Headaches & Migraines

In the UK two-thirds of adult males and over 80% of females will be affected by tension-type headaches, with 1 adult in 20 having a headache every day. Nearly 200,000 people in the UK experience migraines everyday (World Health Organisation, 2004).

A headache is a pain anywhere in the head and can also extend down into the neck and jaw. There are many different causes of headaches, each presenting with their own set of symptoms. There are over 200 types of headache, ranging from harmless to very serious. Your Chiropractor will perform a full neurological screening and be able to determine the cause of your headache.

Cause
There are many different causes for headaches and migraines, these can include

• Stress
• Tiredness
• Bright Light
• Tight Neck Muscles
• Head Trauma
• Smoking
• Drugs (both prescription and non-prescription)
• Eye Strain
• Diabetes
• Dehydration
• Infection
• High Blood Pressure
• Neoplasm

Types

There are over 200 different types of headaches, which are split up into 2 main groups: primary and secondary.

Primary headaches are the most common type of headache and include:

• Tension Headaches – radiating from muscles in the back and neck
• Migraines – disabling headaches lasting between 3hrs and 3days
• Cluster Headaches – severe pain which happens in barrages of varying intensity
• Trigeminal Neuralgia – shooting face pain
• Dehydration – lack of fluid intake

Secondary headaches are less common, but include a much wider variety of types and causes including;

• Cervicogenic Headache – pain arising from the neck muscles
• Paradoxical Headache – taking too many pain killers, causing a worse headache
• Thunderclap – due to a bleed on the brain which requires immediate medical attention
• Meningitis headache – accompanied with a stiff neck
• Encephalitis – due to inflammation of the brain due to a viral infection
• Raised Intracranial Pressure – due to a lesion or tumor
• Hypertension – high blood pressure

Symptoms

• Head Pain
• Neck Pain
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Dizziness
• Eye Pain

Treatment

The type of treatment suitable for headaches primarily depends on the type of headache you have.  Keeping a headache diary is useful to help work out what type of treatment is most appropriate for you.  The headache diary should include dates, duration, intensity and anything that might be related to a headache, such as what you have drunk and eaten over the day, medications, weather conditions and your daily activities.

If you experience the worst headache you could imagine, or you have a headache which has lasted more than 3 days, you should seek immediate medical attention.

Everyday people visit Chiropractors with headaches and migraines and evidence shows that Chiropractic is effective at treating migraines and cervicogenic headache. During your initial consultation, the Chiropractor will assess your body, complete a medical and symptom history, allowing them to provide a working diagnosis. There may be occasions where Chiropractic is not the right solution for you, and in this event we will refer you to the correct health practitioner (e.g. General Practitioner).

Chiropractic care can include;

• Chiropractic Adjustments
• Trigger Avoidance Mechanisms