By far, most people get
tension-type headaches and get them frequently. They typically suffer
mild to moderate pain, on both sides of the head, that is often
described as tight, stiff, constricting – like having something wrapped
around your head and pressing tightly.
Migraines are periodic
severe, throbbing headaches that afflict far fewer people (and more
women than men), usually hurt on one side of the head, can cause loss of
appetite, nausea and even
vomiting,
and may involve a visual change called an aura.
Cervicogenic headache is a
muskuloskeletal form of tension-type headache (which may also be related
to migraines). Many times, cervicogenic headache goes undiagnosed as
such due to the relative newness of this classification.
What should I be concerned about?
If you are a headache sufferer, your obvious concern is to
obtain safe, dependable relief. You should avoid making things
worse by using drugs – even over-the-counter, nonprescription
drugs – that can have serious side effects and dangerous
interactions with other medications or supplements you take.
You should also be aware that many people experience what
are termed "analgesic rebound headaches" from taking
painkillers every day, or nearly every day. Watch out! The
medicine you take to get rid of today's headache may give
you a headache tomorrow and the days after.
What can chiropractic do?
Chiropractors have had considerable success relieving the
cause of headache pain and releasing headache sufferers from
the dangerous vicious circle of taking ever-larger doses of
ever-stronger painkillers that may even be causing new and
worse headaches.
Chiropractic adjustments have shown to be as effective and
even more effective than medications in reducing the severity
and frequency of headaches. Chiropractic is particularly successful
dealing with cervicogenic headache. Even though cervicogenic
and other tension-type headaches may not actually involve
stress or muscle tension, chiropractic's ability to adjust
spinal abnormalities seems to lessen or remove the forces
contributing to many individuals headache pain.
