Headaches are a very common health problem that most people will experience at some time of their life. Factors that can lead to headaches are: history of head and/or muscle injury, high blood pressure, stress, anxiety, hormonal changes, environmental factors such as weather or pollen.
There are 4 major types of headaches.
Tension headache - it may feel as a tight band is putting pressure around your head. It is achy and can be triggered by muscle tightness and stress. Pain coming from or going to the neck area.
Migraine headache- (with or without aura) usually will appear on one side of your head, sometimes with light and sound sensitivity. It can be triggered by food, menstrual cycles or stress. At times other symptoms such as nausea, lightheadedness, vomiting can accompany the migraine. This type of headache can impact quality of life.
Sinus/Allergy headache- it presents itself commonly around the forehead, behind the eyes and cheeks. It feels like pressure and facial pain.
Cluster headache- behind one eye at a time, serious of headaches, swelling, redness, sweating, eye watering. It can last seconds to minutes.
When symptoms do occur, they usually come in conjunction with other symptoms such as muscle tightness, joint stiffness in the neck and shoulder region, pressure around the head/sinuses, ringing of the ear, among others. Muscle tightness can add pressure to build up on the head and upper neck area, increasing joint stiffness, muscle tension and reduced mobility. These restrictions can increase frequency and intensity of headaches.
As a chiropractor, there are different treatments and techniques we can use to help reduce and perhaps, even eliminate the main cause of the headaches.
Chiropractic care: A good example is tension headaches. They usually appear when there is a lot of stress in your environment, increasing muscle tension on your head, neck and shoulder. Chiropractic adjustments eliminate joint restriction on your spine, increasing joint mobility, reducing muscle tightness and improving your neuromusculoskeletal function.
CranioSacral Therapy: CST is a very gentle, hands-on technique that can help to reduce pressure surrounding the head, cranial bones, spine and sacral region, facilitating movement of the cerebrospinal fluid and the membranes that surround the central nervous system. This technique is commonly used to decrease migraine headaches.
If you or someone you know is experiencing headaches, please do not hesitate to reach out! Give us a call (216)952-3830, visit our website www.clechiropractic.com or send an email to drdelgado@clechiropractic.com.
Dr. Shirley Delgado Rivera
** Resource: “A randomized clinical trial in 2012 that was published in the journal BMC Complimentary and Alternative Therapy, tested the effects of CST on migraine pain intensity and frequency over an 8 week period. Adults with moderate to severe migraines were randomly assigned, those receiving 8 weekly CST treatments showed that by the end of the 8 weeks, headache intensity was reduced and pain killer medications were reduced as well. “