Understanding your Headaches
There is a reason why we focus on total body well-being at Reform Chiropractic. Wellness includes your physical health, mental and emotional health, and social health. Each of these factors contribute to an individual’s pain experience, so all must be addressed to eliminated pain and dysfunction. This is very evident with headaches, as there are so many triggers, or a combination of triggers, that may contribute recurring headaches. At Reform Chiropractic in Appleton, WI will help to address the root cause of your headaches by figuring out what your triggers may be. This, along with specific therapy of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems will help to decrease intensity and frequency of headaches.
Fun fact – your brain tissue itself lacks nerves sensitive to pain. So then why do headaches occur? Headaches occur when nociceptors in the tissues surrounding your brain and in your neck are activated. So then what are nociceptors? Your central nervous system is made of your brain and spinal cord. The brain sends send signals to all nerves in the body through the spinal cord to control every action, from walking and talking to thinking to breathing. The brain also receives messages from all the nerves in the body through the spinal cord. Nociceptors are a specific type of sensory nerve that are responsible for sending signals to our brain when hurt or harm are perceived. The brain receives that message as pain. Sometimes this can be a bit exaggerated, especially if you haven’t had much quality sleep, a good meal, and are feeling stressed, so on and so forth.
While some headaches may be a sign of a serious issue, most headaches are not dangerous. Along with physical examination headaches are diagnosed by location of the headache, what it feels like, other symptoms involved, time of day it occurs, and how long it lasts. Let’s take a look at the characteristics of two of the most common types of headaches that occur.
Tension-type headaches are the most common type of headache, effecting 8 out of 10 individuals. These are characterized by a tightness or pressure in across the forehead, on the sides of the head, and/or in the back of the head causing a constant, steady dull achiness. These typically result from muscle tension through the head, neck, and upper back. Tension type headaches usually are not associated with nausea, vomiting, or sensitivity to light and sound. These come on slowly and can last minutes to days depending on the episode.
A migraine is characterized by intense throbbing or pulsating sensation that typically effects one side of the head. Often a migraine is accompanied by nausea as well as sensitivity to light, sound and/or smell. 20% of migraines begin with an aura, which can be a visual disturbance, dizziness, ringing in the ears, or brain fog. This indicates that a migraine may be beginning. There are four phases (prodrome, aura, attack, post-drome) that someone might recognize as a migraine begins, as it progresses, and as it ends. Women are three times more likely so suffer migraines than man, peaking in the mid-30’s.
While there are some differences between the two, one common factor is that chiropractic treatment along with trigger management can reduce frequency, duration, and severity of headaches. Trigger management may include improving sleep habits, slight changes in diet, and finding hobbies or activities to alleviate stress to name a few. It is important to take headaches seriously. Even though most are not dangerous, they do limit individuals from living their life to their fullest, as they have to take time off of work/school and even miss out on social events such as spending time with family and friends. If you find that you are continuously having headaches and are frequently take pain relievers for headaches, then consider consulting your Appleton chiropractor, Reform Chiropractic.
