Nearly 40 million people in the United States suffer from headaches that are even more intense and disruptive, known as migraines.
The most common type of headache experienced, tension headaches can produce pain that feels like you have a tight band around your head. Ranking as the sixth most disabling illness in the world, migraine headaches can make it difficult or impossible to focus on your daily activities or work-related tasks.
If you have recurring tension headaches or migraines, one possible source of relief is chiropractic care.
Identifying Headache Triggers
Only about 5 percent of headaches are warming signals related to other issues, such as a brain tumor, concussion, ear infection, or carbon monoxide poisoning. Most headaches, however, are primary headaches – e.g., tension, migraine, or cluster headaches. It’s headaches of this nature that are more likely to respond to chiropractic care, although there is evidence that chiropractic care may help with secondary headaches as well. Many headaches are triggered, in part, by tense muscles in the neck/upper back area and joint irritation. Additional headache triggers may include:
- Unhealthy lifestyle habits
- Poor posture
- Soft tissue tension and stress
- General stress and anxiety
Reducing Stress In Your System
One way chiropractic care can help with headaches or migraines is by alleviating stress within your body. This is usually accomplished with spinal manipulations or chiropractic adjustments performed by targeting strategic pressure points. Special handheld tools may also be used to target certain muscle groups around your head and neck that could be contributing to your headaches.
Correcting Nervous System Imbalances
Spinal misalignment can affect the many nerves that come from your spinal cord, sometimes enough to contribute to headaches or make migraine symptoms worse. By correcting misalignments, chiropractic treatment also helps improve the way your nervous system functions. According to one study, roughly three-fourths of the subjects studied considered chiropractic care effective for their migraines.
Improving Your Posture
A chiropractor may recommend relaxation techniques and postural exercises as part of your treatment if one of the factors contributing to your headaches is poor posture. Improving your posture may also make it easier to sit throughout your work day without developing headaches from built-up stress and excess spinal pressure. You may also get advice on ergonomics to further help with your workplace posture.
Recommending Lifestyle Adjustments
Migraines, in particular, tend to respond well to positive changes with your diet, exercise, and sleep habits. With sleep, better spinal alignment may make it easier to get a good night’s sleep. In turn, this could lead to fewer issues with morning tension and headaches. A chiropractic can also use details about your lifestyle habits to identify foods that may be triggering your migraine symptoms. Exercises you can do on your own time between sessions may also be recommended. This may help with your headaches since exercise increases the production of the body’s own natural painkillers – endorphins.
A 2014 report found that common chiropractic interventions resulted in improvements with acute and chronic neck, which is sometimes a reason why headaches develop. A 2011 study found that spinal manipulation and similar types of chiropractic care helped patients with migraine and cervicogenic (secondary) headaches. Your experience with chiropractic care for headaches will depend on what’s causing your headaches. In some cases, this means addressing underlying issues such as neck and upper back stiffness or sinus problems that sometimes contribute to headaches.