What Causes Migraines?

Despite how common migraines are, we don’t know their exact causes. However, doctors do know that they often result from abnormal brain activity, which affects your brain’s nerves, blood vessels, and chemical composition.

Many people are walking around with misalignments of the discs in their neck (their cervical vertebrae), which causes muscle tension, nerve pressure, and fatigue. If your migraine is because of tension and misplacement, then spinal manipulation treatments have been shown to reduce the duration and occurrence of headaches.

In addition, we know that there are common triggers that can cause a migraine or worsen them. For example, hormonal changes are one of the reasons, with periods, menopause, and other events causing migraines.

Extreme emotional reactions can be another trigger. For instance, if you feel depressed, shocked, or angry, this could lead to you developing a migraine.

Physical events, such as jet lag, sleep deprivation, strenuous exercise or labor, or poor posture, can be a potential cause. If you get some rest, adjust your sleep schedule, or improve your posture, it’s possible to see your symptoms lessen.

In addition, specific foods, including caffeinated beverages and foods containing tyramine and citrus, have been known to trigger migraines. Changing your diet may help.

Types Of Headaches

Migraine Headaches

A regular migraine headache can cause severe pain, usually on one side of your head. You may feel pulsing in your head, too. A migraine headache differs from an ordinary one because patients feel nauseous and sensitive to light and sound. This type can vary in frequency, with some being short and others lasting for days. Patients may experience them only occasionally, while others may have them frequently.

Cluster Headaches

These headaches often occur in the middle of the night. You will feel pain on the side of your head or around one of your eyes. They get their name because they tend to come in cycles, or clusters, before remission. Therefore, some people may have them frequently, but others only occasionally experience them. Also, you may experience nausea symptoms similar to a migraine.

Despite its pain, a cluster headache is not life-threatening. However, through a proper diagnosis and treatment, a doctor of chiropractic can likely help you to reduce its severity, as well.

Tension Headaches

A tension headache is one of the most common headache types. Many people get them, usually in response to stress or other events. With a tension headache, you’ll feel consistent pain and pressure on both sides of your head, usually mild.

A tension headache lacks other symptoms; most people can treat the symptoms quickly through common medications. Unless the pain you feel is severe, or you’ve been suffering from these headaches for a while, you usually don’t need to go to any hospitals to treat one.

The Role Blood Vessels Play In Headaches

Often, swollen or enlarged blood vessels can lead you to suffer from a headache. In addition, when your vessels change, it can lead to pulsating pain, which can cause you pain. While a dated term, many people will identify these types as vascular headaches.

Headache Treatment

In most cases, a headache is easily controlled through over-the-counter medications, such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or treatments designed for migraines or other headaches. However, if you want to give your headache additional treatment, there are some ways you can do so.

By pursuing chiropractic adjustment, you can improve your overall posture, muscle tone, and spinal alignment, reducing the frequency and severity of future headaches.

If you are waiting for care and need some tips for immediate relief, try:

• Rest. Do so in a quiet, dark room, as light and sound can worsen your symptoms.

• Apply hot or cold compresses to your head and determine if that helps you.

• Massaging your head muscles may help relieve some symptoms.

• Trigger Point Exercise 

Visit one of your local healthcare providers if a severe headache does not disappear. Often, a physician can give you prescribed medication to combat your migraine.

Remember to visit an urgent care center if you have severe pain or vomiting, as this can signify something more severe.

Chiropractic Care For Chronic Headaches

Spinal adjustment may can be empowering and affordable as treatment. With growing evidence of its success, many are turning to chiropractic medicine to help various conditions, including migraines, headaches, and more.

We provide chiropractic treatment as our specialty, and we have had many satisfied clients who have not seen their headaches return. If you are interested in becoming a patient, reach out to us.