For many, headaches are a daily occurrence. In fact, 12% of Americans suffer from migraines. Headaches can be more than an aggravating pain; they can affect your lifestyle, relationships, and ability to work. It’s especially frustrating when you don’t know what’s causing your headaches.
Fortunately, Dr. H. Khayal specializes in finding the root cause of your headaches and treating them with chiropractic adjustments. If you’re looking for help with your headaches, contact Dr. Khayal at Premier Health Chiropractic & Wellness Center in Dallas, Texas.
Overview of headaches
A headache is simply that: an aching sensation in your head. What’s not so simple about headaches is what causes them and how to treat them. Sometimes, your headache is simply due to an illness or changes in your lifestyle, like eating or sleeping habits, and can be treated with over-the-counter pain medication.
However, there are several types of headaches that are more effectively treated with chiropractic adjustments, including cervicogenic headaches, migraines, and tension headaches.
Cervicogenic headaches
This kind of headache is what’s known as a secondary headache. That means the headache pain is a result of an underlying condition and not the primary symptom. The underlying conditions are often structural issues with your vertebrae in your spine.
Typically, the pain from a cervicogenic headache begins in the back of your head and neck and radiates toward the front of your head. You might also experience symptoms including:
- Lack of mobility in your neck
- Pain on one side of your face or head
- Stiffness in your neck
- Nausea
- Blurred vision
Other causes of cervicogenic headaches include excessive straining of the neck. Manual laborers, long-distance drivers, and hairstylists are most at risk for developing these kinds of headaches. Injuries like whiplash and spinal fractures, infections, or arthritis can also cause you to experience cervicogenic headaches.
Dr. Khayal can help relieve your pain through spinal manipulation, joint mobilization, and neck exercises. During spinal manipulation, he applies a controlled force to a targeted area in your spine to correct the structural problems.
Depending on your specific circumstances, Dr. Khayal can also passively move your joints in your cervical spine to reduce your pain and improve mobility. He can also prescribe neck exercises that promote movement and healing in your neck and ultimately less pain in your head.
Migraines
Migraines are severe headaches that cause nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound and are often located on one side of your head. These headaches typically last for hours or days and can be debilitating.
Causes of migraines aren’t fully understood but can include changes in lifestyle and hormones, certain medications, drinks like wine and coffee, and increased stress levels.
The causes of your migraine might be one or a combination of factors, but the treatment can be simple. Dr. Khayal treats your migraines with neuromuscular massages. These special chiropractic massages focus on trigger points in your back, shoulders, neck, and head to help ease tension and relieve symptoms.
Tension headaches
The most common kind of headache is a tension headache. Tension headaches are often described as feeling like a tight band around your head. You likely experience dull or aching head pain, tightness or pressure across your forehead, and tenderness on your scalp, neck, and shoulder muscles.
They can be episodic and only last for 30 minutes to a week, or they can be chronic and last for 15 or more days a month. Tension headaches stem from muscle contractions in the face, neck, and scalp that are a result of high levels of tension or stress.
Because these headaches are caused by muscle tension, Dr. Khayal can use gentle manipulations to the joints and muscles in your neck and shoulders to relieve your pain. He can also apply gentle stretching to address your tension headaches.
These are just a few of the types and causes of headaches Dr. Khayal can treat. If you’re tired from the daily aching, confused about what’s causing your headache, or simply looking for an alternative treatment for your pain, call our office today.
