Headache Pain - How to Beat it at the Source
HeadacheHeadaches are one of the most commonly experienced health complaints. For chronic sufferers, the pain can be torture and affect social life, work and even family. The typical response is to reach for over the counter (OTC) headache medications. Sadly for some, these medications don't even "take the edge" off and even with stronger prescription medication, relief only comes to some after spending hours in a dark room with a pillow pulled over their head.
There are several different types including migraines, tension headaches, sinus headaches and cluster headaches. It's difficult for a patient to distinguish from which they suffer, since the locations and types of pains can be similar. However, all headaches can be classified into two different categories.
Headaches due to an underlying illness are called secondary headaches. These types can be due to life threatening conditions such as high blood pressure or a growth. Fortunately, the majority of headaches are not secondary.
All the other headaches are considered to be primary, meaning they occur on their own, without any underlying disease or pathology. These types are much more common and account for the vast majority of all headache complaints. While there is no "lurking" illness responsible for the pain, there actually are several causes.
Chemical and dietary issues can be responsible for primary headaches. Caffeine addictions, excessive sugar or carbohydrate intake, hunger, alcohol consumption, and cigarette smoke are all examples of chemical factors that may lead to severe headache pain. Sufferers should try to notice patterns or triggers. For example, every time you drink beer, you suffer a severe headache an hour or two later.
Chronic headaches can often come from injuries to muscles, ligaments or other connective tissue. There are common patterns of referred pain to the head from muscles of the shoulders and neck. Injuries to the connective tissue from overuse, sprains or strains anywhere in your body have the potential to initiate painful headache syndromes.
Spinal misalignments and pinched nerves commonly result in headaches. These misalignments (subluxations) happen frequently due to small repetitive traumas or larger more severe injuries. Irritation to the spinal joints and spinal nerves cause pain, muscle spasm and increased sensitivity in the affected areas. Chiropractors typically work to correct spinal misalignments and headaches are one of the most common reasons people seek chiropractic care.
Physical issues are not the only cause of primary headaches. Elevated levels of emotional stress cause chemical changes and increased muscular tension. For headache sufferers, a stressful day at work or home can lead to a long night of pain. Stress management tools are essential for these cases since eliminating all stress from life is usually not possible.
Typical medical treatment involves symptom suppression without ever addressing the source of the pain. This approach creates a functional dependency on OTC or even stronger medications. True treatment seeks to not only relieve the pain but to correct of the causes of these primary headaches. Chiropractic care normally includes treatment of spinal misalignments, related soft tissues and life style recommendations to improve the quality of health.
Most chiropractic offices will provide a combination of these approaches. The initial stage of care of course focuses upon treatment of the headache symptoms but a complete program of care will include a plan to address all the contributing factors in primary headaches.
Dr. Schwartz has been helping patients for over 20 years. His focus is on restoring his patients to full activity by providing them with the tools they need to support a healthy life. Hundreds of headache sufferers, back pain patients and neck pain patients have found relief in his office.Contact http://www.thebackcarecenter.com to find out how he can help you.