Can Chiropractic help someone suffering with Migraines and Headaches? If so, how does it actually work? These are the 2 most common questions I am asked from people who suffer with Migraines and Headaches.
This brings back memories of my first patient who suffered with daily Headaches and Weekly Migraines. She was a 62 year old female who fell off a horse and landed on her head at 12 years old. The very next day she started to suffer with daily headaches which then progressed into weekly migraines. For 50 years she suffered with daily headaches and weekly migraines thus altering her life’s decisions from choosing not to have any children and not being able to keep a long term job because of her severe head pain.
She tried every Migraine and Headache drug along with every kind of therapy for headaches yet nothing seemed to help. Finally as a very last resort she decided to try
Chiropractic care and was referred to our office from a friend who is a current patient.
After completing a comprehensive examination along with taking spinal x-rays, I diagnosed that she had severe subluxations in her upper neck along with her skull being
misaligned most likely caused from when she fell off a horse and landed on her head over 50 years ago. We started conservative chiropractic care consisting of specific spinal adjustments to attain normal motion of her upper neck vertebrae and skull. After several weeks of care, her headaches started to decrease in frequency and pain. Then after several
months of chiropractic care, her migraines and daily headaches went completely away.
She suffered daily for 50 years yet now she is pain free and lives a normal health life.
Another current patient who had been suffering with Migraines and Headaches over past 10 years since high school when she was dropped on her head while being a cheerleader. After only several weeks of Chiropractic care, her Migraines and Headaches are gone and
she no longer is suffering yet living and enjoying life again.
So can Chiropractic care help someone suffering with Migraines and Headaches?
Most defiantly YES, the majority of people who suffer with Migraines and Headache can get help and relief with Chiropractic care. It is important to note that there are a few very serious conditions that cause headaches that Chiropractic cannot help and for which you would be referred out to another specialist. If you have regular headaches or migraines it is very important to be examined to determine what type of care is best for you.
How does Chiropractic actually work? Most Migraine and Headache sufferers have a subluxation which is when a vertebrae in your upper neck area is misaligned putting pressure on or pinching a nerve causing your body to give you a symptom such as pain. These subluxations can also cause the muscles in your neck to become hypertonic or go into spasm. This can cause the blood flow to the brain to be reduced, decreasing oxygenation and also causing headaches. Gentle Chiropractic Adjustments help to realign your vertebrae over time thus reducing pressure or pinching of your nerves allow your body to heal itself and be pain free.
Dr. Paul Fisher DC.