Tension headaches are the most prevalent kind of headache that adults experience. Upwards of 80% of people have had a tension headache at some point or another. These headaches are often described as feeling like a band is tightening around their head. There are a number of known triggers for tension headaches, such as eye strain, fatigue, stress, and anxiety, which are all commonly experienced by most individuals at some time.
Here are a few ways to care for a tension headache:
All of these can help relieve some of the pain of a tension headache, but there may actually be a root problem to be dealt with if these kinds of headaches are recurring for you.
If the “hat band” sensation is a familiar experience for you during headaches, you may identify with the symptom of extremely tight, tender neck muscles as well. The reason for this is that issues in the neck are linked to many kinds of headaches. The uppermost vertebra in your neck, called the atlas, is responsible for protectively housing the brainstem, a vital member of the central nervous system from which signals are sent between the brain and body. When this part of the spine misaligns, it puts unusual stress on the brainstem and the rest of the spinal cord. This can cause muscle spasms, disruptions in healthy blood flow from the head and neck, and dysfunction to the nervous system. All of these factors could be what is behind a tension headache or migraine.
At Balanced Living, we use the gentle and effective NUCCA technique to identify atlas misalignments that could be the cause of a patient’s headache condition. NUCCA is a unique, non-invasive chiropractic technique that can lead to the restoration of the body’s normal function. Correcting a misalignment of the atlas can release the tension on the brainstem and spinal cord, restoring proper brain-body communication within the nervous system. In a study of 47 patients with non-migraine headaches, every one of them experienced a drastic reduction in headache pain after only two weeks of upper cervical care (and only one atlas correction). Over a slightly longer period of time, there was a 75% decrease in symptoms on average from 3-4 months of care. Call us today if you want to make your tension headaches a thing of the past.
References:
https://www.consumerreports.org/pain-relief/tension-headache-treatment-prevention/
Palmer J, Dickholtz M. Improvement in Radiographic Measurements, Posture, Pain & Quality of Life in Non-migraine Headache Patients Undergoing Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care: A Retrospective Practice Based Study. Annals Vert Sub Res [Internet]. 2009 [cited 21 March 2016];2009(June):1-11. Available from: https://www.mccoypress.net/annals/docs/2009-1287_nucca.pdf
To schedule a consultation with Dr. Joe Perin, call our Vancouver office at 360-569-1740. You can also click the button below.
If you are outside of the local area, you can find an Upper Cervical Doctor near you at www.uppercervicalawareness.com.
