Chiropractic is a natural way to bring more ease and balance to the body, often relieving symptoms at the source.

Mayo Clinic defines chronic headaches as occurring “15 days or more a month, for longer than three months.” Migraines are defined as headaches that often affect one side of the head with a pulsating, throbbing sensation and moderate to severe pain.

Some common symptoms that accompany migraine are nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, smells, and sounds. Others may include brain fog, sinus-like issues, dizziness and vertigo, irritability, heightened sensitivity to touch, or even loss of dexterity and speech skills.

According to the American Migraine Foundation, there are an estimated 148 million people worldwide who live with chronic migraine, with the WHO qualify it as one of the top 10 most debilitating medical conditions. With that list of accompanying symptoms, it’s clear why.

Migraines may cause you to be unable to drive, to miss an important event, or even to be unable to care for your young children alone. The majority of migraine sufferers say that it interferes with their education, career and social activities. In the US alone, this costs an estimated $20 million annually in medical expenses and lost productivity.

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How Chiropractic Care Positively Affects Chronic Headaches and Migraine

While there are some migraine medications on the market, modern medicine hasn’t found a definitive cure.

Often, headaches sufferers are encouraged to journal and find what may be triggering them, and then to avoid those things. This could be certain foods, alcohol, environmental factors, stressful situations, or hormonal changes for women.

There are many natural methods to improve your body’s function. You can check for nutrient deficiencies or have hormone levels checked to see if there is an imbalance. High-quality, whole food and herb supplements, may be helpful.

Improved nutrition and water intake can also eliminate some possible headache triggers, as well as reducing exposure to chemicals and toxins in cleaning and beauty products.

However, all of this may still not get to the root of why your body isn’t able to adapt to these triggers or stressors.

It’s fascinating to note that over 75% of migraine patients also report neck pain, and other musculoskeletal complaints, including “neck stiffness, muscle tension, or problems with jaw function.”

This is why we encourage anyone with frequent or chronic headaches to get a thorough evaluation with a chiropractor.

There’s no magic “migraine adjustment.” We carefully examine the spine to find where there are misalignments that may be reducing nerve function through pressure and inflammation.

Once we’ve identified those subluxations, we specifically adjust to correct them. This improves the communication in the nervous system, allowing the body’s innate intelligence to adapt to triggers and heal at the source. This can include the improved flow of cerebrospinal fluid, blood, and nutrients.

All of this combined means that often times as we work to restore function, symptoms like headaches and migraines resolve!

The Crystal Lake Family Wellness team is well-acquainted with the life-changing effects of chiropractic. Our own Dr. Emily had migraines as a pre-teen. They could be so bad that she’d have numbness and even lose speech capabilities!

With chiropractic care, these horrible migraines are a thing of the past! Click to listen to Dr. Emily share her story.

Many other migraine and headache sufferers have also found that chiropractic is a natural and non-intrusive method to improve their bodies’ function.

A 2017 article in the European Journal of Neurology shared the results of a 17-month randomized study of 104 patients who suffered from at least one migraine attack per month.

The study found that the number of migraine days was significantly reduced under chiropractic care and that the duration of the migraines reduced in the chiropractic group more than in the control group that used pharmaceuticals.

Listen to what one of our patients, Lydia D said in a Google Review:

“As a seemingly healthy and active 20 something, I didn’t know how routine chiropractic care could impact my daily body functions, and had the tendency to believe chiropractic care to be only utilized as a resort if I was hurt. I am happy to say I have improved in so many areas, including an increase in my energy levels, immunity, and significantly less headaches.

I am acknowledged by name by friendly staff each time I arrive and feel listened to. I would highly recommend going in to visit Crystal Lake Family Wellness and seeing how Dr. Josh and Dr. Emily could assist you with your needs.”

Share this with someone who suffers from chronic headaches and migraines!
Ready to have your nervous system evaluated? At Crystal Lake Family Wellness, Dr. Josh and Dr. Emily Young address the cause of your pain, not just the symptom. We believe that education is a big part of your success! Call (815) 788-7504 for an appointment or click here to schedule online.

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References:

1. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-daily-headaches/symptoms-causes/syc-20370891
2. https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/resource-library/migraine-facts/
3. Cephalalgia. 2015 Mar;35(3):211-9. doi: 10.1177/0333102414535110. Epub 2014 May 22. Prevalence of neck pain in migraine and tension-type headache: a population study
   Sait Ashina 1, Lars Bendtsen 2, Ann C Lyngberg 3, Richard B Lipton 4, Nazrin Hajiyeva 5, Rigmor Jensen 2 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24853166/
4. Chaibi A, Benth JŠ, Tuchin PJ, Russell MB. Chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy for migraine: A three-armed, single-blinded, placebo, randomized controlled trial. European Journal of Neurology. 2017;24(1):143-153.