Getting Relief from your Headaches in Halifax
Whether you’re suffering from tension or migraine headaches, or possibly headaches associated with a recent injury you’ve sustained, one thing is for sure, your quality of life and day-to-day ability to do regular tasks is severely hampered.
There are a number of different causes of headaches. In this article we’re going to discuss the three types of headaches we have success treating at our clinic: Tension, Migraine and Post Traumatic headaches. In some cases, we co-manage the treatment of certain headaches with other practitioners such as medical doctors, massage therapists, physiotherapists or naturopathic doctors.
Types of Headaches:
Tension Headaches
These are the most common form of a headache. They are caused by tightness in the muscles around the neck and restriction in the joints. This can cause radiation of nerve pain up into the head.
Treatment for a tension headache can involve:
Chiropractic adjustment to the neck
Soft tissue work on the muscles around the neck and shoulders
Sometimes, massage therapy
Ice & stretching at home
Success with relieving pain associated with tension headaches is very good!
As with many conditions, medication is always an option to reduce pain. However, medication does not get at the root cause of your headaches. Our goal is to reduce medication usage and deal with the underlying issues.
Migraine Headaches
The origin of migraine headaches is often the same as tension headaches, but the severity for the sufferer is much greater. Most migraine sufferers describe that their migraine begins with tension in the neck and shoulders but that it progresses to an intense, painful headache with additional symptoms. Visual disturbances such as blurry vision, sensitivity to light and sometimes seeing bright spots, known as auras, are all associated with migraine headaches.
Treatment for migraine headaches is similar to tension headaches. Chiropractic adjustments, soft tissue work, as well as some massage therapy, may be used.
In some instances, we will co-manage migraine headaches with another practitioner such as medical doctors with medications or our naturopathic doctor who will address possible food sensitivities or allergies that could be causing your headaches.
Post-Traumatic Headaches
This type of a headache comes on as a result of a recent injury such as whiplash or a concussion. They are a bit more complicated and are most often co-managed with another practitioner.
Beyond just chiropractic adjustments and soft tissue work we often incorporate laser therapy to get fast results when treating post-traumatic headaches.
No matter what the source of your headaches is, chiropractic care offers a treatment plan to provide relief and treat the root cause of the pain, not mask the symptoms with medication.
Interested in learning more about how we can help relieve your chronic headaches? Schedule a Complimentary 15-Minute Wellness Consultation. You can come in and discuss your symptoms and answer a few questions with us. From there we can determine the best course of treatment for your headaches.