Migraine Headaches

Migraine and Headaches Chiropractic Treatment

Migraine headaches are complex and often confusing. They are not just ordinary “headaches.” Many people with migraines cannot describe even their headache pain because it differs from one attack to the next, and each person’s attacks have different symptoms. This pain is why migraine is so misunderstood by others who do not live with it every day. There is a tendency to minimize or dismiss these attacks when they happen and to trivialize the seriousness of migraine or the intensity of its impact on your daily life and functioning during an attack. You may be accused of making things up that are untrue about your health.

There are two main categories of migraine: episodic (formerly called “classic”) and chronic. Episodic Migraine attacks occur less frequently. Chronic Migraine is a term for those who experience frequent, debilitating attacks more than once per week for several months. The frequency of the attacks increases over time, and eventually, pain becomes the dominating factor in your life. There is no cure at this time, which makes a living with migraines all the more difficult because we never know when an attack will occur or end. There is no definite way to predict which type someone will end up having after suffering from headaches or migraines for an extended time.

There are many possible causes of migraines, including changes in brain chemicals. Headaches can also be triggered by stress and hormonal changes such as during menstruation, lack of sleep, skipping meals, or drinking alcoholic beverages.

How chiropractic care can help 

Migraine headaches are disabling and painful. If you have them often enough or if they are severe enough, they can interfere with your life in a big way, affecting your home life, work-life, exercise regimen, and much more. Not to mention that painkillers (including the most effective ones, as well as natural supplements) may not be working for you anymore. 

Chiropractic care through spinal manipulation, and some exercises, which included stretching and strengthening their neck muscles, helps reduce pain from migraine headaches caused by muscle contractions in the neck area with or without neck pain. 

Chiropractic care, especially from Yentz Family Chiropractic, a Germantown Chiropractic, effectively relieves various types of head pain, including cervicogenic (or neck) headaches, (tension-type) clusters, and sinus headaches. Chiropractic spinal manipulation helps relieve headache symptoms and restore range of motion. The benefits of chiropractic care for migraines include: 

• reduction in the frequency of migraines, 
• improves a person’s ability to function during those times when migraines are active, 
• decrease the severity and duration of migraine episodes, 
• decrease in medication use for migraine relief (e.g., pain relievers, anti-inflammatory drugs), and 
• lessening reliance on bed rest as a means of managing headache symptoms. 

All these benefits can be achieved without significant risk by seeking out qualified chiropractic professionals for treatment. To get the most out of your appointment with Yentz Family Chiropractic, it might be a good idea to keep a headache journal so that you can tell your Germantown Chiropractic what seems to help you feel better during an attack.