Have you ever experienced a migraine? A TRUE migraine? Most people that have a terrible headache will instantly say “I’ve got a migraine“. Chances are it’s just a bad headache.

A migraine is typically only on one side of the head. It can be a pulsating or severe throbbing sensation. Migraines are typically accompanied by nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light. So if you need to be in a dark room, thats indicative of a migraine.

The four stages of a migraine:

Prodrome: A day or two before having a migraine you can experience symptoms of constipation, mood swings, food cravings or neck stiffness.

Aura: Visual disturbances such as wavy lines or halos, pins and needles sensations in arms or legs or hearing noises.

Attack: Pain on one or both sides of the head, throbbing or pulsating headache, nausea and/or vomiting and light sensitivity. Attacks can last anywhere from 4-72 hours.

Post-drome: Feeling of weakness or tiredness and possible light sensitivity.

Triggers:

Triggers for migraines can vary from person to person. Family history and age are both predisposing factors. Diet choices along with food additives can trigger a migraine. Aspartame in “diet” drinks and a variety of sugarless foods, is known to be a big trigger for migraine sufferers. Hormones can play a part in women due to the rise and fall of estrogen during their month cycle. Alcohol, especially wine along with stress are both triggers, as well as, environmental factors due to dropping in pressure or some medications.

Treatment Options:

Medication. All of which come with side effects.

Chiropractic care! In our office if you come in complaining of headaches, we will do an exam, then take x-rays. Neck alignment and mobility plays a big part on determining why you are having headaches. After we read your X-rays and determine what is going on with you, we will tell you our treatment plan. It will then depend on you wether you follow our recommendations or not. Getting relief from headaches is our major concern, but our next concern is to correct the problems we find to prevent further headaches! So just because you haven’t had a headache in a couple of days, doesn’t mean you will be free of headaches until the problem is corrected!

Why X-rays?

Reasons for headaches can range from triggers to structure of your anatomy. Below are x-rays showing zero cervical curve. This causes a forward head carriage, which will cause muscular contraction and pressure on the Greater and Lesser Occipital Nerves. Pressure on these nerves can cause headaches. Correction of cervical curve by chiropractic adjustments and exercises to strengthen the neck muscles result in less frequent or complete restoration of headaches.

When you have a reduced or zero cervical curve you will often have a head tilt and a low shoulder (shown in the second x-ray.) The body always wants your eyes to be level, so every bone below your head will change position to make sure the eyes stay level. (Which is where a lot of problems and pain come from!)

The above x-rays show how when you have a reduced cervical curve (picture 1), it will hinder your ability to look up and down. You want each of the 7 bones in your neck to work alone. As you can see, C1/C2 are locked together, C3/C4 are locked together, C5 works alone and C6/C7 are locked together.

As a chiropractor, I can’t see through your skin and muscles. So x-rays give me (us) a better picture of what is going on. It also checks to make sure you have “normal” anatomy and there are no surprises.

Many times due to technology (text neck) and ergonomics of jobs, continued chiropractic care is required. Most often once a month or two for maintenance care is appropriate. (Unless there is a flare up or injury.)

If you or a loved one is suffering from either migraines or headaches, give us (or any chiropractor!) a call to see what we can do for you!

~Dr. Lacey~
Carder Chiropractic Clinic, Inc.
El Reno, OK 73036