Tension Headaches

Chiropractic Effective for Cervicogenic Headache

March 28, 2018 blog@chiroaddict.com

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), headache pain is “extremely common,” with headache disorders—which are characterized as head pain that is repeated in nature—afflicting as many as one in 20 individuals on a daily or almost-daily basis. An additional one in seven people deal with the king of all headaches: migraines.

Another type of headache which can create an amazing amount of throbbing discomfort is a cervicogenic headache. Defined by the American Migraine Foundation as a “secondary headache” whose cause originates somewhere in the neck area even though it presents itself in the head, some research studies have found that these particular headaches tend to respond rather well to chiropractic treatment sessions.

For instance, BMC Research Notes published the results of a single-blinded randomized control trial conducted in Norway which involved 19 individuals between the ages of 18 and 70 who suffered from cervicogenic headaches. Each subject was assigned to one of three groups for a length of 17 months. The first group received actual chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy utilizing the Gonstead Method. The second group received sham chiropractic manipulations, and the third group served as a control and was simply asked to continue with their current treatment regimen, which did not include any type of manual intervention whatsoever.

Upon conclusion of the study, only 12 of the original 19 participants remained, due to either drop outs or the subject being excluded once randomization occurred. However, of these remaining individuals, those assigned to receive actual spinal manipulation reported a reduction in the number of headaches experienced both during the treatment regimen and at follow-ups conducted six months and one year post-treatment. This was particularly notable when compared to individuals assigned to the control group who reported no change in their cervicogenic headache frequency during or post-study.

While this is a rather small sample size, highlighting the need for more research to be conducted in this area, the study’s findings suggest that, for patients struggling with cervicogenic headaches, chiropractic treatment is definitely better than no treatment at all. This is true both short and long term as positive effects are likely to remain long after the sessions have ceased.

Additionally, although headache pain is among one of the most common pains experienced by adults worldwide, that doesn’t mean that people must simply manage their way through it. By engaging in regular chiropractic care, some headaches can be effectively treated at the source. Cervicogenic headaches are one of them, making this treatment method beneficial for patients seeking a reduction in head pain, and an increase in life satisfaction.

Cervicogenic Headache. (October 24, 2016). American Migraine Foundation.
Chaibi A, Knackstedt H, Tuchin PJ, Russell MB. Chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy for cervicogenic headache: a single-blinded, placebo, randomized controlled trial. BMC Research Notes 2017;10:310.doi:10.1186/s13104-017-2651-4

Today’s article was written by Michael Melton and is shared from the following website: https://www.chironexus.net/2018/03/chiropractic-effective-cervicogenic-headache/

Chiropractic Effective for Tension Headache

September 14, 2017 blog@chiroaddict.com

With headaches being one of the most common nervous system disorders worldwide, affecting almost 50 percent of the population at least once annually, finding a way to relieve them is important to when it comes to improving quality of life for a large number of people. Certainly there are several different types of headaches–migraines, cluster headaches, and medication-overuse headaches, for instance–and each one requires a unique approach for treatment.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, tension headaches, also commonly referred to as stress headaches, are headaches which affect anywhere from 30 to 80 percent of sufferers and are signified by their mild-to-moderate in pain that spreads across the entire head in a sort of band. This makes them very different than migraines which are usually felt on one side or the other.

Because tension headaches in particular are so prevalent, researchers have conducted various studies to determine which types of remedies work by offering some relief. One such piece of research was published in the European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine in February of 2016 and it was designed to determine whether there were any head pain benefits offered by chiropractic adjustments.

Sixty-two women between the ages of 18 and 65 were recruited, all of which suffered with tension-type headaches. Upon acceptance, each was assigned to one of four groups, three of which involved a specific treatment (one was spinal manipulation) and one which served as a control.

Upon conclusion of the study, researchers discovered that, when compared to the control, the individuals who engaged in spinal manipulation “showed improvements in their physical role, bodily pain, and social functioning” at one month post-treatment. In other words, receiving chiropractic care helped improve their quality of life in many fashions beyond just the physical results one might expect. If you suffer from tension headaches, chiropractic can be a natural way to get relief.

Tension headaches. Cleveland Clinic. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs277/en/
Espi-Lopez G et al. (February 29, 2016). Do manual therapy techniques have a positive effect on quality of life in people with tension-type headache? A randomized controlled trial.on March 7, 2016.

Article shared from www.chironexus.net

Tension Headache Causes and Treatment Options

September 20, 2013 oblanderchiropractic

When your head feels like it’s being squeezed in a vise, with pain radiating from the neck, the back of your head or your eyes, you may have what is referred to as a tension-type headache. Tension headaches are the most common type of headache, accounting for approximately 90% of all occurrences. Experts estimate that between 30% and 80% of the US adult population suffers from the occasional tension headache. It is also possible to have chronic tension headaches, but this is experienced by only about 3% of the population.

Unlike migraines, tension headaches do not run in families. There is no single cause of tension headaches. Most are due to emotional or physical stress of some kind. Among some of these causes are:

Insufficient or poor quality sleep
Losing a job or beginning a new job
Having recently had a baby
Relationship problems with your partner
Sports competitions
Studying for school exams
Being involved in too many activities
Being overweight

Anxiety, fatigue, hunger and poor posture can also significantly contribute to the likelihood of a tension headache caused by tight muscles in the neck and scalp. Another possible source of some tension headaches may be the frequent or constant clenching of the teeth, which can cause chronic contraction of the muscles in the temples (which is why massaging this area sometimes brings some relief).

Those who suffer from chronic tension headaches tend to be people who suffer from stress on a daily basis. Women are the most common sufferers of these chronic headaches, which can vary in intensity throughout the day, but which always produce some level of pain. Chronic tension headaches are classified as those lasting for 15 days or more. Most commonly, chronic tension headaches last for 60 to 90 days.

Analgesics such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen and aspirin are often used to treat the occasional tension headache. However, taking these on a long-term basis can cause what are referred to as medication overuse headaches (or rebound headaches), which are the third most common form of headache.

Stress reduction techniques can help prevent tension headaches. Making lifestyle changes such as getting more sleep, eating healthy food and getting regular exercise can help too. That said, it’s important to understand that this type of headache is often the result of specific situations in our lives and the way our bodies react to them. This means that the way we deal with these root-cause situations (potentially including avoiding them in the first place or managing them in a different way) is often the key to making them less frequent or less severe.

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