Headaches

woman with headache

Every year as a country we miss over 157 million days of work because we are home suffering from headaches. That comes to a cost of over $50 billion in terms of productivity.

Waking up with a headache may seem like a small inconvenience to some, but for many, the pain is so severe that it turns into time lost with family, from work, and from the enjoyment of life.

All headache pain is not the same, of course. 

There are three main categories of headaches:

  • Tension headaches
  • Cluster headaches
  • Migraines

Tension headaches make up 90% of all headaches with diffuse pain all over the head. Some describe the pain of tension headaches as a band tightened around the head.

Cluster headaches feel like an intense piercing and/or burning behind or around one of your eyes. 

Migraines are a different animal altogether, yet we include them in the headache category because they typically make the head hurt!

Pain management of headaches has traditionally looked like taking a couple of over the counter painkillers. Now we know that some tension headaches are not so easily dispensed with. There is an ongoing muscular component that is not reversed with medicine.

In addition to tension headaches, migraines plague more than 37 million in the U.S. alone. 

Scientists have struggled to pinpoint the exact causes and mechanisms of migraines such that caring for migraine patients is an ongoing challenge.

However, a 2014 study showed that chiropractic care for migraine sufferers decreased their frequency by 50%. And with fewer occurrences, that means less medication is needed.

Why do I have headache pain?

Headaches stem from a variety of sources:

  • Stress
  • Repetitive “forward-leaning” tasks such as gardening, sewing, housework
  • Poor sleep posture
  • Prolonged “forward-leaning” phone use
  • Poor posture in a work environment such as computer and desk work
  • Dehydration
  • Lack of restful sleep
  • Loud noise exposure
  • Eye strain
  • Trauma such as whiplash or a significant fall

At Daniels Chiropractic, in Racine, we know that the source of your headache can be difficult to determine. You need a thorough evaluation in order to be certain what is causing your pain as well as what kind of headache it is. 

Our chiropractic staff will hear your story and ask questions to help determine the source of your pain. As needed, we partner with specialists to make certain you receive comprehensive treatment.

Why should I see a chiropractor for my headache pain?

Research shows that the average patient could cut their number of headaches in half after 8 weeks of chiropractic care. 

In addition, research also shows that chiropractic care can reduce the intensity and severity of common headaches, which decreases the need for medications.

Chiropractic care, which has an extremely high patient satisfaction score of over 90%, also helps you relieve pent up stress in your body which can lead to headaches.  

At Daniels Chiropractic, our doctors specialize in neuromuscular disorders and how the alignment and health of the spine affect your entire health, including pain from headaches and migraines. 

Spine misalignment, especially cervical spine misalignment, leads to muscle tension that causes head pain. Misalignment of vertebrae also irritates the nerves that control blood flow to the head. Both of these can trigger tension headaches as well as migraines.

At Daniels Chiropractic our hands-on manipulation of the spine is designed to improve the alignment of your spine and calm the nerves, affecting blood flow and pain signals to the brain. 

guy with headache

What will chiropractic care do for me?

At Daniels Chiropractic our care for tension headaches, cluster headaches, and migraines can help in these ways:

  • Reduce neck muscle tension which can trigger a headache or migraine.
  • Decrease nerve irritation that sends pain signals to the brain.
  • Improve blood flow to muscles of the neck and spine.
  •  Restore communication in the nervous system through spinal adjustments.

At Daniels Chiropractic we can help relieve headache pain by adjusting your vertebrae to their proper alignment. Keeping your spinal joints moving correctly - the goal of a chiropractic adjustment - reduces the strain on your spine and its supporting muscles. And this promotes fewer headaches.

The focus of chiropractic care for headaches and migraines is to restore the normal position and movement of your cervical spine’s vertebrae. This will reduce your pain, improve your flexibility and motion, and get you moving and enjoying life again.

What treatments are used for headaches?

The initial and primary focus of your treatment will be the adjustment of the individual bones of your spine called vertebrae. The doctor uses his hands or an instrument to help move the vertebrae where it is stuck or not moving well to restore its normal position and movement.

At Daniels Chiropractic we use three different spinal adjustment approaches to help you feel, move, and live better: hands only, table assisted, and instrument-assisted. Each of these are beneficial and are chosen in consultation with you, the client.

The tight muscles and poor posture that have led to your headache pain can often cause your joints to become misaligned. 

Chiropractic adjustments can help to realign these joints and this allows shortened muscles to relax and lengthen. 

This will lead to an increase in the range of motion.

Offering more than just chiropractic care 

At Daniels Chiropractic we offer more than chiropractic care. We also offer physiotherapy modalities such as electrical stimulation for pain relief, cold laser therapy to accelerate healing, and ultrasound waves to improve blood flow.  Manual therapy can also be used to address muscular adhesions and trigger points. Your chiropractor will work with you to determine the best plan of care for your needs.

After your pain begins to be relieved, we will help you increase your neck, shoulder, and back’s range of motion and flexibility through a few simple, helpful exercises to aid in recovery. Stretching and strengthening are vital to increasing blood flow and flexibility.

You will work with a certified member of our team, who will teach these stretches and exercises. They will be able to provide corrective feedback to ensure proper positioning, safety, and performance. We use a program you access through an app on your phone that has videos and clear instructions. Once you feel comfortable with them, you can continue doing them in the convenience of your own home.

We are committed to holistic care which means that we take into account all of the ways that your pain affects you and all of the things that can be contributing to your headache pain. To increase your odds of improvement, we can discuss nutrition and supplements if you are interested.

Headache pain can keep you from both working hard and enjoying life. At Daniels Chiropractic our goal is to help you feel, move, and live better. We are passionate about helping you take charge of your own well-being.

If you are struggling with pain, come see us and let us help you map out a plan for your road to recovery.

You wouldn’t think that the source of your headaches would be related to a simple spine manipulation. After an ER visit this week and different trials of medication for medication for my migraine and nothing was working. Today’s visit offered some relief! I am a functioning human again after a couple of days of being a vampire. Thanks Dr. Lockhart! 
- Jazmin H. // Racine, WI

Sources:

  • ​https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/acm.2014.5131.abstract
  • Evidence-based guidelines for the chiropractic treatment of adults with headaches. JMPT 2011 Chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy for cervicogenic headache: a single-blinded, placebo, randomized controlled trial. BMC 2017.
  • Chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy for migraine: a three-armed, single-blinded, placebo, randomized controlled trial. European Journal of Neurology 2017.