No one wants to have a migraine. This is a debilitating condition that prevents you from doing even the simplest daily task. If you have searched for this topic online, you must be eager to find quick relief. Avoiding your triggers and seeking the help of a chiropractor for migraine near Escondido, CA can surely benefit you, and we will explain more about that in this post.
Migraine Symptoms
You can tell a day or two ahead of time when a migraine is about to come on if you feel depressed or cranky, restless or nervous, very happy or extremely tired, craving for food, always thirsty, or losing your appetite.
Just before a migraine occurs, you may experience an aura, a neurological disturbance that is a common early phase of a migraine. It can include seeing spots or wavy lines and feelings of numbness or “pins and needles” in your arms, face, or hands.
Before and during a migraine, you may feel several other symptoms:
- Throbbing or pounding pain, often on one side of the head
- Mild to severe head pain
- Pain behind the eyes
- Sensitivity to light, odors, or sounds
- Nausea or vomiting
- Pain that increases with physical activity
- Tingling in the face, shoulders, or arms
- Temporary weakness on one side of the body
- Trouble with speech
After a migraine subsides, your muscles may ache, and you may feel exhausted. People of all ages can have migraines, but the condition usually occurs in adults between the ages of 25 and 55 years. Some people have acute migraines that occur every so often, while some suffer from chronic daily migraines, which means they have 15 or more migraines per month.
Getting to Know Your Migraine Triggers
Migraines rank as the 3rd most prevalent illness around the world. About 25% of households in the United States have someone who suffers from migraines.
If you suffer from regular migraines, a great way to avoid them is to identify your triggers and steer clear from them as much as possible. Begin by keeping a migraine diary in which you can record what you were doing before or during the migraine episode. This is a great tool to notice patterns that develop before a migraine hits. Listed below are some common migraine triggers:
Aspartame
This is an artificial sweetener that is known to trigger migraines in some people. You can find it in light yogurts, diet beverages, sugar-free candy, and low-calorie desserts. It is also known as NutraSweet and Equal.
Caffeine
People who are sensitive to caffeine may get migraines from consuming caffeinated beverages such as tea, soda, and coffee. However, some people use caffeine to stop an upcoming migraine. In fact, many migraine headache medications contain caffeine. Take note how caffeine affects you, and avoid it if it aggravates your headache.
Common food additives
Food additives such as MSG (monosodium glutamate), yeast extract, hydrolyzed or autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed plant protein (HPP), hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), kombu extract (used in Asian food), and sodium caseinate have been seen to cause migraines in some people.
Alcohol
Tyramine is present in many types of alcoholic drinks like red wine, beer, sherry, and vermouth. Also, alcoholic beverages can cause dehydration, which is a major contributing factor to migraine headaches. You may want to alternate your alcoholic drink with water or seltzer.
Tyramine or phenylethylamine
These are amino acids found in food like chocolate, different kinds of cheese, citrus, nuts, soy, and vinegar.
Sulfites
This is another food additive commonly found in dried fruit such as prunes, figs, and apricots, red and white wine, and many processed foods.
Tannins
Tannins are plant compounds that give food an astringent taste and are often in red-skinned apples, tea, apple juice, pears, cider, and all red wine. Many people have reported foods with tannins as a migraine trigger, but further research is needed to confirm this correlation.
Nitrates
Hot dogs, deli meats, pepperoni, sausages, beef, and turkey jerky, and corned beef have nitrates. They are mostly in food that has been pickled, cured, smoked, or canned.
Leftovers
Improper storage of food can increase tyramine content. Be cautious of food you have not stored or prepared personally.
An Easy, Natural Way to Ease Migraine Pain
Regardless of your triggers, migraines will continue to occur if you do not address the root cause of the problem. It is often a misaligned vertebra in the upper cervical spine. The duty of the C1 and C2 vertebrae is to protect the brainstem from injury. However, when misaligned, they can put pressure on the brainstem and can cause it to send faulty signals to the brain. Thankfully, there is an easy and effective solution for it.
Here at Rickards Chiropractic in Escondido, California, we use a gentle and precise procedure that helps the bones to realign without the need to crack or pop the spine. We help them move naturally back into place, which makes them stay in place longer than when using force. A lot of our patients have reported relief from their migraine pain, with some having their migraines completely go away and not return.
The sooner you consult an Escondido chiropractic care expert for your migraine relief, the sooner you can find relief from your condition. Schedule a consultation with us here at Rickards Chiropractic to start you on the road to healing.
Consultation call to action:
To schedule a consultation with Dr. Rickards, call our Escondido office at (760) 274-0564. 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.