headaches hurt, we help

Tension Headache Relief

Tension headaches may be related to stress, but that’s really not what’s causing them!

Tension Headaches and Chiropractic Care

Rather than treating the symptoms of your tension headaches, chiropractors locate and address the underlying cause of your headaches!

“Chiropractors are highly trained and educated health care practitioners who use a “hands on” approach and/or specific instruments to locate and correct spinal upsets that cause the nerve pressure that may be responsible for tension and other types of headaches,” observes a successful chiropractor in Redcliffe QLD

When a vertebra is misaligned or compressed under tension, it presses on the nerves and blood vessels (the pulse feeling in your neck) that exit the spine creating nerve interference. When nerve interference is present, it disrupts the communication link to or from the brain causing you to suffer different types of head pains after each neck position, this is upset by time in that position. For example in a train facing forward or back, and the angle of your head and body posture changes the headache. including chronic headaches.

Usually with headaches, the tissue compressing against the neck bones is located in the upper cervical spine (top of the spine). Spinal misalignment’s typically occur after one big or repetative small traumatic head or neck jolts or jerks, such as a trip, an bump or jerk or a jolt that might have occurred that happens normally in your day!

We take the time necessary to look at your past health history and to help you try to remember if you had a sports-related hits and bumps or fell from a bed or even a tree. Maybe you were in a car accident as a young child or even as an adult. All of these types of events can cause a spinal nerve compression up against the bone, so the bone moves away to ease the compression to shift out of its proper position. We will also provide you with a thorough examination to determine whether chiropractic care can help to reduce or even eliminate your tension headache pain.

Even though tension headaches are the most common type of headache, their cause is not generally known by medicine. It is estimated that 90% of all adults have experienced tension headaches, which are usually described as a dull band of pain that surrounds the head, above the eyes.

Also called “stress headaches, ” tension headaches start gradually and increase in intensity. They can be severe or mild, last for hours or days, and may be classified as episodic (occurring less than 15 days a month) or chronic headaches (occurring more than 15 days a month). Chronic headaches feel more like a “throbbing” in the head with more severe pain that is felt most of the time. Only 3% of the population suffers from chronic tension headaches. This is off a website. http://www.choosenatural.com

Can be copy/pasted 13 March 2017

Tension Headache Symptoms

Tension headache symptoms vary from person to person, but symptoms often include:

• Dull pain that is mild to moderate in most cases
• Feeling of “pressure” or “tightness” across the forehead or on the sides and back of the head
• Scalp tenderness
• Irritability
• Muscles aches
• Disturbed concentration/inability to focus
• Rarely, increased sensitivity to light or sound
• Occasionally, loss of appetite

Tension Headache Causes

The exact cause of tension headaches is now known, it is irritation of the fluids entering and exiting your brain thru the base of the neck and vessels, where in certain positions you interrupt the flow of Cerebro Spinal Fluid (CSF), the arteries and veins who get pinched, kinked, buckled and bowed but it is believed that they may have something to do with concussion, whiplash or past dings and dongs, but mostly from falls (Cranio-Cervical Syndrome [CCS]); that is upset by stress or heightened emotions. Other researchers think that they result from fluctuations in the levels of certain brain chemicals because the CSF is blocking up and going stagnant or putrid, and that these fluctuations interfere with the brain’s ability to stop pain. Things get worse when you activate the flight/freeze/fright mechanism many times thru the day. Once the pipe is buckled things get worse

Certain “triggers” might also be responsible for bringing on tension headache pain. These include:

• Insufficient amount of sleep; fatigue
• Anxiety
• Stress, resulting from situations related to work, family life, social interactions, finances and health issues
• Hunger
• Physical exertion
• Poor posture

Chronic tension headaches can result from situations that produce daily stress, such as a bad home situation, caring for an aging parent, financial difficulties, etc.

Tension Headache temporary respite: Drug Treatment

Tension headache pain is usually treated with over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers (acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and aspirin) or other OTC headache relief remedies.

If tension headaches become more frequent or severe, a doctor may prescribe stronger pain medications or muscle relaxers for the pain. Antidepressants, blood pressure medications or anti-seizure medications might also be prescribed to prevent tension headaches from occurring at all.

However, many tension headache pain relief medications, both OTC and prescription, lose their effectiveness when taken over long periods of time. This may lead to a need for stronger pain medications that can be addictive or the overuse of OTC medications that can have serious gastrointestinal side effects and cause rebound headaches.

With headaches a good place to start is your medical doctor GP or hospital for a check-up. But write it down first to give them, because on the day you may be too crook. And keep that copy to share with us; and write down everything or draw pictures please!

Tension Headache Relief

Non-drug treatments for tension headache relief focus primarily on behaviors you can use to reduce the pain and/or frequency of your headaches. These types of headache cures include: first and foremost Upper Cervical Specific adjustments using functional x-rays and functional MRI to guide for accuracy of diagnosis and treatment (see Dr Steve). Relief thru:-

• Applying ice packs or cold compresses to the head
• Taking a hot shower
• Developing consistent sleep habits
• Using relaxation techniques, including progressive relaxation where you begin focusing on relaxing your toes and work your way up your entire body until you finish with your head
• Quitting smoking
• Modifying diet to eliminate tension headache triggers (chocolate, alcohol, preservatives, aged cheeses, nitrates, etc.) and establish regular eating patterns and meal times
• Improving posture
• Learning biofeedback to reduce muscle tension (tightness) in the neck and head
• Obtaining psychological counseling to develop new ways to deal with stress
• Engaging in aerobic exercise, such as walking, bicycling, swimming, for at least 20-30 minutes, three times per week

Certain alternative therapies to produce tension headache relief are also available to help you cope with the pain of tension headaches. These types of headache cures include:

• Massage therapy, to ease muscle soreness and tension and relieve headache pain
• Acupuncture, which may provide temporary relief from tension headache pain
• Chiropractic, which addresses the cause of muscle tension and tension headaches if pinched nerves, with a proven success rate for millions of chronic headache sufferers

Does Chiropractic Work in Headache?

YES
Along with back and neck pain, headaches are one of the most common reasons for chiropractic visits. This is because chiropractic care has been so successful in addressing the cause of headaches and providing a means to obtain permanent headache relief.

We are able to locate and relieve spinal compression; this reduces nerve interference, resulting in the removal of the cause of your headaches. Your body is then able to heal better if we keep you out of headaches, there is serious health risks for prolonged headache medications mostly bleeding example Aspirin, so with a natural headache relief from your chiropractor you’re pain free!

Clinical trials have shown that spinal adjustments may help in the treatment of tension headaches. One such study compared chiropractic adjustments to Elavil® in the treatment of tension headaches. What are the results? Study participants in both groups improved, but those who received spinal adjustments had fewer side effects and longer lasting benefits, even a month after treatment in the study ended, while the Elavil® study group did not.

Certainly we know that results can vary from person to person with any type of treatment. However that doesn’t change the fact that chiropractic care has quickly become the most widely used and accepted alternative healthcare approach, for all types of headaches and many other illnesses and conditions!

However we are a long way to go in research to be definitive, so we manage on a case by case process by offering different types of management for headaches as published in headache journals. Our end goal is to get you headache free or reduced so you need less or no medication and teach you things to help make your body better.