Headaches and Chiropractic
Studies at Duke University have shown that chiropractic adjustments are resolved almost immediately after improvement in patients with tension headaches. These patients suffer significantly fewer side effects and have more lasting relief than commonly prescribed medication. In addition, a 1995 study in the journal Manipulative and Physiological Therapy showed that chiropractic patients sustained a therapeutic effect four weeks after they stopped chiropractic treatment compared to patients who received medications.
The University of Maryland Medical Center reports that in one study, 22% of those who received chiropractic reported a more than 90% reduction in migraine attacks. In addition, 49% reported a significant decrease in the intensity of each migraine. In another study, one group was randomly assigned to receive spinal manipulations, daily treatments, or a combination of these. Spinal manipulation worked the same way as medication in reducing migraine and had fewer side effects. Other studies show that chiropractic care worked as well as drugs to prevent tension and migraine headaches.
Types of headaches
• Tension Headaches are the most common type of headache. Headache tension is caused by the muscular density of the neck, face, and scalp. This type of headache is usually mild, stable and is described as striped around the head. Episodes are associated with fatigue, stress, depression and muscle spasms of the neck and upper back.
• Sinus headaches affect the area above the eyes (frontal sinuses) or under the eyes (maxillary sinuses). They often occur after an upper respiratory tract infection, which blocks the sinuses that cause pain and tenderness. Symptoms often worsen when leaning forward or laying down. This type of headache is often confused with a slack head or a migraine.
• Migraine Headaches are repetitive attacks, which patients describe as a throbbing pain often on one side of the head or behind their eye. Migraine episodes can last from several hours to several days, causing nausea or sensitivity to light and sound. Triggers range from specific foods to anxiety to hormonal changes. They are more common in women, and are often preceded by flashing lights or zigzag lines of vision. Migraine was considered vascular in nature, but recent studies show that they are neurological in origin, associated with a wave of activity of nerve cells that hangs through the brain.
• Cluster headaches usually occur on one side of the head or around the eyes. Cluster headache usually lasts a short time and is more common in men. As the name suggests, they are found in a series or group. Common symptoms are teasing the eyes, nasal congestion, reddened face, and constricted pupil on the side of the headache.
