Part of the everyday life of a chiropractor in Escondido is helping patients with headaches or migraines to feel better.
Headaches can strike at anyone. Nearly all people have experienced a headache at some point in life. Truth be told, it’s impossible to find someone who has never had a headache because the head is one of the most common locations of pain in the whole body.
Describing Headaches
We can describe headaches as any of the following:
- Pounding
- Throbbing
- Squeezing
- Vice-like
- Unrelenting
- Constant
- Intermittent
Headaches can cause pain in one area of the skull or face, or the whole head. They may come about suddenly or after an exercise or activity. Some headaches hit once or twice and never again after a long period. However, some headaches are chronic, meaning they happen 15 days or more a month for longer than three months.
Different Types of Headaches
According to the International Headache Society, these are three classifications of headaches:
Primary
This includes migraines, tension-type headaches, trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias, and others.
Secondary
Headaches under this classification are due to another condition. They are often an indication of an underlying disease, a structural problem in the neck, or an injury.
Cranial neuralgias, facial pain, or other types
Cranial neuralgia occurs due to painful lesions of the 12 cranial nerves that come from the brain. They control the muscles and bring sensory signals to and from the head and neck.
List of 17 different kinds of headaches
These are some of the common types of headaches:
- Primary tension headaches that are chronic
- Primary tension headaches that are episodic
- Primary migraine headaches with aura
- Primary migraine headaches without aura
- Primary muscle contraction headaches
- Primary cluster headache
- Primary cough headache
- Hypnic headache
- Hemicrania continua
- Primary stabbing headache
- Primary thunderclap headache
- Primary paroxysmal hemicrania
- Headache from exertion
- Primary headache due to sexual intercourse
- New daily persistent headache (NDPH)
- Trigeminal neuralgia and other cranial nerve inflammation
- Secondary headaches due to:
- Disorders
- Substance abuse or withdrawal
- Infection
- Sinuses or other structures
- Structural issues with the bones of the teeth, eyes, face, ears, nose, or sinuses
Let’s dig deeper into some of these headache types and their sources. After that, let me introduce a natural care that can help bring migraine relief Escondido to these headaches.
Headache Types and Their Causes
Tension headaches
The most common among the types of headaches, tension headaches are often due to the tightening of the muscles around the skull. It happens when the muscles undergo physical stress. Undue stress of these muscles causes inflammation and spasms, eventually leading to pain.
The pain commonly targets the temples, forehead, neck muscles, and jaw muscles. Some of the triggers are overexertion, lack of sleep, and poor posture. Another contributor to tension headaches is emotional stress.
Cluster headaches
As the name suggests, cluster headaches occur on clusters. Someone may have them every day for periods of a week or longer, then a no-headache period follows. They mostly happen at night, waking up a person from sleep.
According to MedlinePlus, cluster headaches may have something to do with the sudden release of two chemicals —histamine and serotonin— in the brain. The problem is likely to originate from the hypothalamus, which manages the body’s biological clock. It is right at the base of the brain.
Secondary headaches
One of the leading causes of secondary headaches is injuries to the neck or head. Injuries can result in bleeding between the meninges (layers of tissue surrounding the brain) or the brain itself. We can also blame the issues in the blood vessels of the neck and head for secondary headaches.
Migraines
Migraines are neurological disorder and an excruciating headache is one of its hallmark symptoms. It can be due to the irritation or inflammation of the structure around the brain. The brain may not have nerves to feel pain, but the nerves and muscles linked to the skull, neck, and face can all cause pain in the head.
Changes in the flow of blood and cerebrospinal due to injury can also bring about migraines. Moreover, changes in brain chemistry can cause headaches. Migraineurs should keep a migraine diary to write down and monitor their triggers to avoid migraine attacks in the future.
This Chiropractor in Escondido Can Help with Headaches and Migraines
Almost all types of headaches respond well to upper cervical chiropractic care. Why is this the case?
One of the common but overlooked causes of headaches is a misalignment in the upper bones of the neck. Its existence can have an impact on the brainstem, the communication road between the brain and body.
Misalignment of the C1 and C2 bones can stress the brainstem. If this happens, the C1 and C2 vertebrae, which should protect the brainstem, may instead cause its very damage. This can result in the sending of improper signals to the brain via the brainstem. Headaches are the certain result.
Here at Rickards Precision Chiropractic & Wellness located in Escondido, California, I practice the Blair technique of upper cervical chiropractic. It is a gentle and safe method that encourages the bones to shift back into their original alignment.
Consultation call to action:
To schedule a consultation with Dr. Rickards, call our Escondido office at (760) 745-1511. You can also click the button below.
If you are outside of the local area, you can find an Upper Cervical Doctor near you at www.uppercervicalawareness.com.