Due to wrong posture, spinal and neck injuries, plus stress from daily life, a good number of people struggle with incessant headaches.
Research findings indicate that at least 45million of the American population suffers from headaches, and that the figures keep rising every year that passes.
While most people seek pharmacological solutions to their symptoms, a good number of headache patients have now shifted their attention to natural ways of treatment.
At the center stage of natural approaches to headache treatment is chiropractic care. This article gives information regarding how chiropractic care is used as natural remedy for headache symptoms.
Posture Correction
Chiropractic care for headaches!
Wrong posture, for instance bending over the countertops for long, sitting at a workplace desk for long durations and wrong sleeping positions can contribute to headaches. This happens when such positions exert pressure on cervicogenic and neck muscles, thereby triggering pain receptors in the brain. Chiropractic care helps with headaches resulting from wrong posture by performing ergonomic adjustments on target muscles. Through such adjustments, stiffness and tension in such muscles reduces, thereby releasing you from the symptoms. They also advise you on correction and adoption of the right posture to prevent the recurrence of the issue.
Spinal Manipulation and Adjustment
Headaches can also come because of spinal issues caused by the misalignment of vertebrae along the spine. Upon the vertebrae falling out of position with each other, they exert pressure on the underlying spinal nerves, hence the headaches. During manipulation and adjustment, chiropractors aim to bring the discs back into alignment, thus releasing pressure on the spinal nerves. As a result, smooth flow of blood and nutrients to the brain is restored. Consequently, the patient experiences relief from the headache.
Muscle Relaxation
As previously noted, stiffness and tension in the neck and cervicogenic muscles can result in headaches if the problem is not addressed in time. Tension and stiffness in such muscles causes headaches by irritating the nerves that communicate with pain receptors in the brain. Chiropractic care helps manage tension-caused headache through massage and trigger point therapy that targets the specific areas. Through massage and trigger point therapy, tension and stiffness in such muscles is reduced and as a result, headache symptoms disappear.
Referral and Collaboration
While addressing the headaches, sometimes chiropractors may apply multidisciplinary approach to your symptom. This entails consulting with other healthcare providers such as family physicians to better understand and determine the appropriate solution for your problem. Sometimes severe headaches such as migraines can be a sign of other serious and non-musculoskeletal issues. In this case, the chiropractor will refer you to other healthcare providers such as internal medicine specialists for a more comprehensive and detailed approach to the problem.
Lifestyle and Nutritional Advice
Chiropractic care also encompasses psychosocial support, something that comes very handy to patients suffering from stress-related headaches. In addition to physical manipulation and adjustment, the therapist will try to understand the source of your stress, talk it through and recommend the counter measures to avoid or heal from the stress. In the event of chronic stress or depression, the chiropractor will refer you to a mental health specialist.
Sometimes the chiropractor may recommend physical exercises such as yoga and meditation in dealing with stress-related headaches. Another critical factor that comes into play when chiropractors are addressing headaches is nutrition. Adequate hydration and change of some dietary habits can also be recommended to ease headaches. In some other instances, chiropractic care may recommend physical exercises such as yoga and meditation to address stress-related headaches.
Side Effects of Chiropractic Care for Treatment of Headaches
The common side effects associated with chiropractic care include little pains and muscle spasms. In other isolated cases, some people have reported a little weird feeling of emotional release, something that chiropractors encourage, especially when the headache is stress related. If performed by inadequately qualified therapist, chiropractic care for treatment of headache can cause adverse side effects such as bleeding and further spinal or neck injuries. This goes on to emphasize on the need to evaluate the license and client feedback of a chiropractor.
From being a non-invasive alternative to pharmacological treatment for headache, the allure of chiropractic care is unmatched. It comes with few mild side effects that fade away soon after the therapy. It is also not financially daunting since it does not involve lots of medication or complementary forms of treatment. It is a safer route if you are looking for a non-invasive and medication-free holistic approach to headache issues.