Chiropractic Care for Headaches

By Stepy Kamei

If there's one thing we all have in common, it's that we all know what a headache it is to have a headache. They're one of the most commonly reported health issues every year. They can affect people regardless of age, gender, or prior health status. Headaches can be mild, moderate, or severe in nature, and they can be brought on by a wide variety of causes and circumstances, including everything from dehydration and stress to injuries and other physical health concerns. Virtually everyone will experience the occasional headache from time to time. However, if you notice you experience headaches more often than others, you may want to check in with a doctor to make sure a more serious health condition isn't affecting you. Once this is ruled out, consider turning to chiropractic for headache relief.

How an Adjustment Can Bring Relief

Many people are still misinformed about the nature of chiropractic care, and the many ways in which it can benefit a person's overall health. Popular opinion holds that chiropractic is strictly meant to bring relief from back pain, but chiropractic can actually benefit the entire body.

Chiropractors focus primarily on the spine, and the muscles and joints surrounding this area of the body. This is why many people assume chiropractic adjustments are only good for improving back health. In order to understand how an adjustment can benefit the rest of the body, it's necessary to know the important functions of the spinal column. The spine houses the central nervous system, which is what facilitates communication between the body and the brain. When the spinal column is out of alignment, the central nervous system may begin to face issues of its own as a direct result. Communication may begin to breakdown, leading to a degradation of many important functions throughout the body. One result of this can be headaches. As the body strains harder and harder to work around spinal misalignments, tension increases. A misalignment in the spine, combined with muscle tension in the neck and shoulders, can contribute to increased pressure at the base of the skull, which can manifest itself in headaches, as well as neck and shoulder stiffness. 

An adjustment can help relieve this pressure. During a typical session, a chiropractor will use safe manual manipulation techniques to bring the spine back into its proper alignment. With a properly aligned spine, the rest of the body, including the head, may experience less tension. Ultimately, that may reduce how often you experience the dreaded "tension headache."