Sonya was referred to our clinic by a friend who had also suffered with headaches and had seen a lot of improvement in her symptoms.
We did a thorough history and then conducted an orthopaedic and neurological exam including looking at her cranial nerves, blood pressure and an eye exam.
Sonya was fit and healthy otherwise but found she was getting headaches so often she was spending at least one day a fortnight in bed.
With two young kids she felt like she was missing out and she had already tried medication which made her tired and dopey. We found that she actually had two distinct sorts of headaches, she had a cervicogenic migraine that seemed to progress over time into a severe cluster headache that would really knock her out.
Finally having a diagnosis rather than covering up the effects we had a targeted approach with our treatment and she was able to do her own research find what some of the triggers were that brought on her headaches and also have better ways of managing the headaches when they came on. Last time we saw Sonya she hadn’t had a migraine for four months.
So lets help you find out what sort of headache you have.
There are over 150 different types of headaches so the first thing you should do is get an expert opinion if your headaches are severe, have lasted more than 2 days or keep recurring. In this article we will go over the most common headaches.
Tension Headaches
These are the most common headaches, they feel like a tightening around the head or like a dull pressure. The pain is mild to moderate and they normally improve after a day. Underlying causes can be grinding your teeth-your dentist will let you know if you are doing this.
To help hold your fingers like a claw and put the fingers in a fan shape around your temples and make small circles and this can help release some of the muscle tension.
Migraines
Migraines are most common in people 30 to 40 years old and often will improve in your 50s and 60s. Again there are over 30 different types of migraine from abdominal migraines to Cluster Migraines, Traumatic Migraines and even hemiplegic Migraines.
Migraines can last anywhere from 3 hours to a few days and they usually occur from once a month to 3 to 4 times per month. Along with head pain people often are sensitive to light, noise or smells, they can have stomach pain, nausea or vomiting and often look pail and feel dizzy. The key with migraines is to find out what sort of migraine you have and then act quickly at the start of the migraine.
This can often greatly reduce the severity and sometimes stop the migraine from progressing. If it is a vascular type of migraine – that is one that is a throbbing type of pain then often simple things like running cold water over your wrists and putting a cool wet cloth on the back of the neck can help.
Please be aware that if your headaches wake you at night or you start to get weakness, changes in sensation or continue for extended periods of time then seek medical care urgently. As some very severe conditions like brain tumors can often first present as headaches.
Just to throw a spanner into the works there is a mixed headache syndrome which displays the character of both a migraine and a tension type headache. Both adults and children can get these sorts of headaches. In our clinic in Erina we are seeing more and more of these sorts of headaches that are often misdiagnosed as one or the other. I think the big increase in these types of headaches recently is due to the increasing use of mobile phones. It is due to both the position your neck is in and the brightness and flicker rate of the screen.
https://justgetflux.com is a great free download that changes the hue of your computer very slightly to simulate sunrise, midday and sunset. This can help reduce one of the triggers for headaches and can help with sleep.
Chiropractic care addresses migraines in a number of ways. Firstly it addresses the muscle spasm that typically comes on with a migraine. This muscle spasm reduces the blood flow to the head and neck and often will increase the severity of symptoms.
Chiropractic treatment in our clinic also focuses on whether it is your sympathetic nervous system (the fight or flight part) or your parasympathetic nervous system that is involved with the headache and we give you techniques and procedures to help balance this out. As well as addressing this in our treatment approach.
Here is a short video we made that explains some headaches and ways to help you understand what type of headache you may be having. As always if your headaches are severe or recurrent then please see your health professional.
Cervicogenic Migraine
Cervicogenic migraine is obviously from the neck and around 40% of migraines have a link to the neck. We often find that improving the function of the cervical spine can make a major difference in the frequency of migraines as it removes a very common trigger which is your neck position at night or in the day.
Cluster Headaches
Cluster Headaches are severe headaches that often last just a few hours but can be so severe that people cannot sit still.
People often get these a few times a day for weeks or sometimes months and then suddenly stop only to recur months or years later.
Chlorophyll supplements have been shown to help as has L-Tryptophan. Some people feel breathing exercises help them deal with the attacks.
Sinus Headaches
Sinus Headaches often feel deep in the head at the front or under the eyes.
These will typically get better or worse with head position-putting your head down increases the pain. Sinus drainage kits that flush the sinus with salty water or saline can help.
If this is recurrent you may have a deep seated infection as it is the best place for bacteria to grow. A course of antibiotics will help if this is the case.
The Best Way To Get Out Of Pain Fast
The best way to get out of pain fast is to get a specific diagnosis as this way you can target exactly what the problem is.
In our examination we conduct a thorough chiropractic, orthopaedic and neurological examination to find the cause of your problem.
Once we know what the cause is we can create a customized plan for you. This plan includes:
The number one thing you must do to get out of pain ASAP.- Specific postural exercises to strengthen and stabilize your problem.
The number one thing you must do to get out of pain ASAP.- Neuromuscular re-education once things are stable to stop further progression.
- A specific plan for you to ensure the problem doesn’t come back (64% of people with headaches end up becoming chronic and recurrent at 12 months without a directed treatment plan).