According to the American Migraine Foundation, over 36 million Americans have experienced migraines in their lifetime. Many Americans deal with chronic migraines, which can negatively impact their lives and ability to function as productive members of society. Fortunately, migraines can be treated and prevented with regular chiropractic care. Today, we discuss how a chiropractor can improve acute and chronic neck pain, therefore reducing the number of headaches and migraines you might experience.
What Is a Migraine?
A migraine is an inherited neurological condition that produces head pain, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sounds. It is often described as a severe headache that causes a throbbing pain, usually on one side of the head.
Migraines can be a genetic condition; however, there are many other factors that affect how often and severe an individual experiences one. These factors may include but are not limited to the following:
- Stress (including emotional stress)
- Hormonal imbalances
- Caffeine
- Light
- Changes in your normal sleeping pattern
- Medications
- Smoking
- Dieting or lack of water
What Are the Different Types of Migraines?
There are several type of migraines, which include the following:
- Migraine with aura
A migraine with aura is a recurring headache that contains sensory disturbances called aura. These disturbances can include flashes of light, blind spots, and other vision changes or tingling or numbing sensations in your hand or face. Around 15% to 20% of people with migraine headaches experience an aura.
- Migraine without aura
This type of migraine headache can occur without an aura. Migraines without auras are much more common than any other kind of migraine.
- Migraine without head pain
This is also known as a silent migraine as it includes the aura components but without the headache pains.
- Hemiplegic migraine
With a hemiplegic migraine, you could have temporary paralysis or neurological changes on one side of your body. Symptoms of this type of a migraine include dizziness, vision changes, temporary numbness, and weakness on one side of your body.
- Ocular migraine
You may notice temporary, partial, or total vision loss in one of your eyes when you experience this type of migraine. You may also experience a dull ache behind one eye that could lead to an intense headache. You could also experience vision loss for an extended period, so it is important to consult with a healthcare provider if this happens.
- Chronic migraine
A chronic migraine a migraine that persist for 15 days during a month. The symptoms could change as well as the severity of the pain you feel. Consult with a healthcare professional if you experience any type of chronic migraine.
- Migraine with brainstem aura
With this migraine, you might experience slurred speech, double vision loss, vertigo, and a loss of balance followed by a headache. These symptoms can come on suddenly and may be associated with nausea, vomiting, and/or a ringing sensation in your ears.
- Status migrainosus
This type of migraine is rarer and can last longer than 72 hours. The symptoms associated with it are intense and include pain and nausea.
Ways a Chiropractor Can Help with Migraines
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health, several studies have assessed chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy to address and treat migraines. Chiropractic therapy options for migraines include but are not limited to the following:
- Chiropractic adjustments
Your chiropractor can perform spinal manipulation or chiropractic adjustments to improve your spinal function and alleviate the stress on your central nervous system.
- Neuromuscular massage
Also known as trigger point therapy, this type of massage focuses on trigger points on the back, shoulder, neck, and head to relax your muscles, improve your body’s blood flow, and relieve stress. This may ease migraine symptoms by releasing pressure from compressed nerves that send pain signals back to the brain.
- Multidisciplinary care intervention
This approach, which combines relaxation techniques, physical therapy exercises, stress management, and nutrition counseling, is effective for treating and reducing migraine pain, frequency, and duration.
- Low-level laser therapy
Laser therapy has been used to combat inflammation for over 40 years. Studies have shown that laser therapy can decrease migraine pain intensity and reduce the number of symptomatic days.
- Peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS)
PNS delivers electrical or magnetic pulses to certain nerves to help reduce or prevent migraine episodes and lower the severity of pain intensity.
How Functional Neurology Can Treat Migraines
At Calispine, we address our patients’ migraine symptoms by utilizing a functional neurology approach. When it comes to treating migraines, there are four key factors to consider, which include the following:
- Cervical/musculoskeletal issues
- Hormonal issues
- Nutritional problems
- Neurological issues
Each or all these factors could be the root cause of a migraine. We treat all possible migraine factors simultaneously, rather than just addressing one factor at a time.
We utilize a unique combination of tailored treatments for tension headaches and migraines to provide patients with long-lasting relief. At Calispine, we take a holistic approach, using treatments such as chiropractic adjustments, physical therapy, functional neurology, nutritional and lifestyle advice, low-level-laser therapy, vestibular therapy, and more to reduce or diminish your migraines.
Do you suffer from migraines or tension headaches? Get in touch with us online or call our office at (760)-683-9219 to see how we can help.