Head pain comes in many forms and when it’s severe, it can debilitate you. The good news is that effective, cutting-edge headache treatments exist right now.
Learn more about these conditions and how upper cervical chiropractic care can ease your pain, restore your health, and help you thrive.
Migraine Symptoms
Migraines are recurring attacks of pulsing or throbbing pain that can be moderate to severe. They often affect just one side of the head. Before a migraine strikes, some people experience a loss of vision or flashing lights called an “aura.” During migraines, people often become extremely sensitive to light and sound and may also become nauseated. Most migraine sufferers isolate themselves in a dark, quiet room, forcing them to miss family time, cancel work, or skip their favorite activities. Migraines affect about 12 percent of the U.S. population.
Cervicogenic Headache Symptoms
Cervicogenic headaches are a common form of recurring head pain that is constant and can be severe. Headache sufferers often withdraw to bed for hours until the pain passes, making normal activities impossible. When people try to power through these headaches, many have difficulty thinking and concentrating at work or enjoying the company of others.
Causes
Injuries to the upper two neck bones—known as the upper cervical spine—can be common causes of migraines and cervicogenic headaches. Have you ever been hurt in a car accident, or have you suffered injuries from slipping, falling, or playing sports? Injuries that happened decades ago could be causing today’s pain. In addition, people who sleep on their stomach can twist and place unnatural stress on their upper cervical spines. Both injuries and stomach sleeping can cause misalignments where the neck meets the head, increasing the potential for migraines or headaches.
Migraines: Current research shows that a misaligned upper cervical spine can compress the internal jugular vein. This compression can alter normal blood flow to and from the brain and result in an increase of pressure in the head. It is recognized that migraines have a vascular component and patients often describe a pulsating sensation in their head.
Cervicogenic headaches: Trauma to the upper cervical spine can shift how the neck supports the head, creating an imbalance within the body. This imbalance can cause irritation to head and facial nerves and cause muscles at the base of the head to painfully contract. All of these factors can contribute to the development of headaches.
Treatments
Thrive Head & Spinal Care offers upper cervical chiropractic care in San Antonio, TX, which corrects the upper-neck spinal misalignments that can contribute to migraines and cervicogenic headaches. Our care is precise and gentle. It involves no twisting, cracking, or popping of the neck. Instead, we apply math, physics, and engineering principles to determine the correction you need to restore your normal position and function. We use pre- and post-correction testing to ensure that your nervous system’s performance is improving and your body has the best opportunity to heal.
Don’t lose another hour of life to migraines or headaches. Our mission is to provide the highest quality of upper cervical care in San Antonio, TX. Dr. Dutson sees you as a person, not as a condition. He has vision to do healthcare differently… to put the “care” back in healthcare. He wants to help you enjoy your life to the fullest and THRIVE. Schedule your appointment today.