My mom had a headache every day for about 40 years, a couple of them every month were quite debilitating and limited her ability to function on those days.  With the introduction of consistent chiropractic care and lifestyle changes, she has overcome her headaches and rarely gets one now. Headache disorders in London are among the most common disorders of the nervous system.  It has been estimated that almost half of the adult population have had a headache at least once within the last year.

Headaches affect just about everyone at some time or another, and they can present in different ways. The pain can be dull, pressure or tightening, pounding or shooting.  It may be generalized to the whole head, to one part of the head, like the forehead or temple, to one side or the other or behind the eyes. The pain may last a few minutes or for days. Fortunately, most headaches are not a result of a serious medical condition, but those that do, need immediate attention.

Types of Headaches…

Headaches can be a primary disorder that fall into one of three main categories, migraine, tension-type headache (also called cervicogenic headaches) and cluster headache.  Headaches can also be secondary, which is caused by a long list of other conditions with the most common being a medication-overuse headache [1].  Headaches as a primary disorder will be the focus of this discussion.

Headaches can be due to a number of varying causes, such as drug reactions, temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ), tightness of the neck muscles, low blood sugar, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, eye strain, stress and fatigue, hormonal and atmospheric shifts.  Sometimes, the cause for a headache is unknown.  It has been confirmed, however, that all headaches involve muscle tension and may involve other factors [2].

Headaches, Part 2 will focus on types of secondary headaches.

Headaches, Part 3 will focus on how to relieve headaches naturally.

Migraine Headaches

Migraine headaches can be debilitating.  They are characterized by a pulsating ache, usually on one side of the head that can last for several hours or a few days.  They are often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound.

In 2010/2011 [3], 8.3% of Canadians were diagnosed with migraines, which probably underestimates its prevalence, as many people who suffer from migraines do not seek professional help. And, twice as many women suffer from migraines as men.

It used to be thought that migraine headaches we caused by constriction of the blood vessels in the brain [4].  Now, it has been found that migraines are genetic disorder that requires a trigger to set it off [4].  That means a person can be genetically predisposed to migraines but never experience a migraine if one is never triggered.  It is not completely understood how migraines happen.  It used to be thought that dilating and constricting (opening and closing) of the blood vessels in the brain were the start of a migraine.  It is now thought that the pain of a migraine comes from the reaction of the nerves to the expanding and contracting blood vessels.  It is also thought that something triggers a sequence of nerves in the brain to fire that causes the blood vessels to dilate and constrict in the first place.  However, it is still unknown what exactly sets off this cycle of events [4].

Fortunately, chiropractic care appears to provide relief comparable to commonly used first-line prescription medications for migraine (and tension-type) headaches [5].

Tension-Type Headaches

Upwards of 70% of the global population will get a tension headache during their lifetime [6], while 37 percent of women and 21 percent of men experience them regularly. [7]

The most common cause of tension headaches is a subluxation in the upper back and neck, especially the upper neck, usually in combination with active trigger points. When the top cervical vertebrae lose their normal motion or position, a small muscle called the rectus capitis posterior minor (RCPM) muscle goes into spasm. The problem is that this small muscle has a tendon that slips between the upper neck and the base of the skull and attaches to a thin pain-sensitive tissue called the dura mater that covers the brain. Although the brain itself has no feeling, the dura mater is very pain-sensitive. Consequently, when the RCPM muscle goes into spasm and its tendon tugs at the dura mater, a headache occurs. People who hold desk jobs will tend to suffer from headaches for this reason.

Another cause of tension-type headaches comes from referred pain from trigger points in the Sternocleidomastoid (SCM) or levator muscle on the side of the neck. These are much more common in people who suffer a whiplash injury due to the muscle damage in the neck region.

There is scientific evidence that supports chiropractic care as an effective intervention for tension-type headaches [8].  Chiropractic adjustments were found to be more effective than massage and just as effective as some commonly used prescription medication [5].

Cluster Headaches

Cluster Headaches are the most severe, but least common type of headache.  They are actually more of an attack than a headache with the pain being so intense, it has been known to drive people to commit suicide.  The intense pain is localized to one side of the head, usually radiating behind the eye and often include a stuffy nose or runny eyes.  Each attack can last for 5-180 minutes and can hit several times a day, lasting for several days or months, then may disappear for a while and come back unexpectedly, sometimes years later [9].

While the cause is cluster headaches is unknown, they tend to present like clockwork, at the same time of day or year with cyclic regularity, and so it is thought that they are tied to the body’s biological clock, essentially controlled by the hypothalamus in the brain [10].  And that there is a dys-connection between the autonomic nervous system and the nerves at the base of the brain and facial nerves (specifically the trigeminal nerve) [11].

Pain from the trigeminal nerve can sometimes be related to misalignment of the vertebrae in the neck.  Proper alignment of that region of the spine through chiropractic adjustments may prevent future cluster headaches.

What This Means to Me…

If you suffer from headaches, you know that it can interfere with living life to the fullest.  Traditional relief usually focuses on finding a medication to help you deal with the pain, but that often comes with its own set of problems, like rebound headaches and side effects.  There are many all-natural therapies that may help, depending on the severity and type of headache.  Chiropractic care is the option of choice for most people because it has the highest success rate for providing headache relief because it addresses the cause of the problem [12].

Stay Tuned….for “Headaches – Part 2 – Secondary Headaches”

Sources:

1. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs277/en/
2. http://prc.canadianpaincoalition.ca/en/tension_type_headache.html
3. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-003-x/2014006/article/14033-eng.htm
4. http://prc.canadianpaincoalition.ca/en/migraine.html
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11562654
6. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs277/en/
7. http://www.ihateheadaches.org/headache-statistics.html
8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21640251
9. https://clusterbusters.org/about-cluster-headache/
10. http://www.choosenatural.com/headaches/cluster-headaches/
11. http://www.toyourhealth.com/mpacms/tyh/article.php?id=1701
12. http://www.choosenatural.com/headaches/headache-relief/