People who suffer from headaches recognize its classic symptom, which is the persistent throbbing pain in the head. These pains can be situated behind the head, above the eyes, over the ears, atop the head or even behind the upper neck. No part of the head is out of bounds for headaches. When headaches strike, suffers often isolate themselves in quiet, dimly lit rooms until the pains ease off. In most cases, sufferers have difficulty handling basic tasks.
There are two categories of headaches. They are primary headaches and secondary headaches.
Primary headaches are pains that haven’t occurred as a result of other diseases. Migraine headaches, cluster headaches, and tension headaches fall into this category. Most primary headaches occur as a result of upper cervical injuries and nervous system disorders.
Tension headaches
These kinds of headaches affect approximately ninety percent of the global population. Symptoms of tension headaches include pain around the forehead, face, scalp, eyes, temples, and chin. This band of pain often extends to the neck region.
Migraines
This is another common type of primary headache. Nervous system disorders are chiefly responsible for migraine headaches. Classic symptoms of migraines include pain in one or both sides of the head, visual disturbances, sensitivity to light and sound, visual disturbances, nausea, and vomiting. The pains can migrate to other sides of the head and can even spread to the neck and shoulder region. Episodes can last anywhere from 20 minutes to 72 hours, during which sufferers isolate themselves in dark, silent rooms until the symptoms fade. And even when the headaches stop, the sufferer feels exhausted, highly irritable and confused.
Vestibular migraines
These headaches also fall under the category of primary headaches. They are a type of migraine and are sometimes called migraine-associated vertigo (MAV). Vestibular migraines are characterized by vertigo, spatial disorientation, dizziness, visual disturbance, a sense that the room is spinning around them, sensitivity to light, difficulty concentrating, neck pain, and anxiety attacks.
Cluster headaches
Medical experts consider this type of primary headache the worst of all the lot. Why? Well, cluster headaches attack the sufferer in clusters. Classic symptoms include pains on one or both sides of the head, pains behind the eyes, visual disturbances, disfigurement of the eye structure and respiratory tract blockage.
Unlike primary headaches, secondary headaches are symptoms of a more serious illness. Malaria, typhoid fevers, pneumonia are a few examples of diseases that can cause secondary headaches. Once these diseases are treated the headaches disappear forever except the person is reinfected by the disease-causing parasite.
Primary headaches are different. In fact, medical researchers have shown that upper cervical injury or trauma is directly responsible for migraine headaches tension headaches and cluster headaches.
Stress, caffeinated foods and drinks, bad postures, hormonal changes, altitude sickness, and excessive lights and sounds can trigger primary headaches. However, it is important to distinguish between triggers and underlying causes of primary headaches.
Researchers have proven time and time again that most cases of primary headaches are rooted in previous experiences with head and/or neck trauma. Sufferers often report that they’d been involved in road, air or water accidents which resulted in concussions. Other times, these sufferers of primary headaches have been punched in the head or have experienced had a whiplash.
Because these injuries affect the upper neck region there is a high chance that the skull and the C1 and /C2 vertebrae behind the neck might have become misaligned. This misalignment adversely affects nerve and blood flow in the brain stem. The result is often recurring primary headaches.
How Chiropractic Care Can Help You Find Long Term Relief From Headaches.
Upper cervical care is an effective treatment option for people who suffer from headaches. These upper cervical experts employ a unique chiropractic technique that restores the nervous system function and realigns the head and neck. So far, these unique specialists have done groundbreaking work in the area of helping patients live headache free lives. Take Gina, for instance, she started experiencing regular headaches as a child. She stopped experiencing the symptoms of headaches after she received a few sessions of chiropractic care.
Watch Gina’s Testimony Below.
Before any care is administered, the upper cervical chiropractor will conduct two diagnostic tests. They include the thermal imaging and digital x-ray of the spine. The tests help the expert to assess the upper cervical area. If a neck and misalignment are diagnosed, the specific chiropractor will deliver specific adjustments in the right places. This realignment automatically takes care of the muscle and nerve irritation that had been causing the headaches in the first place. Like Gina and many other headache patients who have felt better after a few sessions of chiropractic care, you too can find relief from headaches.