Headache? Here are 2 things your doctor may not have checked.

Global Courant

Do you ever feel like your head is splitting open? Headaches can be very debilitating. Often a new patient will say to me, “Oh, that’s my normal headache.” Headaches are common in many people, but they are never normal. Pain is your body’s signal that something is injured or not functioning properly.

There are many different types and causes of headaches, including but not limited to:

• dehydration
• Muscle tension
• Low blood sugar
• Neck problems
• Tension
• Not enough sleep
• Trauma
• Caffeine or caffeine withdrawal
• Hormonal imbalance

As you can see, there are many different factors to consider. One thing all headache sufferers have in common is that they have a spine and nervous system.

When the upper neck bones are shifted and/or don’t move properly, the joints, nerves, and muscles in that area become irritated and painful, causing headaches and neck pain. What many people find interesting is that your pain is felt in one place, but is caused by a problem somewhere else.

This is called referred pain. Most people are familiar with this concept of referred pain associated with heart attacks, but there are also pain referral patterns in many neuromusculoskeletal disorders.

There are over 30 different muscles, nerves and joints in the neck area that can cause pain anywhere from the upper back and shoulders to the front of the forehead and around the eyes. Visit the website below to see an image of these pain reference patterns.

In addition, many people with headaches and neck pain have a loss of normal curvature in the neck (known as cervical hypolordosis). You see it every day when people look at their cell phones with their heads bent down or hunched over workstations. It is important that correcting this problem goes deeper than just correcting posture. Don’t get me wrong good posture is very important; however, someone can have a great attitude when observed from the outside and still have these structural curve changes. It’s like a car can look fine from the outside, but then you discover that the frame is bent.

Often we see a new patient who has tried some treatments in the past that work for a short time, but then the pain always comes back at some point. In most cases of recurrent headaches and neck pain, the curvature correction of treatment was lacking to achieve lasting complete improvement. Most people with these problems develop muscle tension and pain at the base of the skull and over the top of the shoulders. An understanding of the anatomy reveals that these muscles are stretched as a result of the changes in curvature and become painful as they respond to these changes. Correcting the curvature problem and poor biomechanics of the spine takes the stress off certain parts of the head and spine and prevents the muscles from constantly trying to pull the head back. There are specific chiropractic adjustments and protocols that must be performed to perform this curve correction.

A thorough examination and assessment of your headaches and neck pain will reveal what specifically is causing the problem in your case.

As with most topics, there is much more that could be considered and discussed. I just wanted to shed some light on an ongoing problem in many people’s lives. This is a problem that many people struggle needlessly with if they could be helped.

Stay tuned for future posts where I’ll reveal some helpful tips that will help correct back pain, neck pain, and headaches even if you have to sit all day. Become one of the millions who benefit from chiropractic adjustments every year!

Headache? Here are 2 things your doctor may not have checked.

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