Learning to live headache free.

Millions of people live everyday with headaches. Some of these are mild and annoying, and some are absolutely debilitating. While most are not life-threatening, they are a huge pain. The good news is that there are some things you can do to help prevent and treat your headache. It all begins with understanding what headaches are.

95% of headaches are primary headaches, meaning that they are just that, a headache. The other 5% can be warning signs of illness or serious physical problems (secondary headache). These typically strike suddenly and are accompanied by confusion, slurred speech, and other unusual symptoms. If this is the case it is essential to seek emergency medical care immediately.

Primary headaches can be divided into three basic categories; tension type headaches, migraines and cervicogenic headaches. Of these, tension headaches are the most common. These are caused by general stress, physical stress, lack of sleep, and psychiatric factors. They are usually mild to severe and generalized all over the head. Migraines, on the other hand, are severe, throbbing and often localized to one side. They can last from minutes to several days, and are often accompanied by nausea and visual changes called auras. Many things have been identified as triggers for migraines, and it is important to take steps to identify and avoid these if you experience migraines. Cervicogenic headaches begin in the neck and radiate into the head. These tend to be referred pain from structures such as muscles and ligaments in the neck. They are usually isolated to one side.

Learning to avoid headaches is a key step in the treatment process. There are several things you can do. Keep a headache diary including when it began and what you were doing prior to its onset. This helps to identify triggers that can subsequently be avoided. Take breaks from the computer every thirty minutes and do stretches of your back and shoulders. Drink plenty of water and avoid dehydration, a major cause of headaches. Take short walks every few hours.

Over 4 billion dollars is spent every year on over the counter medication for headaches. Many of these have been shown to be ineffective, and some may in fact actually cause headaches! Caution must be exercised when considering which medication to choose, because of possible side effects and interactions with other drugs and supplements you may be taking.

A better choice is chiropractic care. Recent research has shown the effectiveness of chiropractic care in treatment of headaches. At Main Street Chiropractic Center we work hard to identify the type of headache you are experiencing and the best treatment for it. If we believe chiropractic is not the best treatment we will refer you to the health care professional best equipped to handle it. We are confident that we will be able to find the cause of your headaches, not just cover up the symptoms. Break the headache pill cycle by using chiropractic - the drug-free choice!