Headaches & Migraines
Migraine Headaches:
– Generally start in the morning.
– Can get very intense
– May come on hours before usual wake up time with strong Headache that makes you get out of bed
– Can involve nausea and vomiting
– Sensitivity to noise and light
– Can last a couple days in a row
– Noting relieves them except rest and time
– Often accompanied by tension in the neck, shoulders, and mid back
Tension Headaches:
– Headaches that come on anywhere from 11am to 3pm
– Generally get worse as the day goes on
– Worse on busy or stressful days
– Relieved by rest or laying down
– Can involve the whole neck, but also concentrated in the shoulder muscles
Sub occipital Headaches:
– Dull, constant headache that begins when you wake and continue untill you go to bed.
– Feel like a dull pressure in the front of the head or under the back of your skull?
– Creates problems with concentration.
– Seem to be less noticeable when you are active or busy?
– Otherwise nothing really relieves them and these may go on for days in a row.
– May have light-headedness or dizziness in some cases.
Migraine Headaches:
– The mid thoracic spine (between the shoulder blades) is the area of the spine most often associated with Migraines. This area plays a part in toxicity and body chemistry.
– Related to toxicity level in the body:
– Can be made worse by alcohol, medications or other chemicals
– Often sleeping in causes an increase in toxicity due to longer time between toilet visits. So many migraine patients comment on getting migraines on Sunday mornings from spending more time in bed.
– Lifting objects out in front of you that are large can put more pressure on mid back, causing this area to effect the nerves that cause migraines.
Tension Headaches:
– The muscles in the upper back, the top of the shoulders and lower neck often become more tense as the busy, stressful day goes on. This creates tension in the lower neck causing Tension Headaches.
– Poor work station set up, or computer use often affects Tension Headaches.
– During times of emotional stress such as deadlines, exams, family stress and important event can often set off Tension Headaches.
– Poor vertebral alignment in the lower neck or upper thoracic spine is nearly always the cause of this kind of Headache.
Sub occipital Headaches:
– Often caused by the way you sleep:
– These patients will often toss and turn at night, causing pressure and – tension to their upper neck.
– Can be a result of a hit to the head or other traumas:
– Hitting the head with a hard hat on
– Car accident
– Kids having falls onto concrete or hard floor
– This usually indicates Spinal Misalignment (Vertebral Subluxation) in the Upper Neck region.
Migraine Headaches:
– These types of Headaches can usually respond well to plenty of hydration. As toxicity is usually the issues, patients report an improvement to increased water consumption which in turn causes an increase in elimination rate (going to the toilet both 1’s and 2’s is a way of eliminating toxins).
– Getting up out of bed and getting active causes sweating – another great way of eliminating toxins. Even though mild exercise is the last thing you want to do when you have a migraine, this will help the easing process.
– Professional Chiropractic intervention will help reduce the severity, frequency and time it takes to sort these annoying and debilitating Migraines out.
– Systematic ‘hands on’ examination of the spine, with the help of x-rays and specialised instruments will lead our specially trained chiropractors to precisely locate the exact vertebra that is misaligned and causing the Migraine.
– Once the cause has been identified, a specific correction called an ‘adjustment’ is used to re-place the vertebra into the correct position.
Tension Headaches:
– Get your work station looked at! Correcting poor work posture and habits can have a positive effect on Tension Headaches.
– Get a regular massage – this too can help decrease the frequency and severity of Tension Headaches.
– Have a professional Chiropractor check your spine. Getting to the cause of the Tension Headache is often the best way of decreasing the severity and frequency – you may say ‘good bye’ to these Headaches forever!
Sub occipital Headaches:
– This is a hard one to sort out on your own.
– Hydration can sometimes help, as can Panadole, but neither are a fix.
– Spending more time in bed has the reverse effect with these Headaches.
– Often getting up and going to work is best, as these dull Headaches often feel better if you are busy and doing something.
– These can be often the simplest Headaches to treat if the Chiropractor is able to find the exact cause. They also have some of the quickest results, with most patients reporting 90-100% easing of this Headache in a matter of hours.
Migraine Headaches:
– These types of Headaches generally continue to get slowly worse over a long period of time. The frequency increases from one every 6 months to as often as one per week!
– The intensity doesn’t change much, as they are often massively intense anyway, but the duration that the last can get worse from lasting one day to lasting 3 days.
– Mid back pain and/or shoulder blade pain often presents later down the track if the cause is left un-treated.
– These kinds of Headaches will defiantly interfere with your lifestyle and well being.
Tension Headaches:
– If you leave this one for long enough it can start to cause problems with the nerves down the arms. You might start to get carpel tunnel symptoms, or pins and needles down part or all of one or both arms. This is because the cause of Tension Headache is often misalignment of the lower neck region. The nerves in this area supply the skin and muscles in the arms.
– The Headaches will quickly get more frequent and more intense and if left long enough become as bad as Migraines in intensity. Only difference being that these Migraines start in the later morning or early afternoon, as opposed to Classic Migraines that start when you wake up.
Sub occipital Headaches:
– If left un-treated, these Headaches tend to become more frequent and last longer. Sometimes lasting 4-6 days at a time. They are there when you wake up and still there when you go to bed.
– Other problems might be pain on neck rotation (noticed when driving car or changing positions in bed), or strong pulling muscular pain under the base of the skull.
