatment as soon as possible to prevent further dysfunction or worsening pain.
MIGRAINES
There are two common sub-types of migraines – migraine with aura and migraine without aura. The aura is also known as a prodrome, which is a medical term meaning an early symptom indicating the onset of a condition. Basically, it is a symptom other than pain that tells someone they are about to get a migraine headache. An aura can be a visual change such as a blind spot in your vision, hallucination, flickering of your vision, or seeing flashing lights; skin changes such as a pins and needles feeling; slurring speech or difficulty forming words; or confusion.
Once a migraine begins, whether with an aura or without, the headache is just above and behind one eye, over the head on the same side as the affected eye and will frequently throb or pulse with pain. For many with migraines, the headaches are worse when around bright lights, loud sounds, or when moving the head.
Some people with migraines will also experience nausea, tiredness, or lightheadedness. It can be helpful during a migraine to lay down in a dark, quiet room until the headache ends. After a migraine has passed, you may feel fatigued, confused, or sluggish.
TENSION TYPE HEADACHES
A tension-type headache is just what it sounds like – headache caused by tension in the muscles and joints of the neck. This type of headache is always accompanied by tightness in the neck or shoulders and a feeling like you need to stretch. The underlying cause is frequently irritation of nerves at the top of the spine that leads to restricted joint motion and muscle spasm, which is why you feel tight in the neck.
Chiropractic adjustments are excellent for helping this type of headache to resolve. After your headache pain has been addressed, the doctor can work with you to perform therapies designed to prevent future headache occurrences.
CERVICOGENIC HEADACHES
Cervicogenic headaches begin in the neck (cervico- neck, genic- originating from) and then travel up through the head. It is not uncommon to have some dizziness or increase in pain when turning your head with this type of headache. The joints of the neck become restricted, which causes inflammation and irritation of the nerves as they exit the spine. Every time you try to turn your head, more joint irritation occurs leading to more inflammation and pain.
Chiropractic physical medicine is the best method to address this type of headache and prevent future occurrences. Your doctor can determine the exact source of your headache and address the joints involved to improve motion, decrease pain, reduce inflammation, and resolve irritation of the nerves.