You know the feeling.
That feeling of pressure and nagging pain that appears at the most inconvenient times.
The feeling that causes you to play a little game of "is this caused by lack of sleep, caffeine, stress, dehydration or sugar?"
The feeling that causes you to reach for the ibuprofen bottle without thinking twice.
This feeling that has become so common that it is your new normal.
Newsflash.
Headaches are not normal and should never be considered routine.
I say this because, many times, when I ask patients about their headaches, their response is "it's just a normal headache." Then, I am left to explain why headaches should not be considered "normal."
Headaches are not a pain symptom -- they are a warning sign.
The body is an auto-regulating machine. When something is wrong, the body naturally tries to heal itself. But, the body will eventually reach an override point. When this happens, the body will send out signals of pain. A headache acts as a pain signal.
Most people instantly turn to ibuprofen to relieve their headache pain; however, the ibuprofen only acts as a bandage to the issue. It covers up the pain without addressing the cause of the pain. When headache symptoms are masked by a pain reducer, the likelihood of the same problem returning is high.
When we view headaches as a warning sign rather than a symptom, we are forced to further investigate the root cause of the pain. Chiropractic care has proven to be an incredibly effective method of uncovering the causes behind routine headaches as well as reducing the intensity and frequency of this pain.
Chiropractic care is used to analyze the body's structural composition and identify any misalignments that could be causing musculoskeletal tension or nerve damage, among other issues. When a routine headache patient receives his or her first chiropractic adjustment, the results may seem contradictory.
Specifically, patients whose D1 vertebrae (just below the skull) is used to being out of place, the initial adjustment may actually cause a headache. However, what patients typically find is almost an immediate change in the intensity of a "normal" headache.
The intensity of the headache is reduced. Then, before long, the frequency of these headaches goes down. Eventually, headaches become very rare.
Most headache cases respond exactly this way to chiropractic care. This is extremely gratifying for both chiropractors and patients. However, there are some cases where an adjustment alone is not enough to evoke a response from the headache pain. In this instance, your chiropractor may turn to other areas such as food sensitivities or nutritional imbalances to treat your chronic headaches.
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*This article includes excerpts from "Made Whole: Regaining the Health Your Body Was Born to Enjoy by Working With the Missing Pieces of Wellness" written by chiropractic physician, Dr. Douglas B. Cook, D.C. To purchase this book, visit the Nutrition Store inside the Oklahoma Health and Wellness Center.
**The information in this post is based on the opinion of the authors and is intended for general consumer understanding. Read our full disclaimer here.