Headaches are one of the most common nervous system disorders. In fact, half of the world’s adult population has to deal with the pain of a headache at least once each year. This condition is underestimated, under-recognized, and under-treated around the world.
Do you struggle with chronic headaches? In addition to causing pain, headaches can also cause disability. If you’re relying on over-the-counter medications to heal your pain, they can also become expensive.
Don’t let headaches ruin your quality of life.
Can a chiropractor help with headaches? Yes! Keep reading to find out how!
By learning more about migraine treatment, you can finally get the help you need. Discover how a chiropractor for headache pain can help today.
1. Review Your Medical History
First, you’ll need to visit your chiropractor for an initial assessment. The chiropractor will need to take your medical history and a physical examination. They’ll likely look at your hips, spine, and neck to determine if you have a misalignment.
Reviewing your medical history will help them determine if you’re somehow triggering your headaches.
The physical assessment, on the other hand, will help them review your symptoms. You might have a spinal joint dysfunction or another physical issue that’s causing your headaches.
Lifestyle choices such as stress, alcohol, or smoking might cause your headaches, too. In fact, you might want to visit a chiropractor for headache treatment if you:
- Drinking alcohol regularly
- Have poor posture or sit at a desk all day
- Have issues sleeping
- Feel like you’re under immersive stress
- Skip meals
- Eat foods that trigger inflammation
Reviewing your lifestyle choices and medical history will help your chiropractor pinpoint these factors. During your initial appointment, let your chiropractor know if you’re experiencing any other symptoms. They’ll use what they learn from the initial appointment to design a customized treatment plan based on your needs.
2. Spinal Manipulation
Chiropractic care, including spinal manipulation, can help reduce headache pain.
Spinal manipulation involves using the hands or a device to apply controlled force against the spine. This form of treatment is more commonly known as manual adjustments. Your chiropractor will use this form of treatment to ensure your spine and joints are aligned.
If your body isn’t aligned, it can impact your entire musculoskeletal system and your nervous system.
When you’re in pain, it can also add unnecessary stress to your body. You might tense up thinking about your stress, which can cause additional pain. The cycle will continue until your tension causes a headache.
Can a chiropractor help with headaches caused by stress? Yes. They can also help treat different types of headaches.
For example, a cervicogenic headache impacts the upper part of your spine called your cervical spine. Your chiropractor can apply a small amount of force to this area to provide natural migraine relief.
It’s important to find a chiropractor with years of training and experience. Otherwise, their lack of experience can do more harm than good. Choosing an inexperienced chiropractor can cause disc herniation, stroke, bleeding, or nerve compression.
Make sure to learn more about your local chiropractor before scheduling your first appointment.
3. Low-Load Craniocervical Mobilization
Remember, tensing up your shoulders, neck, or head can also cause a headache. If you’re dealing with tension headaches, your chiropractor might suggest low-load craniocervical mobilization.
This form of chiropractic treatment involves applying force to the joints in your neck. Your chiropractor will use rhythmic movements to your cervical segments to ease the pain. They might also stretch the area for natural migraine relief.
Joint mobilization is also a suggested form of migraine treatment. Moving your joints can improve how your joints move, which might relieve your pain.
Improving blood flow throughout your body could help, too.
Your blood contains helpful nutrients that help your body heal naturally. When blood flow is stalled, your muscles and joints might not receive the nutrients they need. Improving your blood flow can ensure your body receives the necessary nutrients for natural migraine relief.
If your spine is misaligned, however, it could impact blood flow.
Instead, you might experience inflammation. Inflammation is the body’s natural response to an injury. A little inflammation can help you heal, while too much can contribute to your pain.
Your chiropractor can help ease the inflammation you’re experiencing through chiropractic migraine treatment.
4. Massage Therapy
The next time you visit your chiropractor, ask if they provide massage therapy services.
Remember, improving your blood flow can help injured areas of your body heal. A neuromuscular massage could help as a form of migraine treatment. A massage therapist will focus on the trigger points located in your neck, head, back, and shoulders to ease your pain.
5. Exercises
You might consider multidisciplinary care intervention to treat your headaches as well. These remedies for migraines include stress management and physical therapy. Learning how to reduce your stress could help you avoid tensing up.
Meanwhile, physical therapy can teach you ways to move your body and stretch to avoid pain and tension.
Your chiropractor might suggest you learn deep neck flexion exercises to ease your pain. These exercises can help treat cervicogenic headaches.
This form of treatment involves moving your muscles and joints to ease your pain.
You’ll first need to lie flat on the floor. Your chiropractor or a physical therapist might ask you to complete chin tucks. Then, you’ll nod your head.
Repeating these exercises regularly will help you stretch your deep neck flexor muscles. Learning how to exercise different muscles in your head could help relieve your tension. These muscles are responsible for supporting your neck.
Don’t forget to talk to your chiropractor about your systems. They’ll determine what type of headache you’re experiencing before determining a course of action. For example, you might experience episodic tension headaches.
These headaches come and go as you experience stress. Your chiropractor can teach you methods for stress reduction to ease your headaches.
Can a Chiropractor Help With Headaches?: 5 Ways to Heal the Pain
To recap, can a chiropractor help with headaches? Yes! The form of migraine treatment they choose could depend on the type of headache you’re experiencing, though.
If you’re in pain, don’t wait to ask for help. Starting treatment right away can help you find the best method for natural migraine relief.
Want to learn more about easing your pain? Find more guides in the Healthcare section of the blog today.
