It’s estimated that 38 million Americans suffer from different forms of migraines. Sadly, the statistic also includes children. On a global scale, the number rises to a billion. As a matter of fact, migraines are among the top three most prevalent conditions globally. The sad reality is that a majority of patients are unable to function as normal when attacked.
Generally, migraines can be severely painful when they attack and the pain can be difficult to control. So, the best treatment approach for the condition has to be a preventive one. You need to stop it from occurring. Seeking chiropractic care is one of the few preventive approaches that you can seek.
What Are the Symptoms?
We’ve mentioned a severe and hard-to-stop kind of headache. It’s important, nonetheless, to know that the pain can be experienced either on one side or both sides of the head. Additionally, pain is usually throbbing. You may feel like your head wants to explode. Other symptoms that show up are:
- Hypersensitivity to the sense of touch, smell, and taste.
- Lightheadedness
- Sometimes, fainting
- Light sensitivity
In an extreme case, a migraine can result in partial paralysis. Most people experience warning signs (auras) before a migraine attack. They include signs like flashing lights, nausea, and blurry vision. This gives them roughly 30 minutes to either prevent the attack or find ways to minimize it. It’s generally important to know what you can do when you face the auras. You can talk to your doctor about it. But before that, knowing what causes migraines is the first treatment approach. This is because you are able to avoid contact with the trigger.
What Are the Causes?
Migraines can be triggered by so many factors and they vary from individual to individual. The commonest are:
- Alcohol (more so wine) and caffeine-based drinks
- Some food s (for example, chocolate, cheese, and salty foods)
- Low blood sugar (especially after skipping meals)
- A change in weather
- Hormonal changes in women (during pregnancy and menstruation)
- Some medications (for example, oral contraceptives)
- Psychological stress
- Sensory stimuli (for example, a strong smell or bright light)
- Sleep issues ( either not sleeping adequately or oversleeping)
- Intense physical activity
Researchers argue that the reason you experience a migraine attack after exposure to any of the above triggers is that your serotonin levels fall below the normal levels. As a result, insufficient serotonin is not able to control pain and other symptoms of a migraine attack.
What Are the Treatments?
We’ve already mentioned chiropractic care; which we’ll look at shortly. The other option is medication treatment. However, it’s important to know that migraine treatment can either be preventive or abortive. Preventive treatment involves taking daily prescriptions so as to reduce the likelihood of suffering a migraine and to also reduce its severity in case it attacks. An abortive treatment, on the other hand, refers to medications given to treat the symptoms once you are attacked. It’s meant to stop the migraine attack. The prescriptions have to originate from your doctor.
Besides medications and chiropractic care, other treatments for migraine are:
- Nutritional supplements – Supplements such as vitamin D, Omega-3, and magnesium are important in treating migraines. Nonetheless, it’s advisable to first talk to your chiropractor or GP before taking any supplement for migraine management.
- Acupuncture – In the case of alternative medicine, acupuncture is just as popular as chiropractic care. So, you can also consider the technique for migraine. It’s one of the oldest and most effective treatments for a range of illnesses.
What is the Role Played By Chiropractic Care?
When it comes to chiropractic care, it’s both a preventive and abortive approach. This makes it a great treatment. Normally, the objective of chiropractic treatment is to not only reduce the severity of migraine pain but to also minimize its frequency. In this case, a chiropractor will employ different manual techniques to try to address the migraine and other contributory factors such as muscle tension on the neck, back, and shoulders, neck stiffness, and postural issue. Some of the techniques that a chiropractor may employ to treat migraine are:
- Spinal Adjustments
Here, a chiropractor will target to restore motion ranges by gently manipulating the spine and its surrounding tissues. The technique is meant to bring relief to the spine and eventually to your head. You may feel some ‘off’ symptoms like slight headache and general tiredness. Such symptoms clear over time.
- Muscle Release
This technique is all about relaxation. It may involve some forms of gentle massage on muscle tissues. The objective is to clear muscle stiffness and tension. Tight muscle knots are also cleared. The technique is normally done on your neck and back. In the long run, the migraine is managed since its sources are shut by muscle release.
- Hot and Cold Therapy
When it comes to reducing the intensity of throbbing pain, a chiropractor may resort to this option. It involves using either hot packs or cold ice packs on the area. Some chiropractor may combine the two. The technique can be used before or after spinal manipulation.
In addition to the three techniques, a chiropractor may also recommend the following:
- Lifestyle Changes
By identifying the triggers for your migraine, a chiropractor may recommend a few changes in your sleeping pattern, diet, and workout routine. For example, if some foods are not kind to you, the chiropractor will assist you to find their alternatives. Simply, the expert may help you arrive at a healthy diet. Of course, you have the option of consulting your nutritionist. Furthermore, a chiropractor may also recommend home stretching exercises that you can do at home.
- Relaxation Techniques
The goal of relaxation techniques is to alleviate stress. Basically, a chiropractor helps you to find ways that you can manage anxiety at home. Some of the relaxation techniques that the expert may recommend are:
- Meditation
- Breathing exercises
- Massage therapy
- Yoga
Closing Thought:
Though there are different techniques that Dr. Dee at Healing Hands Chiropractic can use to treat migraines, the expert knows which one is right for you. So, you just have to trust them. you are guaranteed some amazing results in the long run. If you have been looking for a way to finally manage migraines, then it’s time to calling Healing Hands Chiropractic today!
