HEADACHES and MIGRAINES

What causes a headache?

There many causes of headaches and there many types of headaches. Some are at the base of the skull. Some are at the front of the head and behind the eyes. Some are like a band around the head or feel like the head is being tightened in a vice. Some patients even report pain right on top of the head. While rarer causes of headaches can be caused by medical conditions, the majority of all headaches are helped through chiropractic care.

The most common types of headaches seen in our Fountain Valley office are muscle tension headaches, sinus headaches or migraines. While there may be different triggers to each type of headache, what is common to all of them is a vertebra is usually out of alignment (subluxated) that causes spasm of muscles and pinching or interference in the nerves.

Muscle tension headaches can be caused by stress, injury or a long-standing spinal misalignment that strains the neck or upper back muscles which pull the vertebra out of alignment thus pinching the nerve. Sinus headaches can be triggered by seasonal or other allergies that create irritation of the sinus passages. This creates tension in upper neck muscles that when in spasm can pull the upper neck vertebrae out of alignment and pinch nerves at the base of the skull. There are many causes of migraines and while these can be the most incapacitating of headaches, chiropractic adjustments to the misaligned vertebrae usually reduces the number of migraine headaches and they last a much shorter time period.

After a thorough evaluation and examination, if yours is a case we can accept we will explain the cause of your headaches and outline a course of care that will include one or more of the following: specific chiropractic adjustments, neuromuscular re-education, massage, ice/heat, stretching/strengthening exercises and instructions on home care.

Contact : Dr. Lysa at Power Source Chiropractic in Fountain Valley, CA to see if we can help you with your headaches.