Chiropractic Care for Headache Relief by Dr. Ryan Felde, Chiropractor

Headaches are an unfortunate common part of everyday life. The pain of a headache can range from annoying to debilitating. This pain can hinder people from enjoying everyday life activities and severely affect work production.

Most times, people are tempted to just grab a couple of pain relieving pills sold over-the-counter at most pharmacies. Unfortunately, this method only treats the pain symptom of the headache. The actual cause of the headache continues to go untreated. This means that the headache is destined to return once the pain medication wears off. This cycle of experiencing pain and treating with pills is not only infuriating and repetitive, but it can be harmful to long term health. Headaches are the body's way of signaling a larger problem. The science of chiropractic medicine is a revolutionary and effective way to deal with headaches. Chiropractic treatment deals with whole body health care instead of just treating symptoms. Patients who suffer from headaches should understand why the headaches occur and be well educated as to the best and safest treatment for their pain.

There are four commonly accepted classifications of headaches. These classifications are; tension, cluster, sinus, and migraine. These headaches each vary in pain location, magnitude and secondary symptoms. The first and most common headache which people experience is the tension headache. This type of headache is usually noted by the constant pain and pressure around the temples and the back of the head. This headache accounts for a majority of headache pain. Cluster headaches are the second type of headaches. They are recognized by the sudden and severe pain on just one side of the head. Sinus headaches occur when the sinus cavity becomes inflamed. The sinus is a cavity located in the cranial cavity just above the nose. This inflammation causes the area below and above the eyes to become very painful. Migraines are the final type of headaches and are the most severe. Migraines produce more than just bothersome pain. Many times, migraines can cause nausea, vision problems, sensitivity to light and sounds, and limb numbness. These four kinds of headache pain are more than annoyances. They actually alert that the body is dealing with a structural or chemical problem which should be addressed in order for the patient to find true relief. 

Traditional medicine has treated these headaches the same way. Pain is felt and treated with some kind of medication. In severe cases, the patient presents pain  to a medical doctor who then runs a few standard tests. After this, the patient is given some kind of prescription pain medication. For most tension headaches, the patient generally skips seeing a doctor all together and self-medicates with an over-the-counter remedy. This method is ineffective for two reasons; first, pain medication only covers the pain for a short time. The root cause of most headaches commonly stems from spinal misalignment. If this is not addressed, the headache pain will return. The constant use of pain medications has many detrimental side effects. The first is that the overuse of these pills can cause rebound headaches. Rebound headaches occur when the body reacts to an over dependence to pain medication. The body goes through a sort of "detox" which causes the headache. This compounds the problem as now the cure is actually the cause of the sickness. These rebound headaches occur both with over-the-counter and prescription pain relievers. Rebound headaches are not the only side effect of constant pain medication use. Over-the-counter pain relievers have also been found to cause nausea, stomach upset, and even liver damage when taken over long periods of time. Prescription pain medication carries a greater instance of dangerous side effects. These include dizziness, severe constipation and can even lead to long term prescription drug addiction. 

Chiropractic medicine takes a completely different approach to headache management. There is no emphasis on symptom care, but rather on whole body care. Chiropractors look at the body as a whole, not just as part which may be sick. They can diagnose which kind of headache the patient is suffering from. They can create a long term treatment plan so that the patient will find total relief, not just temporary relief. Most tension headaches come from muscle constriction which is commonly from stress. This stress can be from an accident, poor posture or just from an overwhelming life! The tightened muscles can pull the spine out of alignment, which can lead to more muscle tightening. This becomes a painful, never-ending chain reaction of muscle pulling, tightening and pain. Both the structural spinal alignment issue and the tightened muscles must be dealt with in order for the patient to find any true pain relief. The chiropractor will most likely perform a series of gentle spinal adjustments which will help fix the structural issue. They may also utilize massage and physical therapy to help prevent the muscles from tightening. In addition, they will help educate the patient about headache causes and home therapies. These treatments are drug free and have very few, if any, side effects. None of these side effects are to the magnitude of those found with pain pill use. Cluster, sinus and even migraine headaches can be treated in a similar drug-free fashion. Each headache case is different and requires a different battery of treatments. Only a doctor of chiropractic care can create the right prescription of adjustments and complementary care. However, the goals of these treatments are the same - the patient will find complete relief from their headache symptoms. 

Headache sufferers are no longer stuck in the revolving door of pain and pill treatment. This cycle is both dangerous and unproductive. Traditional medical care calls for symptomatic treatment. True relief for headache pain comes from treating both structural misalignment and muscle tension. These treatments give complete long term pain relief instead of a temporary masking of pain. In the end, the patient will have a greater level of overall health.

If you are having problems with headaches, please contact our office at 847.277.2990 as we would love to see if we could help you! We are located in the Buehler YMCA and in Barrington.