A headache can easily destroy the small joys of life, like thinking clearly or calmly to make crucial decisions or process emotions that allow us to carry on through our day-to-day lives. Many people experience occasional headaches, but some experience frequent headaches that affect their daily lives and sometimes their ability to sleep.

What Are the Different Types of Headaches?

The most common types of headaches include:

  • Migraine: These headaches result in pain on only one side of the head and are commonly accompanied by nausea and sensitivity to sound and light.
  • Tension headaches: These are characterized by a band-like tension around the head.
  • Cervicogenic headache: These headaches have the neck as the source of the problem, but the pain is perceived in one or more areas on the face and head. The causes of these types of headaches are unknown, but neck stiffness, family history of headaches and stress are among the most common risk factors.

How Can Chiropractic Care Help with Headaches?

Chiropractic care is essential to diagnose, assess and manage headaches. Studies show that chiropractic care, like manual therapy, effectively treats tension and cervicogenic headaches. A chiropractor can help you decrease the frequency and intensity of the migraines and headaches.

The most common types of headaches include:

  • Soft tissue therapy
  • Manual therapy
  • Rehabilitation
  • Modalities including acupuncture, electrical stimulation and ultrasound
  • Lifestyle education and changes
  • Referral and co-management

How Does Chiropractic Care Work for Headaches?

A chiropractor performs spinal manipulation and adjustments to treat different types of headaches. The treatment may include soft tissue therapies to help improve spinal function and reduce stress. Chiropractic care you can expect for your headaches includes:

  • Trigger point therapy is used to target the tense areas with the muscles.
  • Massage, which includes kneading the muscles and joints.
  • Myofascial release massage is aimed at membranes that support and connect muscles.

Chiropractic care for migraines and headaches also offers lifestyle management recommendations such as:

  • Avoid heavy exercise, and it encourages you to walk and add low-impact aerobic exercise to your day.
  • Making dietary changes and taking Vitamin B complex supplements
  • Improving your posture and sitting correctly at work

In addition to that, chiropractic care may also include lifestyle recommendations that will help you reduce migraine headaches. Your chiropractor may advise against teeth clenching, which can stress the joints around the jaw and trigger headaches. They also encourage patients to drink much water daily to prevent dehydration, a major trigger for headaches.

Chiropractic care aims to treat headaches and reduce pain while maximizing neuromusculoskeletal health. Experts are, however, unclear about how this type of treatment helps due to its multi-faceted approach, but it works.

Chiropractic Care for Migraines During Pregnancy

Many experts have concerns about the side effect of preventative medicine or pain killer on pregnant women. Some medications can cause adverse effects on the body of the pregnant person and the development of the fetus.

Pregnant women should seek alternative treatment for the constant headaches, such as chiropractic care. While there is little research on the use of chiropractic care on pregnant women, a case study 2009 suggests it may be safe and effective.

The study was of a pregnant 24-year-old woman who had experienced chronic migraines for 12 years. She had previously had unsuccessful treatments, including physical therapy and massage therapy, among other contemporary therapies. She was using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that have codeine, but they only provided temporary relief.

After spinal adjustment treatment and other chiropractic add-on therapies, her symptoms improved to a point where she was independent of the conventional medications. More research is, however, necessary to suggest whether chiropractic care is effective and safe for treating migraines and headaches during pregnancy.

No one should have to live with chronic pain. Many options are available to relieve pain to help you return to your normal day-to-day tasks. Book an appointment with Quick Med Chiropractic today. We offer various services for patients struggling with pain affecting the joints, muscles and ligaments.

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