Chiropractic Care for Chronic Headaches & Migraines

If you or a loved-one have said, “Yeah, its just another headache”, I urge you to stop and listen to what your body is telling you. Headaches and migraines may be common but they’re not normal and you don’t have to accept them as part of your daily life!

There are many body-chemistry or environmental triggers for both headaches and migraines. In New York City, two of those are humidity and pollen. Obviously chiropractic doesn’t address all of headache pain. However, it CAN and DOES help many people who experience chronic headaches and migraines. I’ve seen first hand how helpful chiropractic care can be when it comes to relieving headache pain.

Step 1-Prevention  
First of all, most head pain comes from poor spinal positioning, posture and reduced spinal mobility. Many times the muscles in your neck develop poor contraction patterns, scar tissue developed between muscle layers can transfer pain to your head from adhesions within this muscle tissue.  Many of these problems will improve greatly with chiropractic adjustments to the spine and especially the neck and upper back. Very often, when spine function improves, headaches and/or migraines are reduced in frequency and intensity.

Step 2-Avoidance of Triggers  
If you are a migraine sufferer, the next step is trying to avoid those situations that cause your body to fall into the pattern of pain. For some patients, too much sunlight can be a trigger. (Yes, I know that might even sound like a joke in NYC.) So a simple “fix” is wearing a ball cap or other hat with a brim. Another alternative is good quality polarized sunglasses. If tension headaches are what you struggle with, be focused on alleviating that tension source. For example, many who work at a computer will experience tension at the shoulders and neck. This can be remedied by getting up frequently to stretch muscles and improve blood flow. Also, re-positioning computer screen height and keyboard height can aid in this situation.

Step 3-Keep Living  
Migraine sufferers, I speak from experience.  After two days of sitting in dark rooms and no improvement, get back to living.  During a beautiful summer, no one wants to spend three days a week in bed. If after a day or so the dark room treatment isn’t helping, try getting back to activities you enjoy that help you keep your spirits up while avoiding those that hurt you. You may find that you feel better after going on a bike ride but any water sports are just too taxing.  Get out of bed and get on your bike, go running or simply take a walk. It may not be easy to motivate yourself when you feel crappy. But once you’ve physically recuperated, lying around doesn’t usually help for very long.

Level Up Sports Chiropractic is a studio clinic delivering 1-on-1 rehabilitation to those in Murray Hill, New York City. If you work or live near Midtown Manhattan, contact us for a consultation!