Experiencing Headaches?

If you have a headache, you're not alone. 9 out of 10 Americans suffer from headaches. Occasional or frequent, dull and throbbing, or debilitating pain with nausea, headaches are the number one condition brought to our office from our family of patients.

What do you do when you suffer from a pounding headache?

Grit your teeth and carry on?

Lie down?

Pop a pill and hope the pain goes away?

There is a better alternative!

Research shows that spinal adjustments - the primary form of care provided by chiropractors - is proven to be a very effective treatment option for headaches and your health.

Headache Triggers

To get to the bottom of the problem, you first need to find out what is causing your pain. Headaches have many causes, or "triggers." These may include foods, environmental stimuli (noises, lights, stress, etc.) poor posture and/or behaviors (insomnia, excessive exercise, blood sugar changes, etc.). About 5% of all headaches are warning signals caused by physical problems.

95% of headaches are primary headaches, such as tension, migraine, or cluster headaches. These types of headaches are not caused by disease. The headache itself is the primary concern.

What Can You Do?

·       If you spend a large amount of time in one fixed position, such as in front of a computer, on a sewing machine, typing or reading, take a break and stretch every 30 minutes to one hour. The stretches should take your head and neck through a comfortable range of motion.

·       Low-impact exercise may help relieve the pain associated with primary headaches. However, if you are prone to dull, throbbing headaches, avoid heavy exercise. Engage in such activities as walking and low-impact aerobics.

·       Avoid teeth clenching. The upper teeth should never touch the lowers, except when swallowing. This results in stress at the temporomandibular joints (TMJ) - the two joints that connect your jaw to your skull - leading to TMJ irritation and a form of tension headaches.

·       Drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day to help avoid dehydration, which can lead to headaches. ( Best is half your body weight in ounces)

In addition I suggest you avoid the following food "triggers":

·       Avoid caffeine. Foods such as coffee, sodas and cocoa contain high levels of the stimulant.

·       Avoid foods with a high salt or sugar content. These foods may cause migraines, resulting in sensitivity to light, noise, or abrupt movements.

·       Other migraine headache sufferers may want to avoid not only caffeine, but also dairy products, red meat and salty foods.

What Can a Doctor of Chiropractic Do? Chiropractors may do one or more of the following if you suffer from a primary headache:

·       Perform spinal manipulation or chiropractic adjustments to improve spinal function and alleviate the stress on your system.

·       Provide nutritional advice, recommending a change in diet and perhaps the addition of B complex vitamins.

·       Offer advice on posture, ergonomics (work postures), exercises and relaxation techniques. This advice should help to relieve the recurring joint irritation and tension in the muscles of the neck and upper back.

·       Doctors of chiropractic undergo extensive training to help their patients in many ways - not just back pain.

·       If your headache is symptomatic of a health problem that needs the care of another discipline, your doctor of chiropractic will refer you to an appropriate specialist.

GOT HEADACHES…GET ADJUSTED!  Call our office today (916) 973-1661 for a complementary consultation.