Headaches & Migraines

Chronic headaches and migraines afflict many people. The severity of pain can go from mild and intermittent to episodes of debilitating throbbing, unrelenting agony, as well as nausea. Relief comes from a variety of means, including over-the-counter medications and prescription drugs, rest, and ice/heat packs on the forehead or neck. Pain pills, however, often only cover up the headaches temporarily and the headaches come back.

Sources of headaches include, but are not limited to, certain kinds of foods, sounds and excessive noise or bright lights, changes in blood sugar, and even too much exercise.

Numerous studies have found that chiropractic care helps a variety of headaches. Tension headaches are one of the most common types of headaches. Recent studies show that many of these originate in the neck where the cervical vertebrae are located. For headaches that originate in the cervical, or neck, area, chiropractic treatment, such as spinal manipulation, has been shown to be quite effective. A 2001 Duke University study, for example, found that spinal manipulation provided relief for patients with headaches that originate in the neck, and resulted in fewer side effects than medication. Researchers in that study concluded that such treatments as relaxation training, thermal biofeedback combined with relaxation training, electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and to a lesser degree, acupuncture, are all modestly effective in treating migraine headaches.

Migraine headaches, perhaps the most severe headaches, also respond to chiropractic care. In one study, 74.7% of migraine patients were greatly improved under chiropractic care, and the success rate was maintained two years after the care ended. Then there was the Parker trial funded by the Australian government that found chiropractic care effective for Migraine. A follow-up study of the Parker trial concluded, "The trial clearly established that chiropractic was an effective treatment for migraine."