When it comes to common health issues, there is perhaps nothing more frustrating than headache. Ranging from mild to moderate headaches to pulsating pain that leaves a person debilitated, headaches can be caused due to a number of reasons. In addition, there are four common headache types that people can experience which are listed below:
- Tension-type headaches that are caused due to stress remain the most common type, with a prevalence ranging between 30 percent and 78 percent in different studies.
- Migraines
- Secondary headaches that are caused due to use of certain medicines and foods are among the common types of headache as well.
- Cervicogenic headaches are among the most common type of headaches related to sustained posture at work, sports injuries, work and car accident injuries. These are headaches originated from neck structures such as joints, muscles and other soft tissues like ligaments and tendons.
Despite this high prevalence, there are a very few effective treatments available to treat headaches. The pain relieving medicines that are commonly prescribed to patients with migraine have various side effects, and therefore, they are not safe for long-term use. Recently, chiropractic care is being touted as an effective treatment for both chronic and acute headaches.
In this article, we are reviewing how chiropractic adjustments work and whether they are effective at treating various types of headache.
What’s Chiropractic?
Chiropractic is a natural form of healthcare that aims at restoring the inherent healing ability of the human body. It achieves this through use of spinal adjustments to correct misalignment and restore the normal functionality of the nervous system. Contrary to other systems of medicines, chiropractic does not use medicines or surgery, and is therefore considered to be a side effects-free and safe way of treating various disorders.
How Chiropractic Care Treats Headaches?
Chiropractic care relieves and prevents different types of headache, including migraines and tension-type headaches, by improving the posture. Using spinal adjustments, a chiropractor normalizes muscle tension, improved the mobility of joints and muscles, and relieves stress off the body. This in turn improves spinal alignment and prevents a headache.
In addition to this, headache may also result from reduced blood flow to the brain. Inadequate posture resulting from sitting all day can decrease lung capacity and reduce oxygen supply to the brain. Chiropractors aim to restore the normal breathing pattern by improving the posture of the patient thereby preventing a migraine attack.
Chiropractic is a Drug-Free Way to Treat Headache — Scientific Evidence
Several research studies have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of chiropractic care in treating different types of headache. The findings of many of these research studies suggest that chiropractic care is a side effect-free way to treat chronic headaches. In addition to this, chiropractic adjustments can be as effective as amitriptyline at preventing migraine attacks. For patients who report stress to be the triggering factor for migraine, chiropractic care can help them by relieving muscle tension and preventing migraine attacks.
Apart from chiropractic adjustments, your North York physiotherapist can also help you by identifying and eliminating the lifestyle and behavioral factors that may trigger headache. To learn more, please contact Physiomobility at 416-444-4800 for a free consultation or to book your appointment.
