Headache & Migraine Chiropractic Treatment From Trusted Bournemouth Chiropractors | Charminster Chiropractic Clinic
Chiropractic Treatment for Headache & Migraine From Trusted Bournemouth Chiropractors | Charminster Chiropractic Clinic
Headache and migraine are more than just pains in your head. They’re complex conditions and require a careful plan to help you feel better. Headache can come from many things like stress, poor posture, or not getting enough sleep. Migraine is more intense and might need special care. Knowing what causes headache and migraine can help find the best way to offer the best chiropractic treatment for your specific issue.
The Bournemouth chiropractors at Charminster Chiropractic Clinic have successfully treated headache and managed migraine for years. We are always striving to find the root cause of your headache and migraine and provide the best treatment to help you feel better and live your life more comfortably. Schedule an appointment here for a detailed assessment and treatment today!
What is it?
Headache and migraine are more than just pains in your head. Both headache and migraine need the right care to feel better. Understanding what causes them can help you and our chiropractors find the best way to treat them.
Headache
Headache is often categorised as pains in your head or upper neck. They can happen for many reasons and affect people of all ages and backgrounds.
Migraine
Migraine is a type of headache that’s more intense and follows a different pattern to other headache. They often cause throbbing pain on one side of your head and sometimes last up to several days. Migraine can also make you feel sick, be sensitive to light or sound, and affect your daily life and activities.
Common Causes of Headache and Migraine
Headache and migraine can be debilitating and happen for many reasons and triggers which make them harder to identify and treat.
Stress
Struggle with a lot of stress and tension every day can make it more likely to get headache (often tension type headache).
Neck
Sometimes the headache can come from the neck, often from dysfunctional joints and can come on if you turn your head in specific directions (often cervicogenic headache).
Intervertebral Disc Disorders
The discs in the neck can become herniated or lose their height causing wear and tear on the surrounding bones (degenerative). Ultimately, they have the ability to cause muscle tension, decreased joint dysfunction and also press on surrounding nerves, causing headache.
Cervical Spondylosis
Cervical spondylosis is a condition that is caused by age-related changes that can affect the bones and discs in the neck. Similar to intervertebral disc disorders, this condition also has potential to cause headache.
Neck Trauma
Injuries to the neck such as whiplash from accidents or falls can damage the neck’s bones or soft tissues. Neck trauma and whiplash can range from mild to severe and be quite debilitating. As a result, neck traumas often leads to headache.
Muscle Imbalances
Chronic tension or weakness in neck muscles can often be worsened by poor posture or repetitive movements. Consequently, it can cause muscle imbalances in the neck and head, thus contribute to headache.
Myofascial Pain Syndrome
Myofascial pain syndrome is a condition referring to tender spots in affected muscles surrounding the neck, head and jaw. These are called trigger points and are often found in neck muscles, like those in the base of the skull (suboccipital muscles), top of shoulders (upper trapezius) and deep surrounding muscles can cause pain and headache that radiates to the head.
Genetics
The genetics can make you more likely to get migraine and is unfortunately often inherited from parents to children. Additionally, certain genes can increase your chances of having them.
Neurological and Vascular Factors
Migraine involves changes in how your brain works and how blood flows in your head. They believe there is a connection between chemicals like serotonin and dopamine that can play a role in bringing on migraine.
Hormonal fluctuations
Changes in hormones, especially in girls and women, can trigger migraine. This can happen during periods, pregnancy, or menopause.
Triggers
Certain triggers around you can set off headache or migraine. Stress, certain foods (like cheese, wine, cured meat or processed foods), strong smells, bright lights, not enough sleep, dehydration, and tension in your neck can all be triggers.
Common Symptoms of Headache and Migraine
Headache and migraine can have different symptoms depending on the type of headache. In fact, there are several types of headache with unique traits.
Tension Type Headache
Tension type headache is often described as a feeling that can be dull and squeezing pain around your head. It’s usually mild to moderate and might feel like pressure.
Neck Referred Headache
Headache and pain that originates in the neck and spreads to areas like the back of the head, temples, forehead, or around the eyes. Continuous or occasional discomfort in the neck, especially when moving your head in certain ways like looking up or turning can also set off the headache.
Tenderness
Feeling soreness or pain when touching specific areas of your neck or muscles, which might show there’s an underlying issue.
Activities That Make It Worse
Headache that get worse when you sit for a long time, have bad posture, or do things that involve a lot of moving your neck repeatedly.
Migraine headache
Migraine is often intense and throbbing, usually on one side of your head, but it can be on both sides. They can come with nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound. Some people get an aura before or during a migraine, which can cause changes in vision (like seeing flashes of light or blind spots), strange feelings in your body (like tingling), or trouble speaking.
Other Types of Headache
There are also cluster headache, sinus headache, and medication-overuse headache (caused by using too much medication). Each has its own symptoms and ways to diagnose it.
When to Seek Help for Headache
Most headaches are harmless, but certain symptoms can mean you should seek help right away. It’s important to pay attention to these signs and not hesitate to get medical help quickly to make sure you get the right treatment and feel better soon.
Sudden, severe headache
If you get a sudden headache that’s very intense—often described as the worst pain and headache you’ve ever had in your entire life—it could be a sign of something serious.
Headache After a Head Injury
If you hit your head and then get a headache, especially if you also feel confused, dizzy, or lose consciousness, you need to see a doctor right away.
Fever, neck stiffness and a new red rash that will not go away
These could be signs of meningitis, a serious infection that requires urgent referral to hospital for examination and treatment right away.
New headache if you’re over 50
If you’ve never had headache before and suddenly start getting them, especially if you’re over 50, it could potentially mean there’s something underlying that requires examination to rule out any serious conditions.
Risk Factors for Headache and Migraine
Several factors can increase the chances of having headache and migraine. It won’t always mean you will end up with acute or chronic headache however, they are worth paying attention to in order to prevent and receive treatment early.
Old Age
As people get older, changes in their neck’s bones and discs can make them more likely to have problems that can cause headache.
Jobs
If your job involves sitting for a long time, doing a lot of repetitive neck movements, or not having good ways to sit, it can strain your neck and lead to headache.
Past Neck Injuries
If you’ve hurt your neck before, like in sports, a car crash, or at work, it could lower the stability of your neck and cause headache.
Posture
Poor posture habits, such as leaning your head forward or slouching, can strain your neck muscles over time and lead to headache.
Family history
If someone in your family has migraine, you’re unfortunately more likely to get them too due to genetics.
Gender
Migraine are more common in girls and women. Despite research not being entirely sure why, they think it could be due to hormonal changes.
Age
Migraine often starts during teenage years or early adulthood and may happen less frequently as you get older.
Certain medical conditions
Having conditions like depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, or being overweight can make migraine more likely to occur.
Environmental Triggers
Certain triggers in the environment you live in and spend your days in such as bright lights, loud noises, strong smells, or changes in the weather can trigger migraine in people who are sensitive to them.
Examination and Diagnosis of Headache & Migraine
When the Bournemouth chiropractors at Charminster Chiropractic Clinic diagnose headache and migraine, they follow many steps and perform detailed examinations to find the root cause.
Medical History
They’ll ask you lots of questions about your headache—such as the nature of the headache, how often they happen, what makes them worse, and if you have any family history of headache.
Physical Examination
In our physical examination we will check structures such as neck movements, reflex and nerve testing and muscle tests. We work to figure out where your headache are coming from and rule out anything that needs more investigations.
Tests
Sometimes we’ll order imaging and radiology tests such as x-ray, MRI or CT scans to get detailed pictures of your brain and see if there’s anything unusual causing your headache.
Lumbar Puncture
In some cases, we would refer you to your GP to discuss a treatment called lumbar puncture. This method involves taking a small sample of fluid from around your spine, to check for certain conditions that can cause headache.
Chiropractors and other healthcare professionals often use guidelines (International Classification of Headache Disorders) to help us figure out what kind of headache you have—whether it’s a migraine, tension-type headache, or something else.
Chiropractic Treatment for Headache & Migraine
Chiropractic treatment can provide relief and decrease tension, especially in tension-type headache or migraine without using medicine or surgery. Studies show that chiropractic care can help reduce how often you get headache and how bad they feel. But it’s not always the same relief for everyone. It’s important to discuss any issues with us to explore other options and help figure out the best chiropractic treatment for your headache or migraine.
Spinal Manipulation
Chiropractors use gentle adjustments on your neck to relieve tension, ache and pain to improve how well your spine works. This in turn often decreases the amount of times, intensity or severity of the headache experienced over a period of time.
Soft Tissue Therapy
Chiropractors also use trigger point therapy, soft tissue work and massages to relax the muscles in your neck and shoulders. Due to the connection between the neck and headache, it often helps to treat the headache by treating the neck.
Education and Advice
Chiropractors can teach you about things like posture, how to sit and stand properly, ways to handle stress, improve diet quality, and explore foods that might trigger the headache.
Prognosis
The outlook for headache and migraine depends on a lot of different factors. Over time, the focus can be on figuring out what makes your headache worse, lessening that impact, and using ways to stop the headache before they start.
Migraine
Migraine can be really hard to treat, but many people find relief by receiving chiropractic treatment, changing their lifestyle, using medicines and exploring triggers to prevent them from occurring in the first place. Finding out what’s causing them early on and making a plan for treatment can make a significant difference to reduce pain and the headache.
Tension-type Headache
These are usually not as severe as migraine and can often get better by many interventions such as chiropractic treatment, stress management, lifestyle changes together with sensible use of over-the-counter pain relievers (NSAIDs).
Chronic Headache
If you have headache often or all the time, ongoing chiropractic treatment is advised to keep the headache frequency and intensity low. Sometimes it can be unbearable and patients may need more investigations from neurologists specialised in this field.
By following these tips and working with our Bournemouth chiropractors at Charminster Chiropractic Clinic, you can receive chiropractic treatment for your headache or migraine to improve your chances of managing and preventing them. Book your chiropractic appointment here today!
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